Children's Children

Almonds and Raisins #3

by Maisie Mosco

This is the third book in the bestselling "Almonds and Raisins" saga. The third generation of Sandbergs now live in England and are beginning to move away from their Jewish faith. Maisie Mosco has written eight bestselling novels, the most recent being "After the Dream".

Genres: Historical Fiction, Jewish, Fiction

382 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Maisie Mosco was born as Maisie Gottlieb. Her parents were of Latvian Jewish and Viennese Jewish descent, and both emigrated to England around 1900.

She left school at the age of 14 to help in the family business. At the age of 18 she joined the ATS and at the end of World War II was helping to teach illiterate soldiers how to read. After the war, she edited the Jewish Gazette, and subsequently wrote radio plays for the BBC.

Mosco wrote 16 novels between 1979 and 1998. These included the 'Almonds and Raisins' series, which contained elements of her own family history.

She married twice: to Aubrey Liston in 1948, then to Gerald Mosco in 1957.

Reviews

[Allyson Manis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic

I love following the saga of Sarah Sandberg and her extensive family! These classic novels by Maisie Mosco never go out of style and I enjoy revisiting them from time to time.

[Jaqui · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm really engaged with this lovely family saga and empathise with many of the characters. Some we get to know well and others are more sketchily drawn, but there are so many of them that it would be difficult to get deeply into the minds and hearts of all of them. everything is here, though, love, dislike, betrayal, life, death, marriage, the march of time, and changing generations changing perceptions. The characters are rich and warm, and complex.

The next book in this Jewish family's journey from rags to - if not riches - comfortable lives and integration into British society, combined with historical and political aspects, and family conflict as well as love is lovely to read. Extremely enjoyable.

I seem to be hooked on the family saga. I'm loving the series. Incredibly readable and easy to empathise and identify with many of the characters......A family tree to refer to might have been helpful as a lot of characters to follow

[Karen Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read these books 40 years ago, and was so excited to find them again. To lose myself, and become a Sandberg again after all his time was the ultimate. I loved these books so much, it is a story that everyone can relate to, both young and old.

[Natasha Maddock · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this as much as the previous books, but it was interesting to see the changes from generation to generation.

[Felicity Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

An epic tale which follows the lives of first generation immigrants, Sarah and Abraham, a tremendous bitter-sweet story of family; of the struggles they face; of the bonds that tie; of Jewish culture. This is a good 'old-fashioned' saga (and I in no way do I mean that derogatorily) in a series that is by far best read in order from the beginning and if at all possible, with the ending of each book left wide open for the next instalment, one after the other.

Continuing on from where (book 2) Scattered Seed ended. With the breaking of the Sabbath and inter-faith marriage having become common practise; with several key characters not what they were/no longer with us, Children's Children follows the third generation of Sandberg's (not that they are all now known as this, their last name having been anglicised by certain branches of the family) in a timely conclusion to a drama that plays out the broadening horizons of one generation as another, older generation looks on.

Setting aside that all the additional characters (many, as tradition dictated, named after others; some very similar to others) made for confusing reading; that I was reluctant to leave behind Sarah's weekly Shabbos teas, there was just something (admittedly nothing I could quite put my finger on) that meant this wasn't quite as good as Almonds And Raisins (the first book in the trilogy).
Still, (in Sarah) with a character you won't forget in a hurry and a fascinating social commentary much of which still resonates today, well worth the later than usual bed-times spent reading.

Copyright ... Tracy Terry @ Pen and Paper
NB Some of this review may be replicated in my reviews of parts one and two in the trilogy ('Almonds And Raisins' and 'Scattered Seed')'

[Lu Newman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last book in the "Almonds and Raisins" trilogy. This book follows the third generation of Sandberg's and Moritz's. It follows their journey as they have now cast off the traditional Jewish life and make their own way in the modern world.

Just the same as the previous two books in the series it is very lengthy and descriptive. In some places may even be seen as dull. Sarah Sandberg is still the matriarch of the two families however her influence is losing its grip on the youngest generation. The youngest generation are casting off the customs of their forebears and adopting the "free-living" style of the Sixities, causing distress to their parents and grandparents. It is left to Sarah Sandberg to tie the loose ends of her family together.

I am glad I read this last book in the series but as I mentioned before it does drag in places. The other problem I have is that, even though the characters are interesting, they are all gifted and talented. It can get very tedious reading about how wonderful these people are and even though they decided to go against everything, there are no real significant consequences for their actions. Everyone excepts it or makes the decision to except it because Sarah Sandberg has. I think I would have liked to have had at least one of the characters have everything go wrong for them for a while. Like all families however along with the triumphs there are also tragedies.

If you enjoy social history and family sagas then I would recommend this series to you. Despite all my complaining it is very well written.

[Margaret aka serenityblue Jackson]

I tend to like these books by this author usually before, during and after WWII in liverpool. I have heard so many of these type of stories from my family originally from England and I usually pass them onto mum

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

The final in the trilogy takes the reader into the emotional, religious, and sexual changes that make the older generations reflect upon what is right, and what must be accepted, as the years pass by.

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love Maisie Mosco's family sagas. I believe that this was the last book in this particular series.

[Lynne · Rating 2 out of 5]

enjoyed

[Linda Visser · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this series