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Awake in the Dark
"Shira Nayman's stories risk strong emotion and always clear the sentimental. Her sentences have heft and spine and grace, and her vision is clear and generous." -- Mary Gordon, author of Pearl and Spending "Shira Nayman's stories risk strong emotion and always clear the sentimental. Her sentences have heft and spine and grace, and her vision is clear and generous." -- Mary Gordon, author of Pearl and Spending
304 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
June 5, 2010
I was amazed, no, powerfully moved by these stories.
They tended to intensify as I read. The one thing that
fascinated me most was the subject of silence. It
informed all of the stories. If you cannot speak of
something, you remain silent, or something like that
according to Nietzsche.
I have noticed this before, for example in Elizabeth
Rosner's The Speed of Light in which the father's
silence about what happened to him during the war
effected his two children in such radical ways.
There is something so elemental, so architypical in
the lessons that are offered up to us by the
holocaust. Some horrible mirror that needs to be held
up and looked into so we can understand what we are
capable of. That must be very hard in this day and age
when sin and cupibility and atonement are
uncomfortable words and even shunned in favor of an
artificial positivism that smacks of banality - which
is also a good indication of evil. I think this book,
among others, is a good mirror. Something that all
great literature does - shows us oursleves and
connects us with our humanity.
They tended to intensify as I read. The one thing that
fascinated me most was the subject of silence. It
informed all of the stories. If you cannot speak of
something, you remain silent, or something like that
according to Nietzsche.
I have noticed this before, for example in Elizabeth
Rosner's The Speed of Light in which the father's
silence about what happened to him during the war
effected his two children in such radical ways.
There is something so elemental, so architypical in
the lessons that are offered up to us by the
holocaust. Some horrible mirror that needs to be held
up and looked into so we can understand what we are
capable of. That must be very hard in this day and age
when sin and cupibility and atonement are
uncomfortable words and even shunned in favor of an
artificial positivism that smacks of banality - which
is also a good indication of evil. I think this book,
among others, is a good mirror. Something that all
great literature does - shows us oursleves and
connects us with our humanity.
January 16, 2014
Shira Nayman was a clinical psychologist in Australia before turning to writing fiction and landing in (where else?) Brooklyn. She has written a couple of novels since this collection of three thematically linked stories and a novella was published in 2006 and one can only hope that the failings here are rookie mistakes and she has matured in her more recent work.
All these stories involve children of survivors of the Holocaust and/or the war in Germany struggling to come to terms with their parents' pain and years of silence. This is a worthy theme but after the first couple of stories it gets repetitive and the character development and plotting seldom rise above cliché and contrivance. By the time one character goes to the attic looking for her childhood Hebrew book, you know she's going to stumble upon an old trunk and will confront her father with its long-buried secrets. Sadly, the literary miscues dull the emotional response to the subject matter.
All these stories involve children of survivors of the Holocaust and/or the war in Germany struggling to come to terms with their parents' pain and years of silence. This is a worthy theme but after the first couple of stories it gets repetitive and the character development and plotting seldom rise above cliché and contrivance. By the time one character goes to the attic looking for her childhood Hebrew book, you know she's going to stumble upon an old trunk and will confront her father with its long-buried secrets. Sadly, the literary miscues dull the emotional response to the subject matter.
October 1, 2012
This is a book of short stories, superbly written. Each story is a tale of the holocaust seen through the eyes of the children of the survivors. The most powerful story is The House o fKronenstrasse wherein a daughter who, after her mother dies, returns to Germany. Seeking her childhood home, she discovers a powerful secret.
Recommended!
August 31, 2011
This book is tagged as a series of short stories, however it is more like 3 short stories that lead you into a short novel. Though none of the stories are directly related, all are stories that stem from Nazi Germany, all bringing different light and touching on different experiences of the period. I am not sure how my obsession of this time period came about, but this book brings so many different situations to life. Brilliantly written, and absolutely bone chilling. Dark Urgings of of the Blood had me captivated. I highly recommend reading it.
September 17, 2008
Hauntingly beautiful stories of family secrets hidden and revealed during and after the Holocaust. One of the few books I would say is a must-read.
Powerful and heartbreaking, Shira Nayman weaves together people and events into vignettes of life and shadows. Her words are spare and thoughtful, and the results are devastating.
I read and reread her stories over and over again... her words stay with you long after you've closed the pages.
Powerful and heartbreaking, Shira Nayman weaves together people and events into vignettes of life and shadows. Her words are spare and thoughtful, and the results are devastating.
I read and reread her stories over and over again... her words stay with you long after you've closed the pages.
February 10, 2013
This book will shake you to the core, particularly the last story "dark urgings of the blood".
Nayman is a brilliant storyteller, able to draw the reader deep into the scene through her effective use of telling the story in present tense in the first person voice of the central character, the daughter of a parent with dark secrets.
I could not put this book down, and having just finished the last story, I can still feel my fingers shaking as I type this review.
Nayman is a brilliant storyteller, able to draw the reader deep into the scene through her effective use of telling the story in present tense in the first person voice of the central character, the daughter of a parent with dark secrets.
I could not put this book down, and having just finished the last story, I can still feel my fingers shaking as I type this review.
June 27, 2012
It's hard to find a book to really WOW me but this book did just that. Every story just kept getting better and better and the twists at the end of each story were just amazing, and sent chills up my spine every time. I recommended this book to every body and would re read it over and over again.
July 22, 2014
Intense and haunting.
September 27, 2016
There was some truly beautiful writing and imagery in this book. But, I can only give it 3 stars. I really disliked most of the main characters. They seemed to be very selfish, self-important, and much too self-involved. One or two stories with a main character like that is fine, but not 3. I did really enjoy the lamp, and the mother in that story was my favorite character, probably because she was less self-absorbed than all the other main characters.
April 19, 2017
Two things I avoid in picking out a book is the length (under 300 pages) and short stories. This book has both and I was grabbed from page one. Five stories that are in some way tied into the holocaust. The connection in each story takes you by surprise and all the characters have such depth that I just couldn't put the book down. I already ordered another book by this author. So I went outside my box and I'm so glad I did. Beautiful and thought provoking. Touching and soulful.
July 26, 2007
This was an excellent book. I would highly recommend it to all my friends. This is a collection of four fictional short stories that are based on events that could have happened; the author certainly knows her Holocaust history. The stories are about the children of Holocaust survivors, and how the experiences of the parents have impacted their children. A very good read, indeed!
March 29, 2008
I'm having a hard time writing a review, because the book was good, but terribly sad, too. It's interesting to read a story, as told from the perspective of a person who was a victim during the Holocaust, and then to read about the perspective of the perpetrators, too. Very intriguing and hard to put down.
September 22, 2008
I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of stories (3 short stories; 1 novella). Yes, they were about a difficult subject--survivors of the Holocaust (both Jew and German)--but the author's writing style was superb and I was completely captivated by the stories. I'd be interested in reading more by this author.
September 12, 2011
I've read a ton of holocaust literature and this one is by far the most interesting I've read in awhile.
The stories reveal the tragedy of the Germans as well as other victims of the Nazis including the Jews.
The last story did not hang well for me.. it didn't make any sense in terms of being very possible.
But as a whole, the book was great.
The stories reveal the tragedy of the Germans as well as other victims of the Nazis including the Jews.
The last story did not hang well for me.. it didn't make any sense in terms of being very possible.
But as a whole, the book was great.
October 24, 2007
this is an extraordinary collection of short stories regarding holocaust survivors and their families. It is moving. I enojyed the stories and the fact that you could easily read one and put it down for a while if you have other things competing for your time. enjoy.
January 2, 2011
I can't believe this book has been sitting on my shelf for years, unread. These haunting stories are a must-read for anyone Jewish but I think everyone could appreciate them. Just don't expect to be able to sleep after reading these stories of the legacy of the Holocaust.
March 30, 2011
This book will have me looking a little closer to short stories, that I normally stay clear of. The novelette at the end of the book was especially interesting and kept me up late to see how it would all come together.
May 23, 2011
Stories about children of Holocaust victims and how their lives intersect with the Nazi's/Germans. Four short stories and one very long. Three of the four were extremely moving and powerful. I couldn't put it down and read the whole book in one sitting.
March 21, 2012
Incredibly sad and moving. I must say I enjoyed the shorter stories in the first half of the book much more than the second half of the book, which was one long story. I found the story in the second half of the book to be a little too "fantastical."
April 4, 2012
Somre really good writing, all having to do with the legacy of Natzi Germany during World War 2. This book contains several short stories involving the children of World War 2 survivors who look to their parents to make sense of today and make sense of their faith. Lots of psychological drama.
December 5, 2012
An important book to read - to get a perspective on the Holocaust and the continuing cost to its survivors and generations afterward. I did not know it was a collection of short stories beforehand, but that format worked out quite well.
April 19, 2016
I liked this book of short stories and a novella. Each is a contemporary story about the 'lives of the children Holocaust victims and perpetrators as they struggle with the legacy of their parents'.
The House on Kronenstrasse
The Porcelain Monkey
The Lamp
Dark Urgings of the Blood
July 14, 2009
Terribly sad stories about Nazi Germany told from the point of view of family members. Fictional, but highly plausible. Not for the weak! These stories are extremely powerful.
March 6, 2008
Engrossing characters in unthinkable situations. Holocaust survival from the point of view of victim or perpetrater in the past as well as the present.
January 20, 2010
Loved this book.
April 14, 2012
This was a provocative book that is worth the read. As I have gotten older, I appreciate the skill that it takes to write a good short story and this author uses the genre deftly.
June 6, 2013
Surprisingly good, especially for a book of short stories.
September 27, 2013
A book of short stories. Don't know why I had decided I didn't like short stories, but I've changed my mind after reading this book!
December 14, 2013
This is not the type of book I would normally read, but the stories are compelling. I found this to be a quick read, but the stories will last much longer.
May 31, 2014
An amazing book, one of the best I have read in awhile. Quietly deep, it will stay with me.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews