August '44

by Carlo Gébler

Prague, 1572
A golem, a man made of mud, walks the streets of Prague, protecting the Jews from the enemies who would kill them.
France, August 1944
The closing days of the war. Saul shelters in a cave with his Jewish family and friends, hiding from an enemy seeking their destruction. But there's no golem now...

369 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2003

Reviews

[Rhys Causon · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy read about a story that I have had a passing interest in for a while.

The WW2 sections of the book tended to pull me a bit more out of the narrative because I wasn’t sure if this was going to include some elements of the golem in that, which it didn’t, it just focused on one family in an attempt at survival in Occupied France.

So a good book and for me a lucky find in a charity shop.

[Jeremy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely book, not challenging in its writing style but certainly challenging in it’s subject. Imagine being a child of primary school age in the second world war and having to abandon your home in Nice, France to live in caves and woods hiding from the Germans (and Italians) because you were Jewish. It must have been terrifying. With your family all around you (plus an English woman) you live off what you can scavenge in the woods –berries, rabbits and so on – and the occasional “treat” brought to you by a friend from the nearby village (an open bottle of wine perhaps). Although it must seem like a game at first, constant fear of discovery with almost certain death hangs over you all the time. The adults try to keep life as pleasant as possible but you can’t keep a young boy and his home made spear still in the woods. In an attempt to disperse the tension, pass some time and keep the little one amused, one of the group tells the story of the Golem created in Prague in the 17th century to protect the Jews from their enemy. The Golem story is a real story handed down through generations of Jewish families and, to some degree, resonates in the situation they find themselves in in 1944. This is the end of the war and liberation is at hand.

I felt the fear, tension and distress of the hiding people and enjoyed the Golem tale – I’m sure I’ve read a book which picks up that tale after the Golem is “deactivated” – and found myself a little disturbed by events after the Golem tale is spun. I am constantly amazed at what we humans can do to each other and yet feel justified in what we do. The shame is, from what we see across the world today (60 years on) we have learnt nothing.