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Art of a Jewish Woman: The True Story of How a Penniless Holocaust Escapee Became an Influential Modern Art Connoisseur
First she escaped the Holocaust and the poverty of the shtetl. After that, she moved in many worlds; In every one, she made her mark.
Felice Massie was a student in France, caught up in the horrors of Naziism when she was 20 years old. Cut off by the war from her family living in a small village in Poland, she shifted from one country to another attempting to find a home for herself and a means to rescue her parents, brother, and sister. As the Holocaust descended on her shtetl, she arrived penniless in America. Over time she raised a family and amassed one of foremost collections of American modern art. Her boldness and resilience became a beacon of hope and inspiration for others.
Felice Massie was a student in France, caught up in the horrors of Naziism when she was 20 years old. Cut off by the war from her family living in a small village in Poland, she shifted from one country to another attempting to find a home for herself and a means to rescue her parents, brother, and sister. As the Holocaust descended on her shtetl, she arrived penniless in America. Over time she raised a family and amassed one of foremost collections of American modern art. Her boldness and resilience became a beacon of hope and inspiration for others.
220 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews
December 11, 2015
Fascinating, but disappointing book. A son’s hagiography to his spoiled Jewish atheist mother. Probably as fictional as medieval lives of saints. All we know is what her son tells us and, perhaps unintentionally, he tells a lot. Her family sacrificed to give her an education few women enjoyed in the 1930s, and she resented them for it. On her own for ten years, she complained because she didn’t know how to wash her own underwear.
“I was never a materialist or afraid,” she claimed as she sponged off others or brazenly took food and services for which she did not pay. (We have only her word that she paid “everyone” back.) “From the first she felt a sense of self and dignity.” And entitlement. “She was a little princess … and all the time she didn’t feel special inside.” She was, of course, a socialist. Every bit the parasite she accused the capitalists of being.
“I just thought about what I was going to do on a particular day.” She stumbled through the Holocaust, by the grace of others, immigrating to safety in Palestine, then leaving it because she was bored of so many suitors, only to return home to Poland just has the Nazi storm broke. An uncle in Connecticut rescues her again (leaving her mother and brother to die in the holocaust; she raised money to evacuate her sister), though she sniffed “America was a land of money lenders.” “I survived the holocaust in luxury.”
“Later by virtue of fortune, spirit, intelligence and psychological acuity [she] became a source of fullness to others.” The reader must endure much analysis and back patting by her psychiatrist son. He terms her life the “actualization of a primordial eternal myth of return.” Whatever that means.
“She believes poverty exists because of corrupt governments and corrupt religion.” Not because of bloodsuckers like herself. “She firmly believed in the economy of sharing even though she liked to live well herself.”
She saw herself as “an exotic, beautiful, educated damsel in distress” who collected (only) abstract impressionist art. “Beauty will save the world.” “I only felt I liked the painting and wanted to have it.” (Notice: “have,” not earn or even buy; she married an accomplished cardiac specialist.) “I never did anything for the money.” It was just there to spend.
She refused analysis herself because the psychiatrists dressed so poorly, but “she … gave [young women] intelligent advice distilled with psychoanalytically framed interpretations of their psychological problems.” Making them twice as unfit for life as herself. “She hated criticism.”
What can I say? If her son intended to do a hatchet job on his mother, he couldn’t have been more effective. He, of course, injects himself and his wisdom as much as possible into the chronicle, recognizable as the unreliable narrator. Her story is a case study on what is wrong with western culture. From beginning to end, it was all about her. She was the center of the universe; the world owed her a living. Despite getting breaks and sacrifices by others, she stumbled onward—her eyes fixed on a lavish painting of herself as a young beauty which she hung over her bed.
As I read it, I debated whether it merited one star or four. I settled on two because the exposé seems so unintentional. Also, a few factual errors suggest the presence of more than a little fiction in her son’s glowing tribute. I have read many factual holocaust books; this isn’t one of them.
“At her core, Felice was lonely.” So sad.
“I was never a materialist or afraid,” she claimed as she sponged off others or brazenly took food and services for which she did not pay. (We have only her word that she paid “everyone” back.) “From the first she felt a sense of self and dignity.” And entitlement. “She was a little princess … and all the time she didn’t feel special inside.” She was, of course, a socialist. Every bit the parasite she accused the capitalists of being.
“I just thought about what I was going to do on a particular day.” She stumbled through the Holocaust, by the grace of others, immigrating to safety in Palestine, then leaving it because she was bored of so many suitors, only to return home to Poland just has the Nazi storm broke. An uncle in Connecticut rescues her again (leaving her mother and brother to die in the holocaust; she raised money to evacuate her sister), though she sniffed “America was a land of money lenders.” “I survived the holocaust in luxury.”
“Later by virtue of fortune, spirit, intelligence and psychological acuity [she] became a source of fullness to others.” The reader must endure much analysis and back patting by her psychiatrist son. He terms her life the “actualization of a primordial eternal myth of return.” Whatever that means.
“She believes poverty exists because of corrupt governments and corrupt religion.” Not because of bloodsuckers like herself. “She firmly believed in the economy of sharing even though she liked to live well herself.”
She saw herself as “an exotic, beautiful, educated damsel in distress” who collected (only) abstract impressionist art. “Beauty will save the world.” “I only felt I liked the painting and wanted to have it.” (Notice: “have,” not earn or even buy; she married an accomplished cardiac specialist.) “I never did anything for the money.” It was just there to spend.
She refused analysis herself because the psychiatrists dressed so poorly, but “she … gave [young women] intelligent advice distilled with psychoanalytically framed interpretations of their psychological problems.” Making them twice as unfit for life as herself. “She hated criticism.”
What can I say? If her son intended to do a hatchet job on his mother, he couldn’t have been more effective. He, of course, injects himself and his wisdom as much as possible into the chronicle, recognizable as the unreliable narrator. Her story is a case study on what is wrong with western culture. From beginning to end, it was all about her. She was the center of the universe; the world owed her a living. Despite getting breaks and sacrifices by others, she stumbled onward—her eyes fixed on a lavish painting of herself as a young beauty which she hung over her bed.
As I read it, I debated whether it merited one star or four. I settled on two because the exposé seems so unintentional. Also, a few factual errors suggest the presence of more than a little fiction in her son’s glowing tribute. I have read many factual holocaust books; this isn’t one of them.
“At her core, Felice was lonely.” So sad.
June 15, 2014
This book got so many good reviews and I wanted to like it. I just didn't connect with the main character and the story felt disjointed and confusing to me at times. It was a struggle to keep picking it up and reading it.
February 19, 2025
Full disclosure—I’m a relative. Massie tells a great story, just like his mama!!
May 6, 2015
I had every hope of falling in love with the story and characters and greatly respect the author, Henry Massie, for his pioneering work in the field of autism.
Replete with redundancies and incoherent transitions, I found this book both a challenge to read and to finish.
In my opinion, the protagonist depicted in Massies work presented as an unrealistic paragon of womanhood. Perhaps because I was unable to defer my sense of realism and logic (willing suspension of disbelief), I found her impossible to relate to or empathize with, making my reading of the story detached.
Replete with redundancies and incoherent transitions, I found this book both a challenge to read and to finish.
In my opinion, the protagonist depicted in Massies work presented as an unrealistic paragon of womanhood. Perhaps because I was unable to defer my sense of realism and logic (willing suspension of disbelief), I found her impossible to relate to or empathize with, making my reading of the story detached.
January 10, 2015
art of a Jewish woman
Frankly, I'm surprised I read as much of this book as I did. I kept waiting for the meat of it and was only served the junk food. This is not a book I would recommend to family or friends in my book club.........that would mean I would actually have to finish reading it to be able to discuss it.
Frankly, I'm surprised I read as much of this book as I did. I kept waiting for the meat of it and was only served the junk food. This is not a book I would recommend to family or friends in my book club.........that would mean I would actually have to finish reading it to be able to discuss it.
December 18, 2014
Fascinating life of an overcomer
Quick read about a woman who didn't let world events conquer her spirit. Could be an interesting biopic or based upon movie.
Quick read about a woman who didn't let world events conquer her spirit. Could be an interesting biopic or based upon movie.
February 13, 2017
The first part of the book was interesting, relating the struggles that the woman, Felice, had from childhood to young adulthood in pre-Nazi Poland and later Palestine. It seems that about midway, the story becomes a bit scattered and there are philosophical intellectual reasonings about art and humanity. The author, Felice's son, clearly loves and respects her but he also has experienced a sense of inadequacy and pain from his childhood. He states that at age 5 he would ask his mother "am I a good boy, mommy" over and over again because Felice would be having some sort of emotional and psychological issue related to general anger at humanity for atrocities committed by others. The truth is, Felice totally escaped the holocaust and was well educated early in her life and then was afforded the opportunity to pursue further education as a middle aged and older adult in America. She lived many places early in her life, albeit some were forced due to the political climate. She seems to have lived a life of luxury provided by her cardiologist husband, while, in her own words, never really connecting with him. The reader ends up with the sense of Felice as a somewhat spoiled, academic, self-important intellectual, who despises religion, thoughts of God, and middle class. She puts all,of her faith into her own created religion: beauty and aesthetics. She seems conceited and while bestowing benefits to some young women who give her adulation for her beauty and worldly wisdom, she has no time for others and dismisses them. While the holocaust was real and horrific, and the plight of the Jews has been tragic throughout history, this woman only imagined real terror. In the end she was lonely and experienced a sense of misery at her feelings of alienation. The writing does not flow well, but the author has made a valiant attempt to portray his mother in all of her imagined greatness.
June 23, 2017
This is the biography of a woman named Felice written by her son using stories he remembered and stories from friends and family. From a poor family in a village in Poland, Felice's family struggled to put her through school in Poland and later in France. When it appeared return to Poland was too dangerous, her family sent her to Palestine, but she made the decision to emigrate to America. While her mother and brother were killed by the Nazis, she made a life for herself as a wealthy art collector in the US.
Felice was a unique woman for her time. She was given opportunities that should have been out of reach for the daughter of a grain salesman. Throughout her life, even when she began to live a life of extreme materialism, she considered herself a socialist. She furthered her education, became a patron of abstract expressionism, and eventually a philanthropist. But she was by no means a saint. She felt a woman's ultimate purpose was to be beautiful and feminine. She didn't want female friends unless they were younger and she could control them. Like most people she wasn't perfect. It's easy to see how the absence of a mother's love, being torn from the woman who raised her for her first four years of life, and survivor's guilt all played a role in the woman she became.
The book was inconsistently written. It jumped back and forth in time; it jumped from Felice's story to the story of her adult son. It went into way to much detail about abstract expressionism for a biography and I love the art history. It just felt like the book wanted to do too many things, and could have used a tighter outline.
Felice was a unique woman for her time. She was given opportunities that should have been out of reach for the daughter of a grain salesman. Throughout her life, even when she began to live a life of extreme materialism, she considered herself a socialist. She furthered her education, became a patron of abstract expressionism, and eventually a philanthropist. But she was by no means a saint. She felt a woman's ultimate purpose was to be beautiful and feminine. She didn't want female friends unless they were younger and she could control them. Like most people she wasn't perfect. It's easy to see how the absence of a mother's love, being torn from the woman who raised her for her first four years of life, and survivor's guilt all played a role in the woman she became.
The book was inconsistently written. It jumped back and forth in time; it jumped from Felice's story to the story of her adult son. It went into way to much detail about abstract expressionism for a biography and I love the art history. It just felt like the book wanted to do too many things, and could have used a tighter outline.
July 1, 2022
This book is the story of Felice Massie, written by her son Henry. It tells of her life growing up in Poland, going to school in France, moving to Palestine and then to the USA. It’s a different perspective of the Holocaust than I’m used to reading with Felice making it out safely but her family being left behind. And all that she was a part of in this time in history is interesting, but the writing is a little dry. I enjoyed the earlier part of her life story, prior to her settling down in Missouri. It felt more personal and easier to connect with. The later part of her story felt more academic as it got into art analysis and a bit of psychiatry. As a whole, I found the story interesting but not gripping.
October 5, 2017
Poignant True Story
A wonderful tribute from a son who obviously loved and revered his extremely complicated mother. The life of Felice is nothing short of amazing. The telling of her story, her trials and her victories, her views and her philanthropy, so rare for any woman of her time, let alone a Jewish immigrant who lost part of her family to the horrors of the holocaust. I applaud Dr. Massie and his wife for telling the story of his most amazing mother. For one to put aside their own fears and share such personal information is courageous. A poignant story to be sure.
A wonderful tribute from a son who obviously loved and revered his extremely complicated mother. The life of Felice is nothing short of amazing. The telling of her story, her trials and her victories, her views and her philanthropy, so rare for any woman of her time, let alone a Jewish immigrant who lost part of her family to the horrors of the holocaust. I applaud Dr. Massie and his wife for telling the story of his most amazing mother. For one to put aside their own fears and share such personal information is courageous. A poignant story to be sure.
April 6, 2020
Henry Massie wrote this book to document his mother's life. His mom was a fascinating woman who lived through so many amazing events and times from living in what was then Poland, to Paris, and to Israel during the Holocaust and the time around the Holocaust to becoming a collector of modern art in the USA.
Since this book is to document his mother's life, in many places it is not story-like and can be a bit dry at times. However, the time and memories it covers is a priceless artifact for historians, the family, and modern art lovers.
Since this book is to document his mother's life, in many places it is not story-like and can be a bit dry at times. However, the time and memories it covers is a priceless artifact for historians, the family, and modern art lovers.
November 19, 2022
Even though this is written by her son, the first half of the book, although interesting, felt lifeless. Only when he gave a direct quote from her did I "feel" her. He told a lot of things, but didn't make me feel much. Once he was born, and his emotions and observations could come through, the book became livelier. She was a vivacious woman but I know that more from him stating it than feeling it myself.
October 15, 2016
A son's story of his mother's life from a child in Poland to Paris and beyond, landing in the US. A Jew in Poland in the years leading up to the WWI, she was able to get educated and escape the worst of the war though she still bore scars from the persecution of her family still left in Poland. She eventually married a good man who provided well in, living in St. Louis, became a well-know woman who had developed expertise in modern art. But she could never escape the past which was always in her mind and affected her life. The son wrote the story based on his mother's reminiscences and that story is fascinating. However, too much time is spent on her son's own thoughts and interpretations of her life which was redundant and took away from the story of his mother. If her story was not as interesting as it was, I would not have continued to read the book as the style of writing was not compelling me to read on. As it was, I skimmed over much of the last half just to read the grit of Felice's life.
June 30, 2020
As I read this book, the quote "chance favors the prepared mind" kept coming back to me. Because Felice was well educated and spoke several languages she managed to always land on her feet during her early years living in various locations while trying to settle down. She was able to find work during her many travels and meet well connected people who were able to help her find work with individuals in a higher social station than she was. Although she managed to come to America, thereby escaping the horrors of WW2 and the tragedy it brought to Jews and Jewish communities, Felice struggled with depression and nightmares caused by the realization of what her parents and siblings had gone through by staying in Poland. Felice's life story is one of persistence, discipline and ultimately hope.
March 9, 2021
This may have been a true story but it was told in such a way that I really struggled to find any meaning in it. The main protagonist is spoilt and selfish and has no idea how lucky she is. I didn't like her and as a result I didn't care enough about her to continue. I dnfed at 25%. One of those free kindle books that are free for a reason! Not for me at all I'm afraid.
June 7, 2017
Good read
Kept my attention, mostly in the first part. I love history and hearing about those involved in it. I knew that the story would eventually turn more focused on the one woman and her love of art, so I got what I expected.
Kept my attention, mostly in the first part. I love history and hearing about those involved in it. I knew that the story would eventually turn more focused on the one woman and her love of art, so I got what I expected.
August 29, 2017
The story of her activities in Palestine and Poland was an interesting story but following her arrival in the United States (the majority of the book) was not nearly as engaging and hard to read. It did not follow a logical order in parts and the voice became confusing at times.
April 5, 2018
Felice was an interesting woman, but I found the arrangement of the timeline in this book to be disorienting at times. I wanted more about everything--more details, more backstory about current happenings within the story. I can't hate it, but I can't say it's my new favorite, either.
April 12, 2020
My Hero
A realist, a survivor, a woman ahead of her time. Oh how I would have loved to have met her! And I'm just across the river from where she was her happiest. I hope you have signings and lectures.
A realist, a survivor, a woman ahead of her time. Oh how I would have loved to have met her! And I'm just across the river from where she was her happiest. I hope you have signings and lectures.
January 6, 2021
Art of a Jewish Woman
Difficult to read at times. Hadn’t really ever thought about how the Holocaust affected future generations of survivors. She was a strong woman who dealt with some horrific things during her life.
Difficult to read at times. Hadn’t really ever thought about how the Holocaust affected future generations of survivors. She was a strong woman who dealt with some horrific things during her life.
January 30, 2024
An Interesting Biography
I enjoyed learning about the life of this vivacious, confident woman. The book is written well enough and includes many interesting, historical pieces of information.
I enjoyed learning about the life of this vivacious, confident woman. The book is written well enough and includes many interesting, historical pieces of information.
December 2, 2017
I wanted to like this book more that I did. The subject matter was fascinating but I found the delivery to be slow and hard to get through.
June 2, 2018
This was a slow read and difficult to get into it. I didn't complete it..
May 5, 2019
Excellent...a must read.
May 21, 2019
I appreciated the historical backgrounds of each place Felice lived.
November 22, 2021
Interesting story, but parts were not well developed and other parts droned on. Also, not tremendously well written. I would give 2.5 stars, if possible
April 17, 2017
Would have loved to have met this woman. Loved her story and this book.
March 24, 2015
This story of a beautiful brilliant woman who manages to escape from the holocaust in Poland....and arrives in the United States....without money or the English language. With the help of her uncles and the advantages of having studied in Paris,knowing several languages, and being a dentist as well as being the kind of woman she is, she gets her start in the new country as a governess for the spoiled daughter of the head of Yale. In this home of a learned man, she begins to be herself. Watching her learn and grow and become the exceptional woman is an amazing learning experience. Her story is the story of the Jewish people continuously being persecuted and looking for their own way to survive in the hostile world around.
Felice Ozerovicz Massie conquers her surroundings time and again and finds her true love in Dr.Edward Massie, with whom she builds her home and family in St. Louis. She lives with the horrors of the Holocaust in which her mother and brother died....and her home town was wiped out. All this is under the surface while she brings her long-lost father home to her after the release of the inmates of the concentration camps. The story of her sons growing up under her influence and that of their father, a doctor, is here for the reader. Felice becomes entranced with the new art in the US and makes her own world into one of beauty and art. Enjoyable and elucidating.
Felice Ozerovicz Massie conquers her surroundings time and again and finds her true love in Dr.Edward Massie, with whom she builds her home and family in St. Louis. She lives with the horrors of the Holocaust in which her mother and brother died....and her home town was wiped out. All this is under the surface while she brings her long-lost father home to her after the release of the inmates of the concentration camps. The story of her sons growing up under her influence and that of their father, a doctor, is here for the reader. Felice becomes entranced with the new art in the US and makes her own world into one of beauty and art. Enjoyable and elucidating.
November 27, 2014
Fegele, Litttle Bird, flew from harm's way without knowing she was doing so. Her life is marked with remarkable twists of fate (or miraculous interventions?) that enable her to survive the attempted extermination of her people and ultimately to leave her mark in the world. The book is a very personal story about the author's mother, but laced with history and streams of important people, which at one point I felt was name-dropping. Henry Massie is not a novelist, so don't expect that kind of book. But do read this book if you want insight into the personal lives of "ordinary people" during one of the saddest periods in history. Felipe is a woman to be pitied, yes, but more so to be admired and respected.
I bogged down in the historical bits at the end of the book, but I have intention to go back and read those as well. The coincidences of how one person's choices affect future events is not to be taken lightly.
Another book in this genre would be The Snoring Bird, by Bernd Heinrich, which is another very rich read.
I bogged down in the historical bits at the end of the book, but I have intention to go back and read those as well. The coincidences of how one person's choices affect future events is not to be taken lightly.
Another book in this genre would be The Snoring Bird, by Bernd Heinrich, which is another very rich read.
November 18, 2015
Compelling tribute
Dr. Massive must be a dedicated, loving son. He obviously paid close attention to his mother's life story. I can just picture him listening at her feet and then maybe going outside to act out some of the compelling scenes or going over them in his young mind.
Here he has offered a fitting tribute to his mother. I really appreciate all these first or second hand stories of the World War II era. And this is an especially well written presentation with excellent character and scene development. This story provides us with a realistic and personal story of the inhumane treatment of the Jewish people - a treatment that continues to this day in the form of Radical Islam, another, even more barbarous, insidious form of modern day fascism.
Kudos to Henry Massie for this enlightening, well written treasure of one woman's struggle and success against overwhelming odds.
Dr. Massive must be a dedicated, loving son. He obviously paid close attention to his mother's life story. I can just picture him listening at her feet and then maybe going outside to act out some of the compelling scenes or going over them in his young mind.
Here he has offered a fitting tribute to his mother. I really appreciate all these first or second hand stories of the World War II era. And this is an especially well written presentation with excellent character and scene development. This story provides us with a realistic and personal story of the inhumane treatment of the Jewish people - a treatment that continues to this day in the form of Radical Islam, another, even more barbarous, insidious form of modern day fascism.
Kudos to Henry Massie for this enlightening, well written treasure of one woman's struggle and success against overwhelming odds.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews