No Jews Live Here

by John Lorinc

A stolen sign, ‘No Jews Live Here,’ kept John Lorinc’s Hungarian Jewish family alive during the Holocaust.


From pre-war Budapest to post-war Toronto, journalist John Lorinc unspools four generations of his Hungarian Jewish family's journey through the Holocaust, the 1956 Revolution, and finally exodus from a country that can't rid itself of its antisemitic demons.


This braided saga centers on the writer's eccentric and defiant grandmother, a consummate survivor who, with her love of flashy jewelry and her vicious tongue, was best appreciated from afar. Lorinc also traces the stories of both his grandfathers and his father, all of whom fell victim, in different ways, to the Nazis’ genocidal campaign to rid Europe of Jews.


This is a deeply reported but profoundly human telling of a vile part of history, told through Lorinc’s distinctively astute and compassionate consideration of how cities and cultures work. Set against the complicated and poorly understood background of Hungary's Jewish community, No Jews Live Here is about family stories, and how the narratives of our lives are shaped by our times and historical forces over which we have no control.

Genres: History

248 pages, Paperback

Published November 12, 2024

About the author

John Lorinc is an award-winning journalist who has contributed to Toronto Life, The Globe and Mail, National Post, Saturday Night, Report on Business, and Quill & Quire, among other publications, and was the editor of The Ward Uncovered: The Archaeology of Everyday Life (Coach House Books, 2018) and The Ward: The Life and Loss of Toronto's First Immigrant Neighbourhood (Coach House Books, 2015). He has written extensively on amalgamation, education, sprawl, and other city issues. He is the recipient of two National Magazine Awards for his coverage of urban affairs.

Reviews

[Zehava (Joyce) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an absolutely fascinating story about the author’s ancestors and their experiences in Hungary, before after and during the war. The characters, especially his maternal grandmother Ilona, absolutely jump off of the page in their complexity. I know very little about the Hungarian Jewish experience so I found this book really illuminating. I have no idea how I found out about this book but I’m so glad I did and that I took the time to seek out and purchase this book bc is not available at any libraries or Libby.

[Sonya Di Sclafani · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I could write a book, I would love it to read like this one. A perfect balance of the personal and history, smoothly written and well researched.

[Janilyn Kocher · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing read about the author’s spelunking adventure of his family’s Hungarian Jewish story. Framed against the backdrop of Hungarian history, I found this to be an enlightening part of the story since I had scant knowledge of it. Lorin does a good job of detailing Hungarian history during the 20th century. I thought Ilona was not only a survivor but also very resourceful. It’s quite the read!
Thanks to Edelweiss and Coach House Books for the advance copy.