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Hiding Places: A Father and His Sons Retrace Their Family's Escape from the Holocaust
Growing up in 1950s Connecticut, author Daniel Asa Rose had always felt alienated from his Jewish roots. Though his mother, a Holocaust survivor, told him stories of the “Not-sees,” these villains seemed as unreal to him as the ogres from his fairy-tale books. Safeguarded by American suburbia, there seemed little need to conjure up horrific stories from the past.
Decades later, feeling unmoored by a painful divorce, Rose takes his two young boys on a quest to reclaim this forgotten history. Arriving in Belgium, equipped only with a tattered diary written by his uncle, they seek out the barns, wine cellars, brothels, and other shadowy places where their relatives hid from the Nazis almost fifty years before. Along the way, Rose struggles to explain the realities of the Holocaust to his impressionable yet precocious sons. Combining childhood flashbacks, family lore, and absorbing travel adventures, this is a story of one family’s triumphant reconnection to their heritage.
Decades later, feeling unmoored by a painful divorce, Rose takes his two young boys on a quest to reclaim this forgotten history. Arriving in Belgium, equipped only with a tattered diary written by his uncle, they seek out the barns, wine cellars, brothels, and other shadowy places where their relatives hid from the Nazis almost fifty years before. Along the way, Rose struggles to explain the realities of the Holocaust to his impressionable yet precocious sons. Combining childhood flashbacks, family lore, and absorbing travel adventures, this is a story of one family’s triumphant reconnection to their heritage.
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
86 people want to read
About the author
Daniel Asa Rose
9 books123 followersAuthor of "LARRY'S KIDNEY: Being the True Story of How I Found Myself in China With my Black Sheep Cousin and his Mail-Order Bride, Skirting the Law to Get Him a Transplant ... and Save His Life" (Morrow). Called A satisfying, hysterical page-turner that will captivate fans of travel writing and family narratives, with special interest for anyone who's helped a love one through serious illness. Publishers Weekly (starred review) "
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 18, 2024
I just... don't get it.
I picked up this book really liking the premise: a father's journey with his sons to retrace their ancestors' exodus from Europe during WWII altogether finding themselves and some sort of equilibrium after a divorce. I was more interested in the historical part, but you can't go wrong with some personalization and authorial connectedness to really bring it home.
Well, turns out you can go wrong.
The book started good enough with a description of Rose and his children on the plane flying to Paris, giving some background information on why they were taking the trip in the first place and what underlying feelings/issues besides the obvious historical. But that's about where the 'good' of this book ends.
First of all, it was boring. Almost all chapters alternate between 'present' of the family's journey in Europe and the past, where Rose was growing up in the US. But almost all of the past chapters felt like fluff required by the editor to make the book meet its page quota. They weren't necessary at best, and took away from the potential lessons this book could have taught us at worst. A lot of the flashbacks didn't make sense in the grand scheme of the storyline.
Secondly, I don't buy any of the dialogue between Rose and his sons. Sure, he may have taken some creative license when recalling the memories that inspired this book, but you tell me the last time a 7 year old boy and a 12 year old boy argued about the scent their mother wears (Jewels by Elizabeth Taylor or Precious Stones by Jaclyn Smith) - yes this is an argument that spans multiple chapters, a 12 year old boy describes himself as a "Roquefort", or a 7 year old boy ordering a beer because it is "not as sweet as Dekonick." The further it went along, the more I got annoyed by it because it seemed like the author was just making it up as it went along... and not even believably. Not to mention Rose and his sons seem like those American tourists that people hate because he lets his kids run rampant through nice restaurants, sleep in train aisles, randomly speak (many times inappropriately) with other people about incredibly personal subjects, curse, and fight with each other all without batting an eyelash. You, sir, are what give Americans a bad name overseas.
Third, there was a lot of random sexual conversations, descriptions, and unnecessary anecdotes including from Rose's POV and from his two boys. It was disturbing because few, if any, were actually related to the story. They were peppered in for page count and shock value. I'm sorry but I don't want to read about how you gave your 12 year old son a version of the birds and the bees talk interspersed with descriptions, memories, and history of the Holocaust. It took away from any sort of powerful point the author was trying to drive home because, all of a sudden, the book turned into high school locker room talk, demeaning and inappropriate.
Definitely skip this one. The premise on the inside flap is the best part about it.
I picked up this book really liking the premise: a father's journey with his sons to retrace their ancestors' exodus from Europe during WWII altogether finding themselves and some sort of equilibrium after a divorce. I was more interested in the historical part, but you can't go wrong with some personalization and authorial connectedness to really bring it home.
Well, turns out you can go wrong.
The book started good enough with a description of Rose and his children on the plane flying to Paris, giving some background information on why they were taking the trip in the first place and what underlying feelings/issues besides the obvious historical. But that's about where the 'good' of this book ends.
First of all, it was boring. Almost all chapters alternate between 'present' of the family's journey in Europe and the past, where Rose was growing up in the US. But almost all of the past chapters felt like fluff required by the editor to make the book meet its page quota. They weren't necessary at best, and took away from the potential lessons this book could have taught us at worst. A lot of the flashbacks didn't make sense in the grand scheme of the storyline.
Secondly, I don't buy any of the dialogue between Rose and his sons. Sure, he may have taken some creative license when recalling the memories that inspired this book, but you tell me the last time a 7 year old boy and a 12 year old boy argued about the scent their mother wears (Jewels by Elizabeth Taylor or Precious Stones by Jaclyn Smith) - yes this is an argument that spans multiple chapters, a 12 year old boy describes himself as a "Roquefort", or a 7 year old boy ordering a beer because it is "not as sweet as Dekonick." The further it went along, the more I got annoyed by it because it seemed like the author was just making it up as it went along... and not even believably. Not to mention Rose and his sons seem like those American tourists that people hate because he lets his kids run rampant through nice restaurants, sleep in train aisles, randomly speak (many times inappropriately) with other people about incredibly personal subjects, curse, and fight with each other all without batting an eyelash. You, sir, are what give Americans a bad name overseas.
Third, there was a lot of random sexual conversations, descriptions, and unnecessary anecdotes including from Rose's POV and from his two boys. It was disturbing because few, if any, were actually related to the story. They were peppered in for page count and shock value. I'm sorry but I don't want to read about how you gave your 12 year old son a version of the birds and the bees talk interspersed with descriptions, memories, and history of the Holocaust. It took away from any sort of powerful point the author was trying to drive home because, all of a sudden, the book turned into high school locker room talk, demeaning and inappropriate.
Definitely skip this one. The premise on the inside flap is the best part about it.
January 3, 2015
I wanted to like this book because it fits in with the whole Jewish genealogy theme that I am usually interested in, but I just couldn't. I read about half and then stopped. It might have made a good essay, but not a whole book.
January 8, 2019
a little ho, lotta hmmm, kinda glad when I was done.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews