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The Compass
Thirteen-year-old Rudy and his friends routinely ride their bikes through their rundown neighborhood, shouting insults at their neighbor, Jacob, an elderly Jewish man out tending his garden. Then Rudy discovers that his mother has arranged for him to help Jacob tear down his fence that summer. When a sullen Rudy shows up at Jacobs door, its hard to know which of them is most wary of the other. Yet when Rudy sees the beautiful gardens Jacob and his neighbors, Frederick and Yoshito, have created in their backyards, he cant help but be impressed.
During the hot summer days that follow, fatherless Rudy, who wants to belong to something, toils in the sun with a shovel and an attitude, reluctant to accept even a glass of Fredericks iced tea. Gradually he learns that the older menJacob, from Germany; Frederick, an African American from the precivil rights movement South; and Yoshito, a Japanese American who spent three years in an internment camp during World War IIhave become like brothers, bonded through tragedy and the drive to transform barren dirt into something beautiful.
Frederick and Yoshito have made peace with their pasts and removed the fence between their yards, but Jacob is still haunted by what happened to his family at Auschwitz, memories retriggered by Rudy and his friends. As they work alongside each other, Jacob and Rudy do more than tear down a fence in this story of healing and hope that changes Rudys life in ways he never imagined.
During the hot summer days that follow, fatherless Rudy, who wants to belong to something, toils in the sun with a shovel and an attitude, reluctant to accept even a glass of Fredericks iced tea. Gradually he learns that the older menJacob, from Germany; Frederick, an African American from the precivil rights movement South; and Yoshito, a Japanese American who spent three years in an internment camp during World War IIhave become like brothers, bonded through tragedy and the drive to transform barren dirt into something beautiful.
Frederick and Yoshito have made peace with their pasts and removed the fence between their yards, but Jacob is still haunted by what happened to his family at Auschwitz, memories retriggered by Rudy and his friends. As they work alongside each other, Jacob and Rudy do more than tear down a fence in this story of healing and hope that changes Rudys life in ways he never imagined.
124 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 17, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 1, 2021
This book review is very special. "The Compass", by Deborah Radwan. To introduce and explain, Deborah is a Facebook friend living in California. We are both members of Facebook page 'Gordon Lightfoot Gold' .We have that interest, along with art, stained glass and art glass work, life and faith views, and we both have had that very rare experience.....seeing and that goose-bump 'feeling' presence of whales snorting at home in the sea.
Deb's novel, "The Compass", is a very deep, powerful story of compassion, forgiveness and ultimately peace and human love. It uncovers, racism, evil, and hate and explains the necessity of forgiveness from non-faith, and differing faiths, for humanity to survive. That aspect had great appeal to me. Certainly, one of the best I have read on these themes. In parts it reminded me of that great Colin Firth film "The Railwayman", and Harper Lee's classic "To kill a mockingbird", it came that close. It is as powerful as these. It is very well written, gripping, extremely moving, and a beautiful novel. It reaches the very depth of human compassion. I think it should be school reading - it would, when read go quite some way in making the future of our world a better peaceful place - for all.
13 year old Rudy and his friends routinely ride their bikes and shout insults to a local elderly Jew named Jacob. His mother arranges Rudy to work at Jacob's ....tearing down a fence, both real and figuratively.....here young Rudy sees a most beautifully kept garden, it opens his eyes, and he meets Jacob's kindred friends Frederick, who experienced severe racism at time of the Civil Rights movement, and Yoshito, a Japanese American whose family was interned in World War two, and a beautiful description of Yoshito's 'Japanese peace garden' is given....along with Jacob the sole family survivor of Auschwitz....both their fraternity and beautiful shared harmonious peaceful garden is vividly described...Rudy's life and his new fraternal friends are dramatically changed forever.....a brilliant read, very powerful emotions, and strongly recommended. My thank you here must go to Deb for her written words bringing such hope for humanity and peace into this harsh and cruel world. Strongly recommended reading to all. Should be the choice for school 6th Form. Thank you.
"The Compass" : ISBN 978-1-4697-0623-8 .
Deb's novel, "The Compass", is a very deep, powerful story of compassion, forgiveness and ultimately peace and human love. It uncovers, racism, evil, and hate and explains the necessity of forgiveness from non-faith, and differing faiths, for humanity to survive. That aspect had great appeal to me. Certainly, one of the best I have read on these themes. In parts it reminded me of that great Colin Firth film "The Railwayman", and Harper Lee's classic "To kill a mockingbird", it came that close. It is as powerful as these. It is very well written, gripping, extremely moving, and a beautiful novel. It reaches the very depth of human compassion. I think it should be school reading - it would, when read go quite some way in making the future of our world a better peaceful place - for all.
13 year old Rudy and his friends routinely ride their bikes and shout insults to a local elderly Jew named Jacob. His mother arranges Rudy to work at Jacob's ....tearing down a fence, both real and figuratively.....here young Rudy sees a most beautifully kept garden, it opens his eyes, and he meets Jacob's kindred friends Frederick, who experienced severe racism at time of the Civil Rights movement, and Yoshito, a Japanese American whose family was interned in World War two, and a beautiful description of Yoshito's 'Japanese peace garden' is given....along with Jacob the sole family survivor of Auschwitz....both their fraternity and beautiful shared harmonious peaceful garden is vividly described...Rudy's life and his new fraternal friends are dramatically changed forever.....a brilliant read, very powerful emotions, and strongly recommended. My thank you here must go to Deb for her written words bringing such hope for humanity and peace into this harsh and cruel world. Strongly recommended reading to all. Should be the choice for school 6th Form. Thank you.
"The Compass" : ISBN 978-1-4697-0623-8 .
April 27, 2021
All Time Favorite!
This is one of my all time favorite books I have read over my entire life of 63 years. The characters were so real. I felt like I knew them. This book was so enjoyable, I hated when it ended. Loved it!
This is one of my all time favorite books I have read over my entire life of 63 years. The characters were so real. I felt like I knew them. This book was so enjoyable, I hated when it ended. Loved it!
October 3, 2022
A beautiful story
A beautiful story about a boy's coming of age and adults remembering what it was like being young. Very well written with a captivating story.
A beautiful story about a boy's coming of age and adults remembering what it was like being young. Very well written with a captivating story.
October 8, 2022
A seemingly simple story....with a huge message. The impact of being forced to help out his older neighbours, though it starts out on a negative note and caution from all, ends up having a far-reaching positive impact on Rudy. The result changes the course of Rudy's life and greatly improves the quality of his mother's life.
This is one of those "moral of the story" stories but with many compound lessons to learn, certainly not just one.
Friendship has no boundaries and can't be defined or limited by age, experience, heritage, or race. Removing the fence between the backyards tears down many more walls than the physical barrier - far more than Rudy and his neighbours could have imagined at the beginning of the summer.
If you start reading this book and think it's too simple a story, keep at it, keep reading. You'll soon see the story unfolding, the characters evolving, and as it does, you'll become drawn into the narrative and witness the multi-faceted morals of the story.
This is one of those "moral of the story" stories but with many compound lessons to learn, certainly not just one.
Friendship has no boundaries and can't be defined or limited by age, experience, heritage, or race. Removing the fence between the backyards tears down many more walls than the physical barrier - far more than Rudy and his neighbours could have imagined at the beginning of the summer.
If you start reading this book and think it's too simple a story, keep at it, keep reading. You'll soon see the story unfolding, the characters evolving, and as it does, you'll become drawn into the narrative and witness the multi-faceted morals of the story.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews