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House on Endless Waters
For fans of The Invisible Bridge and The History of Love, a lyrical and exquisitely moving novel about a writer who embarks on a transformative journey in Amsterdam, where he discovers the shocking truth about his mother’s wartime experience—unearthing a remarkable story that becomes the subject of his magnum opus.
At the behest of his agent, renowned author Yoel Blum reluctantly agrees to visit his birthplace of Amsterdam to meet with his Dutch publisher, despite promising his late mother that he would never return to that city. While touring the Jewish Museum with his wife, Yoel stumbles upon a looping reel of photos offering a glimpse of pre-war Dutch Jewish life, and is astonished to see the youthful face of his beloved mother staring back at him, posing with her husband, Yoel’s older sister, Nettie…and an infant he doesn’t recognize.
This unsettling discovery launches him into a fervent search for the truth, revealing Amsterdam’s dark wartime history and the underground networks which hid Jewish children away from danger—but at a cost. The deeper into the past Yoel digs, the better he understands his mother’s silence, and the more urgent the question that has unconsciously haunted him for a lifetime—Who am I?—becomes. Evocative, insightful, and deeply resonant, House on Endless Waters beautifully illustrates the complex nature of identity and belonging, and the inextricability of past and present.
At the behest of his agent, renowned author Yoel Blum reluctantly agrees to visit his birthplace of Amsterdam to meet with his Dutch publisher, despite promising his late mother that he would never return to that city. While touring the Jewish Museum with his wife, Yoel stumbles upon a looping reel of photos offering a glimpse of pre-war Dutch Jewish life, and is astonished to see the youthful face of his beloved mother staring back at him, posing with her husband, Yoel’s older sister, Nettie…and an infant he doesn’t recognize.
This unsettling discovery launches him into a fervent search for the truth, revealing Amsterdam’s dark wartime history and the underground networks which hid Jewish children away from danger—but at a cost. The deeper into the past Yoel digs, the better he understands his mother’s silence, and the more urgent the question that has unconsciously haunted him for a lifetime—Who am I?—becomes. Evocative, insightful, and deeply resonant, House on Endless Waters beautifully illustrates the complex nature of identity and belonging, and the inextricability of past and present.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 629 reviews
December 28, 2019
3.5 stars rounded up
This is one of those books that I thought I would love more than I did. I am a fervent reader of holocaust stories because I believe in my heart and soul that it’s something we need to never forget, as horrific as it was. We need to continually remind ourselves and each other, and continue to honor those who were killed and those who survived. It pains me not to give this book a higher rating because like all Holocaust stories, it is just so important.
It just took me a long while to connect emotionally with Yoel Blum, a famous Israeli writer who in spite of his dying mother’s wish that he never go back to Amsterdam, goes back. At first it’s to promote a book, but then he returns to find his past, one that has been kept from him. I found him devoid of emotional connection to others around him and from them to him, except he did have a wonderful relationship with one of his grandsons as a young child and that relationship is important in these later years. It’s an introspective story which I always enjoy, but it moved somewhat slowly.
It’s skillfully written, a story within a story, a novel within a novel, the present and the past blended perfectly in chapters, in paragraphs. The author has done a wonderful job of presenting another facet of the Holocaust, how Jewish children were hidden and saved from the roundup of Jews in Amsterdam to the camps, some of them returned to their families and some not. In the end I did feel Yoel’s emotion about what he discovers about himself and perhaps that lack of it in the earlier parts of the novel are because he doesn’t really know who he is. I spite of my misgivings about the pace, I have to round this up to 4 stars. I surmised early on what we aren’t told until close to the end, but it was nonetheless moving.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Atria through NetGalley.
This is one of those books that I thought I would love more than I did. I am a fervent reader of holocaust stories because I believe in my heart and soul that it’s something we need to never forget, as horrific as it was. We need to continually remind ourselves and each other, and continue to honor those who were killed and those who survived. It pains me not to give this book a higher rating because like all Holocaust stories, it is just so important.
It just took me a long while to connect emotionally with Yoel Blum, a famous Israeli writer who in spite of his dying mother’s wish that he never go back to Amsterdam, goes back. At first it’s to promote a book, but then he returns to find his past, one that has been kept from him. I found him devoid of emotional connection to others around him and from them to him, except he did have a wonderful relationship with one of his grandsons as a young child and that relationship is important in these later years. It’s an introspective story which I always enjoy, but it moved somewhat slowly.
It’s skillfully written, a story within a story, a novel within a novel, the present and the past blended perfectly in chapters, in paragraphs. The author has done a wonderful job of presenting another facet of the Holocaust, how Jewish children were hidden and saved from the roundup of Jews in Amsterdam to the camps, some of them returned to their families and some not. In the end I did feel Yoel’s emotion about what he discovers about himself and perhaps that lack of it in the earlier parts of the novel are because he doesn’t really know who he is. I spite of my misgivings about the pace, I have to round this up to 4 stars. I surmised early on what we aren’t told until close to the end, but it was nonetheless moving.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Atria through NetGalley.
October 15, 2019
I selected this book as I knew little about Amsterdam and even less about what went on in the Netherlands during WWII. I did get some good insight on those topics, but what turned out to be even better was the unexpected incredible slice of life that actually was the focus of the novel.
Yoel Blum is a famous Jewish novelist. For reasons unclear to him, his mother Sonia, now dead, told him never to return to his birthplace, Amsterdam, where he spent his first couple of years before relocating to Israel with his mother and older sister Nettie. Many years later, he reluctantly does return to Amsterdam at the insistence of his publisher for the sake of a book tour. With that trip and finally some information from his sister he becomes inspired to search out his family history, especially during the time of WWII when he was a baby. He feels he is on the precipice of writing the best novel of his life. And that novel will revolve around his search for self.
House on Endless Waters is a magnificent character study of Yoel Blum. As he searches for the truth as to who he is and what really happened all those years ago, he learns about himself and he learns about love--how to feel it, how to live it, and how to give it. This is a novel that spends a lot of time with introspection, which for the most part I enjoyed. Yoel takes snippets of information that he obtained from Nettie, adds his observations, and lets it all marinate. He then weaves his perceptions into a beautiful account of how history may have played out all those years ago. During his journey, Yoel finds new relationships, some with people he has known for years, including himself, and a rejuvenation of his life.
The writing is phenomenal. The prose is outstanding and projects beautiful imagery with a minimum of words. The layout of the storyline is truly unique. The usual alternating chapters moving back and forth in time are not the style here. We have a paragraph or even several pages of Yoel’s thoughts, then a transfer to Amsterdam in the 1940s that is the novel Yoel is piecing together, then to images of present day Amsterdam, and so forth. It sounds like it could be a confusing mess, but asterisks separate the different viewpoints, and the flow is amazingly seamless. I was astounded to learn the book is a translation. The translator is obviously an extraordinary writer herself and deserves much credit for her accomplishment. I would be shocked if anything was lost in translation—the book is that moving.
I do have to reluctantly deduct a star because of the slower pace. This was especially noticeable before I connected with Yoel. Once that happened, the pace picked up nicely. I must warn you though that this is a slow burn. Be in the mood to take your time and savor the story and the images.
I strongly recommend House on Endless Waters to all fans of historical fiction, character-driven stories, and literary fiction. This book is special. I hope people discover it.
Many thanks to Net Galley, Atria Books (you rarely disappoint me, Atria), and Emuna Elon for an ARC of this book. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.
Yoel Blum is a famous Jewish novelist. For reasons unclear to him, his mother Sonia, now dead, told him never to return to his birthplace, Amsterdam, where he spent his first couple of years before relocating to Israel with his mother and older sister Nettie. Many years later, he reluctantly does return to Amsterdam at the insistence of his publisher for the sake of a book tour. With that trip and finally some information from his sister he becomes inspired to search out his family history, especially during the time of WWII when he was a baby. He feels he is on the precipice of writing the best novel of his life. And that novel will revolve around his search for self.
House on Endless Waters is a magnificent character study of Yoel Blum. As he searches for the truth as to who he is and what really happened all those years ago, he learns about himself and he learns about love--how to feel it, how to live it, and how to give it. This is a novel that spends a lot of time with introspection, which for the most part I enjoyed. Yoel takes snippets of information that he obtained from Nettie, adds his observations, and lets it all marinate. He then weaves his perceptions into a beautiful account of how history may have played out all those years ago. During his journey, Yoel finds new relationships, some with people he has known for years, including himself, and a rejuvenation of his life.
The writing is phenomenal. The prose is outstanding and projects beautiful imagery with a minimum of words. The layout of the storyline is truly unique. The usual alternating chapters moving back and forth in time are not the style here. We have a paragraph or even several pages of Yoel’s thoughts, then a transfer to Amsterdam in the 1940s that is the novel Yoel is piecing together, then to images of present day Amsterdam, and so forth. It sounds like it could be a confusing mess, but asterisks separate the different viewpoints, and the flow is amazingly seamless. I was astounded to learn the book is a translation. The translator is obviously an extraordinary writer herself and deserves much credit for her accomplishment. I would be shocked if anything was lost in translation—the book is that moving.
I do have to reluctantly deduct a star because of the slower pace. This was especially noticeable before I connected with Yoel. Once that happened, the pace picked up nicely. I must warn you though that this is a slow burn. Be in the mood to take your time and savor the story and the images.
I strongly recommend House on Endless Waters to all fans of historical fiction, character-driven stories, and literary fiction. This book is special. I hope people discover it.
Many thanks to Net Galley, Atria Books (you rarely disappoint me, Atria), and Emuna Elon for an ARC of this book. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.
December 27, 2019
Just when you think you might have read every story possible about the treatment of Jews during World War II, some remarkably talented author will produce a book that addresses a new and different experience. Then you realize the variations are endless, myriad, just like the souls caught up in the horrors of the Holocaust, because when 11 million people die, there are 11 million stories that could be told.
In Emuna Elon’s novel, House on Endless Waters, Yoel Blum is an Israeli writer whose publisher sends him to The Netherlands to promote his latest release. Although his mother was Dutch, she always made him promise that he would never go there, so he feels a bit of guilt stepping off the plane into a country that is his birthplace but has always been forbidden to him. What he discovers in Amsterdam is that his mother had another life before the war than the one he knows of, and that much of what he has believed all of his life is not entirely true.
The story is told in two timelines, not an unusual device, but Elon does it is what seemed to me a very unique way. The timelines run almost parallel to one another, so that we might be in the past with Sonia and in the present with Yoel in the same paragraph. It sounds as if it might be confusing, but I did not find it to be at all. In fact, it made the two characters seem more closely connected and gave the book a flow that is often missing in a dual timeline story that bounces between the two stories from chapter to chapter.
Besides being deftly written, this story was entirely engaging. There were moments in which I found myself breathing shallow breaths in anticipation of the next event. Sometimes familiarity with the history of the period can make the most shocking cruelties seem all too commonplace, but Elon knows exactly how to make you feel, rather than just know, what is occuring. She never overplays her hand, rather she allows it to sneak up on you, just as it did on those who were engulfed in it.
In the end, the novel raises many important questions. Some of them have been asked over and over again, without getting any closer to an answer. Why did no one see where this could go? Why did Jewish leaders comply so readily with each step in the process, right up to the bitter end? What would you do if you found yourself in this situation? To what extent would you go to save your child? Who would you sacrifice to protect yourself and yours?
Whatever was, was. Those waters have already flowed onward. Sonia tells Yoel early on. But what we discover, with Yoel, is that the waters that have flowed have changed the terrain as they passed. The past informs the future. We are altered by it, and everyone touched by this becomes a different person than they would otherwise have been. Not all waters are cleansing.
Thanks to Atria Books and Emuna Elon for allowing me an advanced copy of this marvelous book.
In Emuna Elon’s novel, House on Endless Waters, Yoel Blum is an Israeli writer whose publisher sends him to The Netherlands to promote his latest release. Although his mother was Dutch, she always made him promise that he would never go there, so he feels a bit of guilt stepping off the plane into a country that is his birthplace but has always been forbidden to him. What he discovers in Amsterdam is that his mother had another life before the war than the one he knows of, and that much of what he has believed all of his life is not entirely true.
The story is told in two timelines, not an unusual device, but Elon does it is what seemed to me a very unique way. The timelines run almost parallel to one another, so that we might be in the past with Sonia and in the present with Yoel in the same paragraph. It sounds as if it might be confusing, but I did not find it to be at all. In fact, it made the two characters seem more closely connected and gave the book a flow that is often missing in a dual timeline story that bounces between the two stories from chapter to chapter.
Besides being deftly written, this story was entirely engaging. There were moments in which I found myself breathing shallow breaths in anticipation of the next event. Sometimes familiarity with the history of the period can make the most shocking cruelties seem all too commonplace, but Elon knows exactly how to make you feel, rather than just know, what is occuring. She never overplays her hand, rather she allows it to sneak up on you, just as it did on those who were engulfed in it.
In the end, the novel raises many important questions. Some of them have been asked over and over again, without getting any closer to an answer. Why did no one see where this could go? Why did Jewish leaders comply so readily with each step in the process, right up to the bitter end? What would you do if you found yourself in this situation? To what extent would you go to save your child? Who would you sacrifice to protect yourself and yours?
Whatever was, was. Those waters have already flowed onward. Sonia tells Yoel early on. But what we discover, with Yoel, is that the waters that have flowed have changed the terrain as they passed. The past informs the future. We are altered by it, and everyone touched by this becomes a different person than they would otherwise have been. Not all waters are cleansing.
Thanks to Atria Books and Emuna Elon for allowing me an advanced copy of this marvelous book.
January 30, 2020
A book within a book, sometimes can be confusing. Reading this i found it worked better in book form, might be confusing on audio. Until I read, Dutch girl, my knowledge of the Holocaust I that country, was skim. This book filled in some of the blanks in my knowledge.
An author travels to Denmark to uncover the secret of his family. There as he unveils his own past, he places it in the context of a new novel. Interesting structure, and I liked traveling along, as he described the present Holland and his forays into the past. The story he is writing is harrowing as young mothers, attempt everything to keep their children safe. It relatively easy at one point in the book, to guess the secret, but I was still compelled to read to the end.
An author travels to Denmark to uncover the secret of his family. There as he unveils his own past, he places it in the context of a new novel. Interesting structure, and I liked traveling along, as he described the present Holland and his forays into the past. The story he is writing is harrowing as young mothers, attempt everything to keep their children safe. It relatively easy at one point in the book, to guess the secret, but I was still compelled to read to the end.
February 28, 2020
*Excellent* read!!!
I was ‘stumped’ - right away when prominent Israeli novelist, Yoel Blum, was giving a book reading in Amsterdam.
A person in the audience said to him,
“You say you’re Israeli ... but you were born in Amsterdam" -- "you’re Dutch”...
Blum was ‘shocked’... ( I felt the shock too - as if I was sitting in that room: it was sooo real!)...
Never, ever, had ‘anything’ ever been publicly written about Blum being born in Amsterdam. He was a successful well-known author: an Israeli: period.
I could feel Yoel Blum
pause...the audience’s whispers, the quiet speaking rippling through the room, the looks of “oh my”!
I, too, was hanging by a thread to see how Blum was going to respond.
And that’s how this book kicked my interest into gear!
We take a journey... a powerful fascinating one through the streets of Amsterdam -both in the past and the present....
all the while, Blum is gathering material… doing research for a novel he wants to write about his life.
There were family secrets- childhood stories - and it was
horrifying imagining what happened to the Jews during the Nazi occupation —
but this book is very different from other WWII - Holocaust stories I’ve read.
It has that book-within- a book feeling. Just the main character being an author was fascinating to me: a famous one - with a past of things he didn’t even know about himself.
There are moments when I felt such sorrow -
( especially for a character named Sonia) ....
There are other moments that were just so enlivening -when walking through the streets of Amsterdam.
Plus our eyes are awaken to the history of what happened during world war two in the Netherlands to Jewish children.
I enjoyed equally the past and present time stories.
Emuna Elon wrote a terrific debut — Beautiful, lyrical, vibrant, mysterious, ( wartime history but crafted very different than many other books I have read), and at every step of the way, from start to finish -a running theme examines identity and belonging.
I was especially wondering how children develop their sense of self worth -a positive sense of who they are - when other kids bully them and their parents keep hidden information from them.
The book cover and title gorgeous... but I wondered about the title for a long time:
It’s actually ‘perfect’.
The title is aimed to evoke the idea of a series of reflections that, like a mirror to history, offers clues to a Blum’s identity - and the circumstances that brought him to Israel.
“He stands above the water of the canal, above his own upside-down reflection between upside-down buildings and upside-down trams and upside-down clouds, he stands in time between water and water in between infinity and infinity and strives with all his might to look at what is hidden, at what isn’t there”.
It was such a great surprise, reading this book.
I just didn’t expect it to enjoy it as much as I did.
A wonderful surprise pleasure....a great addition to Jewish literature.
Easily 5 stars from me!
I was ‘stumped’ - right away when prominent Israeli novelist, Yoel Blum, was giving a book reading in Amsterdam.
A person in the audience said to him,
“You say you’re Israeli ... but you were born in Amsterdam" -- "you’re Dutch”...
Blum was ‘shocked’... ( I felt the shock too - as if I was sitting in that room: it was sooo real!)...
Never, ever, had ‘anything’ ever been publicly written about Blum being born in Amsterdam. He was a successful well-known author: an Israeli: period.
I could feel Yoel Blum
pause...the audience’s whispers, the quiet speaking rippling through the room, the looks of “oh my”!
I, too, was hanging by a thread to see how Blum was going to respond.
And that’s how this book kicked my interest into gear!
We take a journey... a powerful fascinating one through the streets of Amsterdam -both in the past and the present....
all the while, Blum is gathering material… doing research for a novel he wants to write about his life.
There were family secrets- childhood stories - and it was
horrifying imagining what happened to the Jews during the Nazi occupation —
but this book is very different from other WWII - Holocaust stories I’ve read.
It has that book-within- a book feeling. Just the main character being an author was fascinating to me: a famous one - with a past of things he didn’t even know about himself.
There are moments when I felt such sorrow -
( especially for a character named Sonia) ....
There are other moments that were just so enlivening -when walking through the streets of Amsterdam.
Plus our eyes are awaken to the history of what happened during world war two in the Netherlands to Jewish children.
I enjoyed equally the past and present time stories.
Emuna Elon wrote a terrific debut — Beautiful, lyrical, vibrant, mysterious, ( wartime history but crafted very different than many other books I have read), and at every step of the way, from start to finish -a running theme examines identity and belonging.
I was especially wondering how children develop their sense of self worth -a positive sense of who they are - when other kids bully them and their parents keep hidden information from them.
The book cover and title gorgeous... but I wondered about the title for a long time:
It’s actually ‘perfect’.
The title is aimed to evoke the idea of a series of reflections that, like a mirror to history, offers clues to a Blum’s identity - and the circumstances that brought him to Israel.
“He stands above the water of the canal, above his own upside-down reflection between upside-down buildings and upside-down trams and upside-down clouds, he stands in time between water and water in between infinity and infinity and strives with all his might to look at what is hidden, at what isn’t there”.
It was such a great surprise, reading this book.
I just didn’t expect it to enjoy it as much as I did.
A wonderful surprise pleasure....a great addition to Jewish literature.
Easily 5 stars from me!
December 27, 2019
Yoel is a famous Israeli author and he makes a trip to Amsterdam with his wife and at a museum there, they see something pertaining to his past that becomes a real mystery.
This story flashes back and forth from present day to World War ll Amsterdam.
This was very hard for me to read because it was very disjointed and confusing. I wanted to just give up on it a few times.
This ARC was provided by Atria via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This story flashes back and forth from present day to World War ll Amsterdam.
This was very hard for me to read because it was very disjointed and confusing. I wanted to just give up on it a few times.
This ARC was provided by Atria via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
July 30, 2020
It is Tish B’Av, the Ninth day of the month of Av, on the Jewish calendar where we mourn the destruction of the first and second temples, as well as other calamities that have befallen the Jewish people over the course of history such as the beginning of the Spanish Inquisition and the German invasion of Poland. The three weeks leading up to this day are a time of reflection, culminating with the recitation of the book of Lamentations last night. As today is also a day of fasting, I generally get through the day by reading, so I have attempted to select a Jewish themed book for this melancholy time. One year I read the memoir of the former chief rabbi of Israel, another year the memoir of baseball player Hank Greenberg. This year I have been rediscovering fiction reading, so I opted for a book by a renown Israeli author instead. Emuna- which means faith in G-D- Elon so I thought that was a sign that I should read her writing on this day of mourning. House on Endless Waters is only her second book that has been translated into English. It has received international acclaim as well as high marks on Goodreads, so I knew that I was in for a treat.
Highly regarded Israeli author Yoel Blum has traveled with his wife Bat-Ami (daughter of my people) to Amsterdam to give a lecture on one of his books. In the back of his mind, he hears the words of his mother Sonia “never go to the Netherlands”, but he never learns the mystery of this sentence until after her passing. At the lecture, an impassioned attendee calls out to Blum, letting him know that he was born in the Netherlands so he is Dutch. Shaken, Blum decides to go for a walk, and Bat-Ami, always the tourist, leads him to the Jewish Historical Society. This is an example of divine providence because playing on an endless loop is film footage of Jews before the War. In one picture he sees a young couple who looks just like his mother and who must have been his father along with his older sister Nettie and a baby, who was not him. Blum can not get these images out of his mind, impassioning him to phone Nettie upon his arrival in Israel. There, Nettie tells the writer what she knows, inspiring him to cancel the rest of his international lecture tour and return to Amsterdam in order to research a new book that will tell the true story of his family history.
Jews had lived in Amsterdam since the time of the Spanish Inquisition. They established themselves among the leaders of the city and over time became as Dutch as they were Jewish. Traditions did not cease as the Sephardic Esnoga Synagogue had been constructed almost as soon as the Jews arrived in the Netherlands. There was also a prominent Ashkenazic community, Torah scholars and community leaders. Jews became doctors, lawyers, judges, and patrons of the arts. They lived peacefully in Amsterdam until the dark cloud that was World War II fell across Europe. As in other communities in Europe, no Jew in Amsterdam was safe: not Yoel’s father Eddy who was a prominent doctor not Sonia and Eddy’s landlord family the de Lange family, the leaders of the entire Amsterdam community. Jews across Amsterdam grew to be dependent on the de Langes to help them to safety, but as Yoel found out from his research and from Nettie, Josef de Lange, a wealthy banker, became a Nazi collaborator, thinking that in this new role that he could ensure his own family’s existence, even if it came at the expense of the rest of his people in the community.
House on Endless Waters is a book within a book. Blum writes two stories as he relocates to Amsterdam for a better part of two years to do his research. The first story is his own soul searching and the other is the story of his mother Sonia and how she survived the war. Elon writes the two stories back and forth in elegant prose that is not entirely lost in translation thanks to able translators. She develops Blum as a character with thick skin who has little capacity for emotions. This stems from having a mother who did what it took to survive who then lived a sheltered life in Israel. Blum had no relatives or family friends until he began university and met Bat-Ami, and even she was under the scrutiny of Sonia, a woman who went through life with a giant chip on her shoulder. The other story is Sonia’s own story of prewar Amsterdam, that Blum recreates by retracing her steps. He places himself in her Amsterdam and the transitions between the two stories are seamless. Readers meet a cast of well developed characters in both storylines. Blum through his nurturing from Sonia has little capacity for human emotion, so at first the story moves slow. Once he has researched and filled notebooks with Sonia’s story, the prose moves faster, inviting readers to find out who Yoel Blum really is, something that is not completely resolved until the book comes to a close.
Elon was not able to write a book about Dutch Jewry during World War II without mentioning Anne Frank. Until Jews were forbidden from interacting with the rest of society, Nettie was supposed to have gone to the same school as Anne. Bat-Ami, on a visit to check in on Yoel and boost his spirits, encourages them to visit the Anne Frank house. Yoel believes that the Dutch have marketed Anne Frank and taken advantage of her family by merchandising everything from phone apps to the gift shop. While learning is important for those who know nothing, Yoel, and perhaps Elon as well, was taken aback by the mass marketing of Anne Frank’s image. Her diary is still widely read, ensuring that generations of high school students with no connection to living Holocaust survivors will not forget the atrocities that happened.
Anne Frank is a historical figure who will not be forgotten, but Elon invites readers to study the Dutch underground movement that hid children in the homes of gentiles until the war was over. These people raised Jewish children as their own at an extreme risk to themselves. Jews like Sonia also obtained false papers and attempted to integrate into Dutch society until they could move some place safer. Elon notes that this was called “diving”. Being a nurse, Sonia could find work anywhere, but she was so appalled by wartime human condition, that she realized complete “diving” was not for her. Meanwhile, her two children were safe. When I told my husband this aspect of the novel, we both pointed out that for those children who survived the war, many never returned to live as Jews as the gentile families kept them. The children never experienced survivors’ guilt because for the most they did not know that they were Jewish until later in life. Elon writes a character as this into the novel, forcing Blum to ask himself the difficult question, what if that was me. Sonia was fortunate to have connections and a survivalist mentality that allowed her and her children the privilege of immigrating to Palestine. Millions of Jews were not so lucky and perished. Even in a country like the Netherlands that tolerated a Jewish presence for centuries, sadly no one was safe until after the liberation.
House on Endless Waters is an important piece of Holocaust literature that should be read by all. I tend to stay away from World War II fictionalized accounts because for the most part they are too painful for me to read. Emuna Elon is a prolific author. This is only the second of her novels translated to English; the first one that was runner up for the National Book Award. In Yoel Blum, Bat-Ami, Sonia, and the cast of supporting characters, Elon has woven a gem of a story that places her alongside Nicole Krauss as one of top Jewish writers of today. The story within a story aspect worked for me as I read quickly to uncover the mystery of “who is Yoel Blum.” On this day of mourning during unprecedented times I can count myself as fortunate that I am being asked to stay home in safety whereas during other periods of Jewish history, my forebears were not as lucky. As a people we have never lost faith- Emuna- and that is why we are here today. I will either be polishing my Hebrew skills or discovering Emuna Elon’s other books that have been adeptly translated to English.
✨5 star read 🇮🇱 🇳🇱 ✨
Highly regarded Israeli author Yoel Blum has traveled with his wife Bat-Ami (daughter of my people) to Amsterdam to give a lecture on one of his books. In the back of his mind, he hears the words of his mother Sonia “never go to the Netherlands”, but he never learns the mystery of this sentence until after her passing. At the lecture, an impassioned attendee calls out to Blum, letting him know that he was born in the Netherlands so he is Dutch. Shaken, Blum decides to go for a walk, and Bat-Ami, always the tourist, leads him to the Jewish Historical Society. This is an example of divine providence because playing on an endless loop is film footage of Jews before the War. In one picture he sees a young couple who looks just like his mother and who must have been his father along with his older sister Nettie and a baby, who was not him. Blum can not get these images out of his mind, impassioning him to phone Nettie upon his arrival in Israel. There, Nettie tells the writer what she knows, inspiring him to cancel the rest of his international lecture tour and return to Amsterdam in order to research a new book that will tell the true story of his family history.
Jews had lived in Amsterdam since the time of the Spanish Inquisition. They established themselves among the leaders of the city and over time became as Dutch as they were Jewish. Traditions did not cease as the Sephardic Esnoga Synagogue had been constructed almost as soon as the Jews arrived in the Netherlands. There was also a prominent Ashkenazic community, Torah scholars and community leaders. Jews became doctors, lawyers, judges, and patrons of the arts. They lived peacefully in Amsterdam until the dark cloud that was World War II fell across Europe. As in other communities in Europe, no Jew in Amsterdam was safe: not Yoel’s father Eddy who was a prominent doctor not Sonia and Eddy’s landlord family the de Lange family, the leaders of the entire Amsterdam community. Jews across Amsterdam grew to be dependent on the de Langes to help them to safety, but as Yoel found out from his research and from Nettie, Josef de Lange, a wealthy banker, became a Nazi collaborator, thinking that in this new role that he could ensure his own family’s existence, even if it came at the expense of the rest of his people in the community.
House on Endless Waters is a book within a book. Blum writes two stories as he relocates to Amsterdam for a better part of two years to do his research. The first story is his own soul searching and the other is the story of his mother Sonia and how she survived the war. Elon writes the two stories back and forth in elegant prose that is not entirely lost in translation thanks to able translators. She develops Blum as a character with thick skin who has little capacity for emotions. This stems from having a mother who did what it took to survive who then lived a sheltered life in Israel. Blum had no relatives or family friends until he began university and met Bat-Ami, and even she was under the scrutiny of Sonia, a woman who went through life with a giant chip on her shoulder. The other story is Sonia’s own story of prewar Amsterdam, that Blum recreates by retracing her steps. He places himself in her Amsterdam and the transitions between the two stories are seamless. Readers meet a cast of well developed characters in both storylines. Blum through his nurturing from Sonia has little capacity for human emotion, so at first the story moves slow. Once he has researched and filled notebooks with Sonia’s story, the prose moves faster, inviting readers to find out who Yoel Blum really is, something that is not completely resolved until the book comes to a close.
Elon was not able to write a book about Dutch Jewry during World War II without mentioning Anne Frank. Until Jews were forbidden from interacting with the rest of society, Nettie was supposed to have gone to the same school as Anne. Bat-Ami, on a visit to check in on Yoel and boost his spirits, encourages them to visit the Anne Frank house. Yoel believes that the Dutch have marketed Anne Frank and taken advantage of her family by merchandising everything from phone apps to the gift shop. While learning is important for those who know nothing, Yoel, and perhaps Elon as well, was taken aback by the mass marketing of Anne Frank’s image. Her diary is still widely read, ensuring that generations of high school students with no connection to living Holocaust survivors will not forget the atrocities that happened.
Anne Frank is a historical figure who will not be forgotten, but Elon invites readers to study the Dutch underground movement that hid children in the homes of gentiles until the war was over. These people raised Jewish children as their own at an extreme risk to themselves. Jews like Sonia also obtained false papers and attempted to integrate into Dutch society until they could move some place safer. Elon notes that this was called “diving”. Being a nurse, Sonia could find work anywhere, but she was so appalled by wartime human condition, that she realized complete “diving” was not for her. Meanwhile, her two children were safe. When I told my husband this aspect of the novel, we both pointed out that for those children who survived the war, many never returned to live as Jews as the gentile families kept them. The children never experienced survivors’ guilt because for the most they did not know that they were Jewish until later in life. Elon writes a character as this into the novel, forcing Blum to ask himself the difficult question, what if that was me. Sonia was fortunate to have connections and a survivalist mentality that allowed her and her children the privilege of immigrating to Palestine. Millions of Jews were not so lucky and perished. Even in a country like the Netherlands that tolerated a Jewish presence for centuries, sadly no one was safe until after the liberation.
House on Endless Waters is an important piece of Holocaust literature that should be read by all. I tend to stay away from World War II fictionalized accounts because for the most part they are too painful for me to read. Emuna Elon is a prolific author. This is only the second of her novels translated to English; the first one that was runner up for the National Book Award. In Yoel Blum, Bat-Ami, Sonia, and the cast of supporting characters, Elon has woven a gem of a story that places her alongside Nicole Krauss as one of top Jewish writers of today. The story within a story aspect worked for me as I read quickly to uncover the mystery of “who is Yoel Blum.” On this day of mourning during unprecedented times I can count myself as fortunate that I am being asked to stay home in safety whereas during other periods of Jewish history, my forebears were not as lucky. As a people we have never lost faith- Emuna- and that is why we are here today. I will either be polishing my Hebrew skills or discovering Emuna Elon’s other books that have been adeptly translated to English.
✨5 star read 🇮🇱 🇳🇱 ✨
March 3, 2020
The chapters are very short, making the pace feel fast. As the story begins, it pulls the reader in very quickly. But once Yoel is back in Amsterdam searching for some answers and as the story switches between present and past times and him reminiscing about his family, a disconnection happens.
While in Amsterdam, you’d think that the story would alternate in time between his story and his mother or put him on a straight forward search for an answer. Instead, there is a lot of reminiscing about his family in Israel and his childhood as emigre in Israel.
I don’t find progression of a story through reminiscing as an engaging read.
Once the story of Sonia, Yoel’s mother, and her family start, it gets grasping again. However, the grasp keeps slipping away very quickly as chapters on her story are very short and it goes back to the story of Yoel in Amsterdam and his reminiscing.
The problem with Yoe’s story is that it itself is set in present and past time and then it keeps alternating with the past story of his mother. There is too much of going back and forth, and that actually makes the story disengaging.
Nevertheless, the lyrical prose and the alternating times some might find interesting.
Source: ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
While in Amsterdam, you’d think that the story would alternate in time between his story and his mother or put him on a straight forward search for an answer. Instead, there is a lot of reminiscing about his family in Israel and his childhood as emigre in Israel.
I don’t find progression of a story through reminiscing as an engaging read.
Once the story of Sonia, Yoel’s mother, and her family start, it gets grasping again. However, the grasp keeps slipping away very quickly as chapters on her story are very short and it goes back to the story of Yoel in Amsterdam and his reminiscing.
The problem with Yoe’s story is that it itself is set in present and past time and then it keeps alternating with the past story of his mother. There is too much of going back and forth, and that actually makes the story disengaging.
Nevertheless, the lyrical prose and the alternating times some might find interesting.
Source: ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
January 6, 2020
Never go back to Amsterdam were words Yoel’s mother drilled into him, but she would never tell why.
When one of Yoel's books was translated into Dutch, he and his wife needed to go to Amsterdam even though he felt guilty about defying his mother’s wishes.
While they were in Amsterdam, Yoel and Bat-Ami visited a Jewish museum, looked at some still films, and saw his mother, his father, his sister, and himself in the films.
Yoel wondered why no one ever told him about this part of his life. He had to ask his sister, and he HAD to find out.
We follow Yoel as he moves around Amsterdam in hopes of finding anything that will help him discover who he is. His sister did help him with information, but he had to be there and see for himself as he unraveled the mystery of his life and his mother’s life.
The writing and story line are absolutely mesmerizing and beautiful as well as heartbreaking.
HOUSE ON ENDLESS WATERS is a book that will stay with me because of its haunting beauty and its profound, thought-provoking story line.
Historical fiction fans will devour this book and the marvelous research Ms. Elon did with Amsterdam's history and its part in WWII. 5/5
This book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
When one of Yoel's books was translated into Dutch, he and his wife needed to go to Amsterdam even though he felt guilty about defying his mother’s wishes.
While they were in Amsterdam, Yoel and Bat-Ami visited a Jewish museum, looked at some still films, and saw his mother, his father, his sister, and himself in the films.
Yoel wondered why no one ever told him about this part of his life. He had to ask his sister, and he HAD to find out.
We follow Yoel as he moves around Amsterdam in hopes of finding anything that will help him discover who he is. His sister did help him with information, but he had to be there and see for himself as he unraveled the mystery of his life and his mother’s life.
The writing and story line are absolutely mesmerizing and beautiful as well as heartbreaking.
HOUSE ON ENDLESS WATERS is a book that will stay with me because of its haunting beauty and its profound, thought-provoking story line.
Historical fiction fans will devour this book and the marvelous research Ms. Elon did with Amsterdam's history and its part in WWII. 5/5
This book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
September 9, 2019
House on Endless Waters is a profound meditation on what matters most in terms of identity and the role that family secrets play. It tells the story in two timelines. In the first, Israeli writer Yoel Blum, now a famous novelist and a grandfather, goes to Amsterdam for a book signing PR tour and wanders into the Jewish Museum. His family emigrated from Amsterdam to Jerusalem so it would not be surprising to find some trace of his roots there. And, indeed, he does, but not necessarily what he expects. In a black and white movie footage playing in one of the museum displays he sees quickly as it goes by what appears to be his parents and his sister and a baby. But, after watching the footage over and over as it plays in an endless loop, Yoel is certain that he’s not the baby boy in the footage. And, this sends him into a tailspin. For if that’s not him - and the features aren’t right- then who is he and who is in the footage.
Just as adoptees still yearn for information about their birth parents and have a need to fill those gaps, Yoel can’t leave this alone. He presses his sister for information and, putting aside his PR tour, returns to Amsterdam to wander the streets and piece together but by bit what happened during the War.
The other timeline is his parents’ timeline as life in Amsterdam becomes more and more precarious after the German invasion. Think about Anne Frank’s Diary and accept that a few blocks away there was another family struggling to survive as bit by but their freedoms and their possessions were taken away. And this is the story of Yoel’s family and the story - that he never knew - of their existence in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam where the Jewish community had once thrived since the Spanish Inquisition in 1492.
And in this family story is a secret that Yoel had never had a clue about, something that will shatter his very understanding of who he is and what his history is.
This is in many ways a gentle melancholy story - not filled with action - but compelling nevertheless.
Just as adoptees still yearn for information about their birth parents and have a need to fill those gaps, Yoel can’t leave this alone. He presses his sister for information and, putting aside his PR tour, returns to Amsterdam to wander the streets and piece together but by bit what happened during the War.
The other timeline is his parents’ timeline as life in Amsterdam becomes more and more precarious after the German invasion. Think about Anne Frank’s Diary and accept that a few blocks away there was another family struggling to survive as bit by but their freedoms and their possessions were taken away. And this is the story of Yoel’s family and the story - that he never knew - of their existence in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam where the Jewish community had once thrived since the Spanish Inquisition in 1492.
And in this family story is a secret that Yoel had never had a clue about, something that will shatter his very understanding of who he is and what his history is.
This is in many ways a gentle melancholy story - not filled with action - but compelling nevertheless.
April 23, 2021
A moving, and beautifully written story of the Holocaust, the choices that parents were faced with making in order to protect their children, and the repercussions of those choices years later.
Yoel Blum is an acclaimed author, and as such he travels on book tours to promote his books, as well as meet his fans. When he is told he must travel to Amsterdam for an upcoming book tour, he tries - unsuccessfully - to get out of it. He’d promised his mother that he would never go there, without ever questioning her on why. He knew it was where he’d been born, but he only remembers his years living in Israel.
While he’s in Amsterdam, he and his wife visit the Jewish Historical Museum, they watch a pre-war film, and they realize that the people in this film are his sister and his mother, holding a baby boy which is obviously not Yoel.
This is a story which shares Yoel’s story in both time frames, as he searches to find the truth of his past. His passion for uncovering his story is strongly felt, and I felt as though I could visualize him walking these streets, trying to connect to, and reconstruct his past.
I received a hardcover copy of this around the time of publication, but had to postpone reading it since holding physical books have been impossible-to-difficult this past year plus, and it still is, so I added the audible version, and read along as much as I could manage, putting the physical book down when needed. I have to say that listening to this really added to the story for me. The narration by Jonathan Davis offers a somewhat soothing element, which was wonderful. Another view of a horrifying time, love and loss, along the determination to protect and save their child.
Published: 07 Jan 2020
Many thanks for the ARC provided by Simon and Schuster
August 21, 2022
4.5 STARS
House on Endless Waters is an evocative novel set in Amsterdam in current times and during WWII. Other than “ The Diary of Anne Frank”, I have not read any novels that take place in Amsterdam during the war.
We meet Yoel Blum, a prominent Israeli author, who travels to Amsterdam to promote his new book. He has never gone there before as his mother has made him promise to never go there. While there, he discovers information regarding his mother. Based on this, he decides to explore her past and in so doing, his past. This, he decides, will be his ultimate novel!
There is a book within a book in this novel. This worked very well as we follow the two timelines simultaneously. As I read this book, I found myself furiously turning the pages. I needed to know what would happen, what he would discover. The author was restrained in the building of the story. Exceptional writing and exceptional translating!
Every time I read a book about the Holocaust, I am always left with questions. How could this have happened? Why did the Jewish leaders cooperate so readily? Did they think this would ultimately spare the people they thought they were helping? How can people feel such hatred towards a race of people? What would I have done if I lived in Amsterdam and had the chance to save even one person? I’ll never know, of course. But I do know, as a mother, I would have done anything to save my children.
“ Where are the words to describe the children playing at their parents’ feet, the confidence felt by children playing at their parents’ feet, and the fact that not one of the adults has any idea of where they are going to, not even when a train comes to a halt and they get off the benches, quietly pick up their possessions, stand in an orderly line, oh, how orderly, and climb aboard, helping one another up, helping one another to board and load the luggage. And they go on their way.”
A profoundly moving novel that will stay with me for a very long time.
Published: 2016, English translation: 2020
House on Endless Waters is an evocative novel set in Amsterdam in current times and during WWII. Other than “ The Diary of Anne Frank”, I have not read any novels that take place in Amsterdam during the war.
We meet Yoel Blum, a prominent Israeli author, who travels to Amsterdam to promote his new book. He has never gone there before as his mother has made him promise to never go there. While there, he discovers information regarding his mother. Based on this, he decides to explore her past and in so doing, his past. This, he decides, will be his ultimate novel!
There is a book within a book in this novel. This worked very well as we follow the two timelines simultaneously. As I read this book, I found myself furiously turning the pages. I needed to know what would happen, what he would discover. The author was restrained in the building of the story. Exceptional writing and exceptional translating!
Every time I read a book about the Holocaust, I am always left with questions. How could this have happened? Why did the Jewish leaders cooperate so readily? Did they think this would ultimately spare the people they thought they were helping? How can people feel such hatred towards a race of people? What would I have done if I lived in Amsterdam and had the chance to save even one person? I’ll never know, of course. But I do know, as a mother, I would have done anything to save my children.
“ Where are the words to describe the children playing at their parents’ feet, the confidence felt by children playing at their parents’ feet, and the fact that not one of the adults has any idea of where they are going to, not even when a train comes to a halt and they get off the benches, quietly pick up their possessions, stand in an orderly line, oh, how orderly, and climb aboard, helping one another up, helping one another to board and load the luggage. And they go on their way.”
A profoundly moving novel that will stay with me for a very long time.
Published: 2016, English translation: 2020
February 20, 2020
Yoel’s discovery on a trip to Amsterdam, the place of his birth, of old picture of his parents, his sister Nettie and a baby boy too young to be himself, sets off a crisis; of who am I?
Suddenly he feels he doesn’t know his mother. The woman he was so close to had secrets from him that went to the grave with her. With this new revelation he starts to question their close relationship.
Piecing together scraps of information from older sister, Nettie, Yoel returns to Amsterdam to write his greatest book ever and in the process discover his past.
Through her haunting prose Elon delivers a story of a displaced Yoel Blum, a man who is sensitive and deep feeling however finds he is unable to give of himself to others.
“…..only he alone is alone. So transparent and voiceless that he often thinks he doesn’t really exist.”
As Yoel writes his story it becomes a story within a story and at times his characters blend into his real life. Yoel, so immersed in his story, experiences bouts of paranoia and a sense of persecution when out in public.
Elon describes the beauty of present day Amsterdam whilst not denying the underlying horror of the past that still lingers. Through Yoel’s story we learn how slowly every freedom was taken from the Jewish citizens, first their rights, their passage and then their possessions.
I enjoyed the unique way Elon tied the two timelines together. They are not expressed in separate chapters however blend into each other blurring past and present, fact and fiction.
The character of Yoel is hard to connect with at first and I took pleasure in his growth from a closed man to one who appreciates those around him and started to open up a little.
House on Endless Waters is a fascinating tale of one man’s journey to unlock his past and discover his true self. Elon, in her unique writing style, brings to the fore stories that must never be forgotten.
*I received a copy from the publisher
Suddenly he feels he doesn’t know his mother. The woman he was so close to had secrets from him that went to the grave with her. With this new revelation he starts to question their close relationship.
Piecing together scraps of information from older sister, Nettie, Yoel returns to Amsterdam to write his greatest book ever and in the process discover his past.
Through her haunting prose Elon delivers a story of a displaced Yoel Blum, a man who is sensitive and deep feeling however finds he is unable to give of himself to others.
“…..only he alone is alone. So transparent and voiceless that he often thinks he doesn’t really exist.”
As Yoel writes his story it becomes a story within a story and at times his characters blend into his real life. Yoel, so immersed in his story, experiences bouts of paranoia and a sense of persecution when out in public.
Elon describes the beauty of present day Amsterdam whilst not denying the underlying horror of the past that still lingers. Through Yoel’s story we learn how slowly every freedom was taken from the Jewish citizens, first their rights, their passage and then their possessions.
I enjoyed the unique way Elon tied the two timelines together. They are not expressed in separate chapters however blend into each other blurring past and present, fact and fiction.
The character of Yoel is hard to connect with at first and I took pleasure in his growth from a closed man to one who appreciates those around him and started to open up a little.
House on Endless Waters is a fascinating tale of one man’s journey to unlock his past and discover his true self. Elon, in her unique writing style, brings to the fore stories that must never be forgotten.
*I received a copy from the publisher
November 20, 2022
Author Yoel Blum lives in Jerusalem with his wife Bat-Aml and the couple have three grownup daughters. Yoel made a promise to his mother Sonia, that he would never return to his birthplace Amsterdam and his Dutch publisher wants him to visit.
While touring the Jewish Museum with his wife, a slideshow of photos is played to honor the Dutch Jews that were persecuted and killed during the holocaust. Yoel is shocked to see an image of his younger mother, with his father Eddy, sister Nettie and a baby he doesn’t recognize. All of the family’s photos were destroyed during the war, Yoel has never seen a picture of his father and he knows deep down in his soul, the baby isn’t him.
The 145,000 Jewish citizens felt safe in Holland, they didn’t think they would be targeted and unfortunately they were. First they had to register and wear a yellow star, they were banned from public places and their businesses were taken, property and money was seized and letters started arriving informing them they had to report Westerbork Transit Camp.
Yoel travels back to Amsterdam, he wants to find out who he really is and he’s shocked by what he discovers. Parents had to make difficult choices, sometimes very quickly and there was an underground network that hid thousands of Jewish children. Later many didn’t remember their real parents, or the caretakers didn’t tell them the truth and others were sent to Palestine in exchange for German citizens.
I received a copy of House on Endless Waters by Emuna Elon from NetGalley and Atria Books in exchange for an honest review. A moving and emotional narrative that looks at what Dutch people had to do to survive the holocaust and how it effected them afterwards. Some lost their entire family, and others had trouble trusting people, had a fear of loss and didn't have children, they felt humiliated and didn’t talk about what happened to them. Four and a half stars from me and a very emotive story to read.
While touring the Jewish Museum with his wife, a slideshow of photos is played to honor the Dutch Jews that were persecuted and killed during the holocaust. Yoel is shocked to see an image of his younger mother, with his father Eddy, sister Nettie and a baby he doesn’t recognize. All of the family’s photos were destroyed during the war, Yoel has never seen a picture of his father and he knows deep down in his soul, the baby isn’t him.
The 145,000 Jewish citizens felt safe in Holland, they didn’t think they would be targeted and unfortunately they were. First they had to register and wear a yellow star, they were banned from public places and their businesses were taken, property and money was seized and letters started arriving informing them they had to report Westerbork Transit Camp.
Yoel travels back to Amsterdam, he wants to find out who he really is and he’s shocked by what he discovers. Parents had to make difficult choices, sometimes very quickly and there was an underground network that hid thousands of Jewish children. Later many didn’t remember their real parents, or the caretakers didn’t tell them the truth and others were sent to Palestine in exchange for German citizens.
I received a copy of House on Endless Waters by Emuna Elon from NetGalley and Atria Books in exchange for an honest review. A moving and emotional narrative that looks at what Dutch people had to do to survive the holocaust and how it effected them afterwards. Some lost their entire family, and others had trouble trusting people, had a fear of loss and didn't have children, they felt humiliated and didn’t talk about what happened to them. Four and a half stars from me and a very emotive story to read.
February 12, 2020
4.5★s
“I’ve always thought I know how to write people because I know how to see them, yet today I discovered that I’ve never really succeeded in seeing even my own mother. I thought I was close to you, my beloved mother, I thought I knew you well, and now it turns out that all the time you were carrying a missing child in your heart – and I didn’t feel it and would never have guessed.”
House on Endless Waters is the fourth novel by Israeli journalist and author, Emuna Elon. Yoel Blum has never been to Amsterdam. It was the one thing his (now-deceased) mother demanded of him. But his Dutch publishers want an appearance by their acclaimed Israeli author, so he complies. In tourist mode, his wife drags him into the Jewish History Museum, where they chance upon an image: his young parents, his older sister and a babe in arms that is clearly not Yoel.
The shock of realising his mother has held a secret all of his life sparks a crisis within. His sister Nettie has mere snippets of the story, but Yoel feels compelled to return to Amsterdam, to his family’s home, to write the novel that will become his finest work yet. “Nettie can only relate the little she knows and remembers, but he will gather up the tangle of broken threads she gave him and weave them into a whole tapestry.”
So begins the story within a story, as Yoel settles into a tiny, shabby hotel within sight of the house where his young parents lived. Yoel frequents, perhaps haunts, places important in the story, and seems at times to inhabit both Sonia Blum’s world and his own. The lines between reality and imagination sometimes seem to blur, perhaps unsurprising for someone who, as a boy “… hadn’t meant to lie, he simply didn’t know, or perhaps didn’t want to know, how to separate the life in his imagination from reality, which to him was imaginary as well.”
He visits significant locations and gets the feel of the place. He immerses himself in the Jewish History Museum and is fleetingly struck with a dose of Jewish paranoia. He watches the people who live in the neighbourhood, and some become characters in his novel, as do other present-day elements like a certain painting, some backyard steps, a dancer, church bells, a brown café.
Yoel’s mother was unforthcoming about what happened during the war: “Those waters had already flowed onward… You’ve got a mother and you’ve got a sister and you’ve got yourself. That’s all; nothing else matters.” If the mystery of exactly what happened during his childhood is not utterly baffling, curiosity about the reason behind it and just how it all fell together keeps the pages turning.
With her luminous prose, Elon conveys the plight of these Amsterdam Jews in their occupied city wonderfully well. It will be a shocking revelation to some. And if Yoel is at first a bit annoying, a bit arrogant, he does improve markedly as the story progresses. Her female lead seems at first somewhat perverse, but proves to be a strong, complex and big-hearted soul.
This is brilliantly told, and flawlessly translated from Hebrew by Anthony Berris and Linda Yechiel, but it loses half a star of the potential five-star rating for indulging in the annoying editorial affliction of omitting quote marks for speech (why, oh why?) A moving, illuminating and thought-provoking read.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by Better Reading Preview and Allen & Unwin.
“I’ve always thought I know how to write people because I know how to see them, yet today I discovered that I’ve never really succeeded in seeing even my own mother. I thought I was close to you, my beloved mother, I thought I knew you well, and now it turns out that all the time you were carrying a missing child in your heart – and I didn’t feel it and would never have guessed.”
House on Endless Waters is the fourth novel by Israeli journalist and author, Emuna Elon. Yoel Blum has never been to Amsterdam. It was the one thing his (now-deceased) mother demanded of him. But his Dutch publishers want an appearance by their acclaimed Israeli author, so he complies. In tourist mode, his wife drags him into the Jewish History Museum, where they chance upon an image: his young parents, his older sister and a babe in arms that is clearly not Yoel.
The shock of realising his mother has held a secret all of his life sparks a crisis within. His sister Nettie has mere snippets of the story, but Yoel feels compelled to return to Amsterdam, to his family’s home, to write the novel that will become his finest work yet. “Nettie can only relate the little she knows and remembers, but he will gather up the tangle of broken threads she gave him and weave them into a whole tapestry.”
So begins the story within a story, as Yoel settles into a tiny, shabby hotel within sight of the house where his young parents lived. Yoel frequents, perhaps haunts, places important in the story, and seems at times to inhabit both Sonia Blum’s world and his own. The lines between reality and imagination sometimes seem to blur, perhaps unsurprising for someone who, as a boy “… hadn’t meant to lie, he simply didn’t know, or perhaps didn’t want to know, how to separate the life in his imagination from reality, which to him was imaginary as well.”
He visits significant locations and gets the feel of the place. He immerses himself in the Jewish History Museum and is fleetingly struck with a dose of Jewish paranoia. He watches the people who live in the neighbourhood, and some become characters in his novel, as do other present-day elements like a certain painting, some backyard steps, a dancer, church bells, a brown café.
Yoel’s mother was unforthcoming about what happened during the war: “Those waters had already flowed onward… You’ve got a mother and you’ve got a sister and you’ve got yourself. That’s all; nothing else matters.” If the mystery of exactly what happened during his childhood is not utterly baffling, curiosity about the reason behind it and just how it all fell together keeps the pages turning.
With her luminous prose, Elon conveys the plight of these Amsterdam Jews in their occupied city wonderfully well. It will be a shocking revelation to some. And if Yoel is at first a bit annoying, a bit arrogant, he does improve markedly as the story progresses. Her female lead seems at first somewhat perverse, but proves to be a strong, complex and big-hearted soul.
This is brilliantly told, and flawlessly translated from Hebrew by Anthony Berris and Linda Yechiel, but it loses half a star of the potential five-star rating for indulging in the annoying editorial affliction of omitting quote marks for speech (why, oh why?) A moving, illuminating and thought-provoking read.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by Better Reading Preview and Allen & Unwin.
December 5, 2024
This is an interesting fictional story on what matters most in terms of identity and the role that family secrets play.
It tells the story in two timelines.
The main character, an author on a book tour to Amsterdam, the place of his birth, wanders into the Jewish Museum, and suddenly sees something that makes him question everything about his own personal history.
Who was his mother?
Who is he?
And thus, the mystery begins.
This book, is difficult to read at times.
Because it tells the stories of World War II, not in vivid details, but enough, to remind us of the pain and heartache experienced by those who lived through it.
But, it still is a fascinating tale of one man’s journey to unlock his past and discover his true self.
It tells the story in two timelines.
The main character, an author on a book tour to Amsterdam, the place of his birth, wanders into the Jewish Museum, and suddenly sees something that makes him question everything about his own personal history.
Who was his mother?
Who is he?
And thus, the mystery begins.
This book, is difficult to read at times.
Because it tells the stories of World War II, not in vivid details, but enough, to remind us of the pain and heartache experienced by those who lived through it.
But, it still is a fascinating tale of one man’s journey to unlock his past and discover his true self.
June 25, 2018
Meer dan 5 sterren.
Joel Blum, beroemd schrijver in Israël, heeft zijn moeder moeten beloven nooit terug te gaan naar Amsterdam, zijn geboortestad. Toch komt hij er terecht voor de promotie van zijn boeken. Hiermee start hij ook een zoektocht naar de gebeurtenissen van zijn familie in de Tweede Wereldoorlog. Joel wil het ook als onderwerp voor een nieuw boek gebruiken en naar mate hij dit idee verder uitwerkt en meer antwoorden vindt grijpen heden en verleden ook steeds meer in elkaar.
Soms kun je het verdriet en de onmacht een beetje op afstand houden, maar in dit boek lukte me dat niet. Ik zág het inpakken van de koffers volgens de lijsten van wat meegenomen mocht worden en het dociele wachten bij de Hollandsche Schouwburg, ik vóélde de verlamming , de uitzichtloosheid. Maar het boek is veel meer dan dat. Schrijver Joel is zowel observator als onderdeel van de geschiedenis geworden. Voor mij is dit een boek om te koesteren en nog een keer te lezen. Hulde ook aan de vertaalster Hilde Pach.
Joel Blum, beroemd schrijver in Israël, heeft zijn moeder moeten beloven nooit terug te gaan naar Amsterdam, zijn geboortestad. Toch komt hij er terecht voor de promotie van zijn boeken. Hiermee start hij ook een zoektocht naar de gebeurtenissen van zijn familie in de Tweede Wereldoorlog. Joel wil het ook als onderwerp voor een nieuw boek gebruiken en naar mate hij dit idee verder uitwerkt en meer antwoorden vindt grijpen heden en verleden ook steeds meer in elkaar.
Soms kun je het verdriet en de onmacht een beetje op afstand houden, maar in dit boek lukte me dat niet. Ik zág het inpakken van de koffers volgens de lijsten van wat meegenomen mocht worden en het dociele wachten bij de Hollandsche Schouwburg, ik vóélde de verlamming , de uitzichtloosheid. Maar het boek is veel meer dan dat. Schrijver Joel is zowel observator als onderdeel van de geschiedenis geworden. Voor mij is dit een boek om te koesteren en nog een keer te lezen. Hulde ook aan de vertaalster Hilde Pach.
January 19, 2020
I love historical fiction so this was right up my alley. A deeply moving story that pulled me right in. A remarkable read and a great book club pick.
Dawnny-BookGypsy
Novels N Latte
Hudson Valley NY
Dawnny-BookGypsy
Novels N Latte
Hudson Valley NY
January 22, 2020
This is a very moving story. Famous Israeli author Yoel Blum had sworn to his late mother than he would never visit Amsterdam, the place he was born and where he, his mother and sister escaped from during WWII. But he agrees to go to appease his publisher and makes a discovery that changes his understanding of who he is. Yoel decides to write a novel based on what he’s discovered. The normal dual story line style of this genre is replaced by Yoel in the present day interwoven with his writing of his story. This style may not appeal to all but it is effective. Many people believe that Jewish families in the Netherlands were not impacted as greatly during WWII but House On Endless Waters dispels that myth. A worthwhile read.
Review posted at:
MicheleReader
Review posted at:
MicheleReader
September 29, 2020
House on Endless Waters is a hauntingly beautiful novel by Emuna Elon--certainly one of the most talented Israeli novelists writing today. This novel speaks to the reader on so many levels--portraying the tragedy of recent Jewish history in a way that is immediate and psychologically riveting. As we follow along with Yoel Blum in his quest to find the truth about his childhood in Amsterdam, we also realize that this is an inner search for self-understanding which has wider ramifications on his relationships with his family. A truly marvellous book that I recommend highly!
March 5, 2021
I admit it! I flubbed the Giveaway - and for a book that completely deserves to given extremely good press. I do hope that even though my review is late, that it creates some buzz and interest in the book, because the book deserves it. My apologies to Atria books, as well as to Goodreads, both of whom are punishing me now for my mistake. I do hope that I can now begin a clean state with both. Because this book deserves it. I am sorry I let it sit in my hallway for way too long, after having realized the mistake. It deserved to see the light of day, and I really grew to love it. I knew I had a winner on my hands.
Now many people who follow my reading, know that I am a big fan of WWII and Holocaust writing. I can't get enough of it, and there are more than enough books out there, each with a different angle. These days, the new books have to keep up with an extremely high bar here. So what is that catch that makes this one different? For one, its Dutch and takes place in Amsterdam. For two, its the quality of the writing. The writing is beautiful, almost nothing can be going on, and the way the author writes just captivates you. I had the phrase "that person could write or sing the phone book (remember those?) and it would be a hit!" running through my mind. Because not a lot was happening, and you are just find to meander in the mist with Emunah Elon. So the book itself has a murky misty quality, and it takes a long time to figure out what is going on. Our main hero is a writer, and you hear his thoughts, and you hear his writing, and he is writing about his past, which may or not be real or imagined, but as he is writing it, it is happening and interweaving with the present. His thoughts and actions in Amsterdam as he is writing are also happening in real time, but also way back when. It took me a little while to even understand what was happening. Was it fiction? Was it true? What is real, and what is the real story to him?
I detest spoilers of any kind, as a reader should have their own experience, so I am known to not give a lot of detail. But I do want to speak to the "mystery thriller" part of this. Of all the things I did not understand while it was happening, there was no mystery thriller part of this to me. I really felt that we were told the twist-revelation right up front. It wasn't well hidden. I felt it was clear what was going on the entire time. The revelations were to me, about how to let the story unfold to get us to that place of understanding the link to the present and the character's current thoughts. I never wondered anything else. I also (would never spoil) liked the way they treated the end about the mystery. It made sense to me how that played out.
Clear heroine and likable character in the story? Wife Bat-Ami, who is filled with light and love. Who becomes the person who allows he to ultimately free himself from himself and be the man who he is. Beautifully written, and five stars.
Now many people who follow my reading, know that I am a big fan of WWII and Holocaust writing. I can't get enough of it, and there are more than enough books out there, each with a different angle. These days, the new books have to keep up with an extremely high bar here. So what is that catch that makes this one different? For one, its Dutch and takes place in Amsterdam. For two, its the quality of the writing. The writing is beautiful, almost nothing can be going on, and the way the author writes just captivates you. I had the phrase "that person could write or sing the phone book (remember those?) and it would be a hit!" running through my mind. Because not a lot was happening, and you are just find to meander in the mist with Emunah Elon. So the book itself has a murky misty quality, and it takes a long time to figure out what is going on. Our main hero is a writer, and you hear his thoughts, and you hear his writing, and he is writing about his past, which may or not be real or imagined, but as he is writing it, it is happening and interweaving with the present. His thoughts and actions in Amsterdam as he is writing are also happening in real time, but also way back when. It took me a little while to even understand what was happening. Was it fiction? Was it true? What is real, and what is the real story to him?
I detest spoilers of any kind, as a reader should have their own experience, so I am known to not give a lot of detail. But I do want to speak to the "mystery thriller" part of this. Of all the things I did not understand while it was happening, there was no mystery thriller part of this to me. I really felt that we were told the twist-revelation right up front. It wasn't well hidden. I felt it was clear what was going on the entire time. The revelations were to me, about how to let the story unfold to get us to that place of understanding the link to the present and the character's current thoughts. I never wondered anything else. I also (would never spoil) liked the way they treated the end about the mystery. It made sense to me how that played out.
Clear heroine and likable character in the story? Wife Bat-Ami, who is filled with light and love. Who becomes the person who allows he to ultimately free himself from himself and be the man who he is. Beautifully written, and five stars.
February 6, 2021
Such an unusual book that lives on many levels as it presents the story of Yoel Blum, an internationally recognized Israeli author, who decides to break the one directive left by his late mother: do not ever travel to the Netherlands. He knows this relates to wartime experiences which he doesn’t remember, but he has always kept the promise. Now, his latest book has been translated into Dutch and he has been invited to speak. And he wants to go. And he and his wife go.
While there, Yoel is challenged on many levels by this nation of interlocking canals and land, a land with a long and historic Jewish history after the diaspora from Spain. More specifically, he is challenged by one small portion of video he glimpses at the Jewish heritage museum, a montage of salvaged clips from family films taken before the Nazi Occupation of World War II. He and Bat-Ami leave Amsterdam with many questions but it is Yoel who will return to search for answers about his family, this city and how it existed during the war, how the many Jews in the city and country existed. And he will write his next book about all of this.
In this novel, we read it all and it flows like the “endless waters” of the title. The flow of the waters in the canals of the city as Yoel walks and walks, crossing so many bridges, to experience all the city sections that were there in the past. The flow of memory, of his own life and what he is learning of Jewish life in Amsterdam over the centuries. The flow of life, which no longer seems linear but follows a course all its own. The flow of a novel, which goes where an artist takes it, or perhaps sometimes where the subject leads it and where the reader follows. This novel within a novel flows in ways I haven’t experienced before, ways I wondered at and ultimately loved.
Finally, I want to end with one quote written near the end about Yoel.
He wants to write this book like Vincent van Gogh painted:
to pour the colors generously, knead them with his paintbrush
as if he were molding clay, and form the contours of his soul
layer upon layer upon layer. He wants, like Vincent, not to be
afraid to take a sheet of paper on which he has drawn a city
street or a bird’s nest, to turn it over and paint another self-
portrait on the other side. Like Vincent, he wants to also work
outside, even in the wind and the rain, so that the day will come
when within the layers of his portraits, grains of earth and stalks
of grass will be found. (p. 308)
Thanks to Atria Books for the opportunity to read this novel in return for an honest review.
While there, Yoel is challenged on many levels by this nation of interlocking canals and land, a land with a long and historic Jewish history after the diaspora from Spain. More specifically, he is challenged by one small portion of video he glimpses at the Jewish heritage museum, a montage of salvaged clips from family films taken before the Nazi Occupation of World War II. He and Bat-Ami leave Amsterdam with many questions but it is Yoel who will return to search for answers about his family, this city and how it existed during the war, how the many Jews in the city and country existed. And he will write his next book about all of this.
In this novel, we read it all and it flows like the “endless waters” of the title. The flow of the waters in the canals of the city as Yoel walks and walks, crossing so many bridges, to experience all the city sections that were there in the past. The flow of memory, of his own life and what he is learning of Jewish life in Amsterdam over the centuries. The flow of life, which no longer seems linear but follows a course all its own. The flow of a novel, which goes where an artist takes it, or perhaps sometimes where the subject leads it and where the reader follows. This novel within a novel flows in ways I haven’t experienced before, ways I wondered at and ultimately loved.
Finally, I want to end with one quote written near the end about Yoel.
He wants to write this book like Vincent van Gogh painted:
to pour the colors generously, knead them with his paintbrush
as if he were molding clay, and form the contours of his soul
layer upon layer upon layer. He wants, like Vincent, not to be
afraid to take a sheet of paper on which he has drawn a city
street or a bird’s nest, to turn it over and paint another self-
portrait on the other side. Like Vincent, he wants to also work
outside, even in the wind and the rain, so that the day will come
when within the layers of his portraits, grains of earth and stalks
of grass will be found. (p. 308)
Thanks to Atria Books for the opportunity to read this novel in return for an honest review.
February 17, 2020
⭐️3.5 Stars⭐️
House on Endless Waters is a historical fiction family mystery novel. It's a story of Yoel Blum a famous Israeli novelist and is a story within a story.
While on a book tour in Amsterdam although promising his mother (now deceased) he would never return to his birthplace, Yoel and his wife come across a looping reel of photos in a Jewish museum in which he sees his then young mother posing with her husband, his sister and an infant in pre-war times.
His sister Netty has few memories of the story of their past but Yoel is compelled to return to Amsterdam to write a novel as he becomes consumed by his past and the search for the truth that has been hidden from him all these years.
The story alternates frequently between the past and Yoel’s present and the chapters are short. This is a uniquely told holocaust story unlike others I have read.
The story gives an eye opening and moving view of Jewish mothers trying to keep their children safe at all costs during WWII and sadly after the war many children growing up not knowing who they really were. A beautiful cover and well translated from Hebrew to English.
I wish to thank Better Reading & Allen & Unwin for sending me an advanced copy of the book in return for an honest review
House on Endless Waters is a historical fiction family mystery novel. It's a story of Yoel Blum a famous Israeli novelist and is a story within a story.
While on a book tour in Amsterdam although promising his mother (now deceased) he would never return to his birthplace, Yoel and his wife come across a looping reel of photos in a Jewish museum in which he sees his then young mother posing with her husband, his sister and an infant in pre-war times.
His sister Netty has few memories of the story of their past but Yoel is compelled to return to Amsterdam to write a novel as he becomes consumed by his past and the search for the truth that has been hidden from him all these years.
The story alternates frequently between the past and Yoel’s present and the chapters are short. This is a uniquely told holocaust story unlike others I have read.
The story gives an eye opening and moving view of Jewish mothers trying to keep their children safe at all costs during WWII and sadly after the war many children growing up not knowing who they really were. A beautiful cover and well translated from Hebrew to English.
I wish to thank Better Reading & Allen & Unwin for sending me an advanced copy of the book in return for an honest review
January 11, 2020
This is my own opinion.I did not enjoy reading this book I felt like a ping pong, it is translated from Hebrew to English. Don"t know if that is the cause but the story did not have a flow.
I likded the base of the story about family secrets and the discovry of one"s past and who they are. Liked the cover of the book too.
I want to thank Netgalley,Simon & Schuster Canada, Atria Books and Emuna Elon for this advance e-copy in exchage of an honest review.
I likded the base of the story about family secrets and the discovry of one"s past and who they are. Liked the cover of the book too.
I want to thank Netgalley,Simon & Schuster Canada, Atria Books and Emuna Elon for this advance e-copy in exchage of an honest review.
never-gonna-happen
February 9, 2020Adding this to the 'never gonna happen' collection because I NEED SPEECH MARKS.
Also war story so not my jam.
We're done here.
*This review has been for my sake, not yours.
Also war story so not my jam.
We're done here.
*This review has been for my sake, not yours.
February 5, 2017
ספר נהדר המשחזר את קורותיהם של יהודי הולנד לפני ובזמן מלחמת העולם השנייה. הדמות הראשית היא סופר מצליח בשם יואל בלום, נאלץ להגיע לאמסטרדם נגד בקשתה המפורשת של אמו לפני מותה, לצורך עבודתו. הוא נולד בהולנד, אך מאז לא דרכה שם כף רגלו. ברגע שהוא מגיע לעיר, עולים בו זכרונות ושאלות רבות לגבי זהותו ומשפחתו, המתחזקות כאשר הוא מגלה במוזיאון היהודי בעיר סרטון קצרצר שבו נראית אמו מחזיקה בתינוק שאינו הוא. הוא שב לישראל, אך מחליט לטוס מייד בחזרה לאמסטרדם כדי להתחקות אחרי סודותיה של אמו, ולהתחיל לכתוב את סיפורה. באמסטרדם הוא אכן מצליח לגלות הרבה אודותיה, אך גם לגלות הרבה על חייו הנוכחיים, רגשותיו כלפי משפחתו הנוכחית ובעיקר על עצמו.
כתוב מצויין, שחזור הסטורי מלא פרטים ואמין, מרגש אך לא סנטימנטלי-דביק. למדתי פרק שלא היה ידוע לי על שואת יהודי הולנד ועל תרבותם העשירה.
כתוב מצויין, שחזור הסטורי מלא פרטים ואמין, מרגש אך לא סנטימנטלי-דביק. למדתי פרק שלא היה ידוע לי על שואת יהודי הולנד ועל תרבותם העשירה.
June 22, 2020
This book took my breathe away.
Not only it is written in fabulous Hebrew prose, but the way the author has woven the story between the personal history of the protagonist--himself a successful author--and the current time in which he plays a detective of his own history is done in a masterful way.
I am always bothered when the author takes us into the narrator's point-of-view and has the reader share all his thoughts and intimate feelings, yet holds back crucial information that this protagonist knows yet doesn't tell us. Yet, I am forgiving in this case.
(Note: I read this book in Hebrew. I will check a sample in the English version and if there's any comment about it, I'll update my review here.)
Not only it is written in fabulous Hebrew prose, but the way the author has woven the story between the personal history of the protagonist--himself a successful author--and the current time in which he plays a detective of his own history is done in a masterful way.
I am always bothered when the author takes us into the narrator's point-of-view and has the reader share all his thoughts and intimate feelings, yet holds back crucial information that this protagonist knows yet doesn't tell us. Yet, I am forgiving in this case.
(Note: I read this book in Hebrew. I will check a sample in the English version and if there's any comment about it, I'll update my review here.)
April 15, 2020
3 Stars
To Ms Elon,
I'm on the fence here. Not sure where I really stand with this text...
Firstly,can I ask why do authors do the conversations between characters without talking quotations ??? I'm sorry, but I had to deduct a star for just that, it scrambled with my brain, reading in one voice and then having to reread bits again when the realisation it was a conversation taking place and needed to be read in different voices... From this avid reader - its a huge pet hate, please just add them in, don't make us work so hard and I know I'm not the only one who feels this way on this...
So this story is an incredibly slow burn to get the story going...I almost gave up on this novel...twice!! For me the point of engagement was somewhere between page 120- 150, however my engagement was strained throughout. I really struggled to connect with Yoel, maybe because he was a male, a father, a man of religious faith, most of the things I don't see in myself. Yoel was also a character who hid his emotions - haha! I definitely do not do this so I failed to understand him there too.
Once I did get into the story, I was keen to see how Sonia dealt with the changing environment in Amsterdam during World War 2 and German Occupation... she was a strong female character and enjoyed the aspect of a story within a story narrative, that was done well. The use of art and music in the text I enjoyed, probably because of my creative nature it got to me. However, unfortunately for myself I would be jerked back from this story quite often for various reasons, which made it harder to get back into it. And while the text progressed it did get better,but overall not enough for me to feel overly emotive...
So finally, while I'm not in love with 'House on Endless Waters", it hasn't dissatisfied me completely either, so here I am sitting on the fence....
Lastly, thank you Allen & Unwin for a reviewer's copy in exchange for an honest review.
Natty
Fence-sitter
To Ms Elon,
I'm on the fence here. Not sure where I really stand with this text...
Firstly,can I ask why do authors do the conversations between characters without talking quotations ??? I'm sorry, but I had to deduct a star for just that, it scrambled with my brain, reading in one voice and then having to reread bits again when the realisation it was a conversation taking place and needed to be read in different voices... From this avid reader - its a huge pet hate, please just add them in, don't make us work so hard and I know I'm not the only one who feels this way on this...
So this story is an incredibly slow burn to get the story going...I almost gave up on this novel...twice!! For me the point of engagement was somewhere between page 120- 150, however my engagement was strained throughout. I really struggled to connect with Yoel, maybe because he was a male, a father, a man of religious faith, most of the things I don't see in myself. Yoel was also a character who hid his emotions - haha! I definitely do not do this so I failed to understand him there too.
Once I did get into the story, I was keen to see how Sonia dealt with the changing environment in Amsterdam during World War 2 and German Occupation... she was a strong female character and enjoyed the aspect of a story within a story narrative, that was done well. The use of art and music in the text I enjoyed, probably because of my creative nature it got to me. However, unfortunately for myself I would be jerked back from this story quite often for various reasons, which made it harder to get back into it. And while the text progressed it did get better,but overall not enough for me to feel overly emotive...
So finally, while I'm not in love with 'House on Endless Waters", it hasn't dissatisfied me completely either, so here I am sitting on the fence....
Lastly, thank you Allen & Unwin for a reviewer's copy in exchange for an honest review.
Natty
Fence-sitter
February 7, 2017
"בעיר היפנית קיוטו: גן שבמרכזו נטועים חמישה־עשר סלעים, אבל מכל זווית, שממנה צופים על חמישה־עשר הסלעים הללו, אפשר לראות רק ארבעה־עשר מהם, והתכלית, כפי שהסביר להם מדריך התיירים, היא להביט לא בארבעה־עשר הסלעים הגלויים לעין כי אם בסלע החמישה־עשר, הנסתר."
סיפורו האישי של יואל בלום, סופר דתי פופולארי שספריו מתורגמים לשפות רבות, יליד הולנד שהיגר עם אימו בצעירותו לארץ ישראל מהולנד ולא חזר למדינה עד לבגרותו ולאחר מות אימו. יואל חוזר לאחר שנים רבות להולנד לקידום ספר חדש, וסרטון קצר במוזאון היהודי זורק אותו למערבולת של גילויים על משפחתו ועל עברו הלוט בערפל.
זהו אומנם סיפור אישי אבל במקביל זה סיפורם הקולקטיבי של יהודי הולנד שהושמדו בשיטתיות אכזרית ויעילה עד כדי כך שזו אחת המדינות היחידות שבהן שיעורי ההשמדה עלו על 75% מהקהילה גם בזכות מועצת היהודים ששיתפה פעולה עם השלטון בקיטלוג היהודים, סימולם ושליחתם המסודרת למחנות ההשמדה.
יחד עם זאת הטכניקה של סיפור בתוך סיפור בתוך סיפור, מרדדת את הסיפור הקולקטיבי שנטמע בסיפור החיפושים של יואל ובסיפור משפחתו בהולנד של שנות המלחמה. היא הופכת אותו לרקע לסיפור די בנאלי של החיפוש עצמי ולא ברור לי מדוע הסופרת בחרה לתאר את מסעו של יואל בלום בהווה באמסטרדם העכשווית. לסיפור החיפוש בהווה אין משמעות עמוקה וקראתי טובים ממנו.
הקטעים המתארים את הטרגדיה המשפחתית של הסופר, את הדילמות ואת הכאב הנורא כתובים מצויין. היה ניתן לוותר על חלק מהתיאורים העוסקים במסע לכתיבת הספר. היה ניתן לטפל באופן עמוק יותר בביקורת של הסופרת על פרנסי הקהילה שגזרו גורלות רבים.
סיפורו האישי של יואל בלום, סופר דתי פופולארי שספריו מתורגמים לשפות רבות, יליד הולנד שהיגר עם אימו בצעירותו לארץ ישראל מהולנד ולא חזר למדינה עד לבגרותו ולאחר מות אימו. יואל חוזר לאחר שנים רבות להולנד לקידום ספר חדש, וסרטון קצר במוזאון היהודי זורק אותו למערבולת של גילויים על משפחתו ועל עברו הלוט בערפל.
זהו אומנם סיפור אישי אבל במקביל זה סיפורם הקולקטיבי של יהודי הולנד שהושמדו בשיטתיות אכזרית ויעילה עד כדי כך שזו אחת המדינות היחידות שבהן שיעורי ההשמדה עלו על 75% מהקהילה גם בזכות מועצת היהודים ששיתפה פעולה עם השלטון בקיטלוג היהודים, סימולם ושליחתם המסודרת למחנות ההשמדה.
יחד עם זאת הטכניקה של סיפור בתוך סיפור בתוך סיפור, מרדדת את הסיפור הקולקטיבי שנטמע בסיפור החיפושים של יואל ובסיפור משפחתו בהולנד של שנות המלחמה. היא הופכת אותו לרקע לסיפור די בנאלי של החיפוש עצמי ולא ברור לי מדוע הסופרת בחרה לתאר את מסעו של יואל בלום בהווה באמסטרדם העכשווית. לסיפור החיפוש בהווה אין משמעות עמוקה וקראתי טובים ממנו.
הקטעים המתארים את הטרגדיה המשפחתית של הסופר, את הדילמות ואת הכאב הנורא כתובים מצויין. היה ניתן לוותר על חלק מהתיאורים העוסקים במסע לכתיבת הספר. היה ניתן לטפל באופן עמוק יותר בביקורת של הסופרת על פרנסי הקהילה שגזרו גורלות רבים.
April 2, 2020
*https://mrsbbookreviews.wordpress.com
3.5 stars
‘The waters of the canal flowed dark and silent along their ancient course, dark and silent and all remembering.’
Originally published in Israel in 2016, House on Endless Waters by Emuna Elon has been translated into English by Anthony Berris and Linda Yechiel. Published in March 2020 by Allen and Unwin Australia, Emuna Elon’s novel is a quietly reflective tale of family, love, loss, choices and identity.
At the request of his agent, respected author Yoel Blum returns to his birthplace of Amsterdam and connects with his Dutch publisher. Yoel is conflicted by this visit as he knows his late mother did not want him to return to their former home, a place of trauma and pain. However, a fateful trip to a Jewish Museum in Amsterdam challenges everything Yoel knows about his family’s past when he stumbles across a perplexing family photo displayed at the museum. The existence of this photo sends Yoel on a scavenger hunt into Amsterdam’s past. Yoel delves into the murky depths of World War II and this search leads him directly into the path of a hidden network that operated during the war. This is top secret initiative strikes right at the heart of Yoel’s family and his mother’s past. It will have Yoel questioning his existence, origins, past and future. Emuna Elon’s House on Endless Waters represents a penetrative and revealing investigation into one man’s family roots, with surprising links to World War II.
Holocaust stories have become quite innovative of late and Emuna Elon’s House on Endless Waters is a prime example of such a story. Carefully intertwining the past with the present, Elon’s moving testimony of an author working to uncover his family’s tumultuous hidden wartime history will be sure to draw plenty of sympathy from readers.
Our guide during this tender and poignant tale is Yoel Blum. Elon does a good job of outlining her lead protagonist and we soon fall into step with this reflective figure. Elon also examines this gentle man’s thoughts, feelings, concerns and reservations. Yoel’s journey is as much emotional as it is surprising in places. Yoel is loyal to his family and the determination he displays at getting to the crux of the family mystery involving his mother is admirable.
The setting of both present day Amsterdam and during the war is beautifully rendered by Elon. House on Endless Waters offers an evocative examination into the culture, the architecture, key places, general way of life and religious practices in Amsterdam. In addition, the book is also defined by plenty of imagery involving water. These strong references to water quietly meander through this meditative text.
For historical fiction lovers, Elon has not left you behind. Yoel’s mother’s wartime experiences are exposed piece by piece, over four notebooks provided by our central narrator, which build to a rich crescendo of shocking events. Books such as House on Endless Waters play an important role in educating modern readers about the toll of the Holocaust, particularly the family members left behind to pick up the broken fragments of their family’s devastating history.
A story of personal desire, hidden family histories, the price of love and human sacrifice defines House on Endless Waters. This literary fiction title is recommend to historical fiction readers.
*Thanks extended to Allen & Unwin for providing a free copy of this book for review purposes.
3.5 stars
‘The waters of the canal flowed dark and silent along their ancient course, dark and silent and all remembering.’
Originally published in Israel in 2016, House on Endless Waters by Emuna Elon has been translated into English by Anthony Berris and Linda Yechiel. Published in March 2020 by Allen and Unwin Australia, Emuna Elon’s novel is a quietly reflective tale of family, love, loss, choices and identity.
At the request of his agent, respected author Yoel Blum returns to his birthplace of Amsterdam and connects with his Dutch publisher. Yoel is conflicted by this visit as he knows his late mother did not want him to return to their former home, a place of trauma and pain. However, a fateful trip to a Jewish Museum in Amsterdam challenges everything Yoel knows about his family’s past when he stumbles across a perplexing family photo displayed at the museum. The existence of this photo sends Yoel on a scavenger hunt into Amsterdam’s past. Yoel delves into the murky depths of World War II and this search leads him directly into the path of a hidden network that operated during the war. This is top secret initiative strikes right at the heart of Yoel’s family and his mother’s past. It will have Yoel questioning his existence, origins, past and future. Emuna Elon’s House on Endless Waters represents a penetrative and revealing investigation into one man’s family roots, with surprising links to World War II.
Holocaust stories have become quite innovative of late and Emuna Elon’s House on Endless Waters is a prime example of such a story. Carefully intertwining the past with the present, Elon’s moving testimony of an author working to uncover his family’s tumultuous hidden wartime history will be sure to draw plenty of sympathy from readers.
Our guide during this tender and poignant tale is Yoel Blum. Elon does a good job of outlining her lead protagonist and we soon fall into step with this reflective figure. Elon also examines this gentle man’s thoughts, feelings, concerns and reservations. Yoel’s journey is as much emotional as it is surprising in places. Yoel is loyal to his family and the determination he displays at getting to the crux of the family mystery involving his mother is admirable.
The setting of both present day Amsterdam and during the war is beautifully rendered by Elon. House on Endless Waters offers an evocative examination into the culture, the architecture, key places, general way of life and religious practices in Amsterdam. In addition, the book is also defined by plenty of imagery involving water. These strong references to water quietly meander through this meditative text.
For historical fiction lovers, Elon has not left you behind. Yoel’s mother’s wartime experiences are exposed piece by piece, over four notebooks provided by our central narrator, which build to a rich crescendo of shocking events. Books such as House on Endless Waters play an important role in educating modern readers about the toll of the Holocaust, particularly the family members left behind to pick up the broken fragments of their family’s devastating history.
A story of personal desire, hidden family histories, the price of love and human sacrifice defines House on Endless Waters. This literary fiction title is recommend to historical fiction readers.
*Thanks extended to Allen & Unwin for providing a free copy of this book for review purposes.
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