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Circumference of Silence
It’s been a week since the funeral, and Mali is at her mother’s Manhattan apartment ready to pack it up—at least that’s what she thinks—until she discovers a manila envelope, propped up against the back of her mother’s desk, and filled with a mass of unsent letters. Her mother’s handwriting on the lined notepaper is so familiar, and the slight German accent Mali hears ticking through her words, so haunting.
Mali reads the memories of her mother’s Jewish childhood in 1930s Berlin, then her life in war-torn London. But when she comes to her mother’s account of her too-early marriage and the divorce that forced her to leave her young daughter in London and go to New York, Mali is thrust back into her own unhappy childhood, where that relentless ache for her absent mother, lodged like a stony pit inside her, must now be reconciled.
Mali reads the memories of her mother’s Jewish childhood in 1930s Berlin, then her life in war-torn London. But when she comes to her mother’s account of her too-early marriage and the divorce that forced her to leave her young daughter in London and go to New York, Mali is thrust back into her own unhappy childhood, where that relentless ache for her absent mother, lodged like a stony pit inside her, must now be reconciled.
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Published July 8, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
May 14, 2021
A very interesting perspective on how events can impact not only individuals directly, but also the generations that follow. Circumference of Silence was a very easy book to read. It was difficult to put down. The story fully immersed you into that moment. A story that I believe needs to be told. It’s a story that doesn’t dwell on the horrific events of the past, but rather helps the reader to better understand the human elements associated with those times. I recognize that there are more parallels between those times and these times than we would like to acknowledge. I consider stories such as these as ones to help bridge the gap of indifference and broaden our level of understanding.
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June 2, 2021A mother daughter narrative that encapsulates much sadness, love, and heartbreak, the story takes place in the present day when Mali goes to her recently deceased mother's apartment to clear out the late woman's belongings. Mali discovers a trove of letters her mother had written to her and, enraptured, spends the day and much of the night reading them. The contents of these letters, which are shared with readers, pull Mali back in time to her mother's younger days as a child escaping Nazi Germany, marrying young in England, and leaving her eight-year-old daughter behind to move to New York. As Mali learns more details about her mother's past, she reflects on her own youth, the pain of separation from her mother and her still strong feelings of abandonment and loss.
The writing in Circumference of Silence is lyrical and captivating. The personal story of each of the two women underlines the unimaginable suffering of Holocaust survivors, as well as their children, their children's children, and on into the next generations. Never forget has become a passing on of a deep and abiding grief.
A haunting story that will linger long after you read it, which is, I would imagine, the author's intent.
The writing in Circumference of Silence is lyrical and captivating. The personal story of each of the two women underlines the unimaginable suffering of Holocaust survivors, as well as their children, their children's children, and on into the next generations. Never forget has become a passing on of a deep and abiding grief.
A haunting story that will linger long after you read it, which is, I would imagine, the author's intent.
July 13, 2021
Eva, a Jewish girl in Germany in the 1930s, experienced what no child should: her life and family were torn apart by the Nazis in those dark days proceeding World War II. In Circumference Of Silence, based on a true story of the author's mother, Jacquie Herz tells Eva's story through letters and journal entries left for Eva's daughter, Mali, upon her death.
Mali, who was separated from her mother as a child, is in her mother's apartment to wrap up loose ends. She longs to know who her mother really was and is surprised by secrets and the silence that surrounded them. Phone calls, falling rose pedals, a visit from her mother's neighbor in Manhattan and a special childhood companion, (one whose life Eva changed forever), provide pieces of the puzzle Mali attempts to snap into place to form the frame of a picture she yearns to see in full.
Jacquie's writing is clear, honest, delicate and bold; the stories intertwine in a dance that inspired a robust rememrance of the past Eva lived, yet likewise is rooted in the present struggles of Mali as she mourns her mother and discovers parts of her after she is gone. The author has a gift with words that provide easy access into various environments, (war-torn Europe, London, and New York),and the emotions of the characters, flush with strengths, quirks, and intelligible imperfections. I thought of this story during the days in between my morning readings; it would not leave me.
Here is a bit of her marvelous storytelling -
"Steamy grey smoke rises into the darkness from the power plants across the East River. Speckles of reflected light jiggle in the rapidly moving currents of the water, as if a shaky hand points the light. No stars shine in the sky, but it doesn’t matter. The city needs no help, it sparkles all on its own. More sirens screech from somewhere out of sight. She watches a driver struggle with parallel parking up the street. A dog barks. A woman laughs. A baby cries. Brakes squeal as a car stops short for a red light. Drumbeat sounds boom from another, then fade as the light changes to green, and vanish as the car speeds off. Mali shivers and draws the blanket closer around her, burying her nose in its warmth. She doesn’t want to go back in, not just yet. She needs the cool night air and the space away from her mother’s haunting words to think.
But out of the darkness, another night in her own life begins to take shape in her mind."
Mali, who was separated from her mother as a child, is in her mother's apartment to wrap up loose ends. She longs to know who her mother really was and is surprised by secrets and the silence that surrounded them. Phone calls, falling rose pedals, a visit from her mother's neighbor in Manhattan and a special childhood companion, (one whose life Eva changed forever), provide pieces of the puzzle Mali attempts to snap into place to form the frame of a picture she yearns to see in full.
Jacquie's writing is clear, honest, delicate and bold; the stories intertwine in a dance that inspired a robust rememrance of the past Eva lived, yet likewise is rooted in the present struggles of Mali as she mourns her mother and discovers parts of her after she is gone. The author has a gift with words that provide easy access into various environments, (war-torn Europe, London, and New York),and the emotions of the characters, flush with strengths, quirks, and intelligible imperfections. I thought of this story during the days in between my morning readings; it would not leave me.
Here is a bit of her marvelous storytelling -
"Steamy grey smoke rises into the darkness from the power plants across the East River. Speckles of reflected light jiggle in the rapidly moving currents of the water, as if a shaky hand points the light. No stars shine in the sky, but it doesn’t matter. The city needs no help, it sparkles all on its own. More sirens screech from somewhere out of sight. She watches a driver struggle with parallel parking up the street. A dog barks. A woman laughs. A baby cries. Brakes squeal as a car stops short for a red light. Drumbeat sounds boom from another, then fade as the light changes to green, and vanish as the car speeds off. Mali shivers and draws the blanket closer around her, burying her nose in its warmth. She doesn’t want to go back in, not just yet. She needs the cool night air and the space away from her mother’s haunting words to think.
But out of the darkness, another night in her own life begins to take shape in her mind."
June 12, 2021
This book is captivating as it explores the relationships between mothers and daughters and how time and history have an impact them both as a family and as individuals.
Shortly after her mother’s death, Mali begins to pack up her apartment. When she stumbles upon an envelope with her name on it, old memories start to flash before her eyes. As her mother shares memories of her childhood as a Jewish girl in WWII Berlin, Mali discovers how well she did and did not know her mother. The letters raise lots of questions for Mali and her own parenting. More than anything, these letters give her a better understanding of her mother, the horrors she experienced, the challenges she had to overcome and her own fears about motherhood.
This book grabs a hold of you instantly. It’s written with so much compassion that you can’t help but get sucked up into the memories and emotions. While I felt it ended rather abruptly, I still give it 5 stars. It’s a great weekend read that will tug at your heartstrings and make you want to go give your own mother a hug!
Thanks to NetGalley, Black Rose Writing and Jacquie Hertz for allowing me to read this lovely story ahead of its publication date! I hope my review helps folks looking for that good weekend read.
Shortly after her mother’s death, Mali begins to pack up her apartment. When she stumbles upon an envelope with her name on it, old memories start to flash before her eyes. As her mother shares memories of her childhood as a Jewish girl in WWII Berlin, Mali discovers how well she did and did not know her mother. The letters raise lots of questions for Mali and her own parenting. More than anything, these letters give her a better understanding of her mother, the horrors she experienced, the challenges she had to overcome and her own fears about motherhood.
This book grabs a hold of you instantly. It’s written with so much compassion that you can’t help but get sucked up into the memories and emotions. While I felt it ended rather abruptly, I still give it 5 stars. It’s a great weekend read that will tug at your heartstrings and make you want to go give your own mother a hug!
Thanks to NetGalley, Black Rose Writing and Jacquie Hertz for allowing me to read this lovely story ahead of its publication date! I hope my review helps folks looking for that good weekend read.
April 27, 2021
Hold onto your heart.
Jacquie Herz’s splendidly-written historical drama “Circumference of Silence” tells the story of a Jewish family through four generations, beginning in 1930’s Berlin where they are victims of Nazi persecution on the eve of the Holocaust, to their escape and resettlement as refugees in London during World War II, to the chain of events that separates a grief-stricken mother from her young daughter and eventually reunites them in New York where life continues, as life does in defiance of the past, and is renewed in each new generation.
The story begins in the present in New York and is told in flashbacks of memory and through a memoir left behind by the mother after her death for the daughter, who learns from her mother’s writing the secrets that couldn’t be told as well as the words of longing and love that couldn’t be said in life.
“Circumference of Silence” is definitely a five-star ― and a five-Kleenex ―read.
Jacquie Herz’s splendidly-written historical drama “Circumference of Silence” tells the story of a Jewish family through four generations, beginning in 1930’s Berlin where they are victims of Nazi persecution on the eve of the Holocaust, to their escape and resettlement as refugees in London during World War II, to the chain of events that separates a grief-stricken mother from her young daughter and eventually reunites them in New York where life continues, as life does in defiance of the past, and is renewed in each new generation.
The story begins in the present in New York and is told in flashbacks of memory and through a memoir left behind by the mother after her death for the daughter, who learns from her mother’s writing the secrets that couldn’t be told as well as the words of longing and love that couldn’t be said in life.
“Circumference of Silence” is definitely a five-star ― and a five-Kleenex ―read.
April 23, 2021
I just have to say that once I picked up this novel I couldn’t put it down. I especially resonated to Mali as a young child and how the forced departure of her mother tore them both apart. It was so beautifully written that I was moved to tears. Went into the shower and cried my eyes out! You know something is really good when it gets to you like that. I have had some similar childhood experiences to Mali so I’m sure that’s why it moved me so deeply. Reading this novel I was reminded of the phrase “writing from the heart.” This author certainly wrote from her heart! ❤️ Congratulations on a beautiful work.
July 28, 2021
An exquisitely written, heart wrenching novel about love, loss, and the ravages of war. A narrative structured with late-found letters revealing clues to a mother's past silences and a daughter's unmet longings, this story sears with emotion and poignancy.
April 22, 2021
This book is amazing! The characters are so well written, and the details make the book hard to put down. The story moves back and forth between present day and the past, and beautifully captures the mother daughter relationship! I highly recommend this book!
August 25, 2021
Jacquie Herz, Author of “Circumference of Silence” has written an intense, heartbreaking, emotional, and poignant novel. The Genres for this novel are Jewish Historical Fiction, and Jewish Literature and Fiction. Although this is historical fiction, it does read more like non-fiction, or biography. The author vividly depicts the times and images of Berlin, and Europe during World War Two during Nazi domination, and persecution of Jewish people. The author also describes her characters as complex and complicated. There is a lack of communication and secrets. The novel is written in the author’s present and goes to the past when it pertains to the characters or events.
Mali in the current time goes to Manhattan to clean out her deceased mother’s apartment. In a manila envelope are letters, almost like a diary going into great detail in her grandparent's and mother’s life. As Mali reads through these thought-provoking letters, she realizes that her perception of many things was different. Mali starts to envision how all information will affect her relationship with her daughters and her family. Also, Mali has to come to terms with the relationship that she had with her mother and the reality.
This is a memorable book that I would highly recommend for readers that like Jewish Historical Fiction.
Mali in the current time goes to Manhattan to clean out her deceased mother’s apartment. In a manila envelope are letters, almost like a diary going into great detail in her grandparent's and mother’s life. As Mali reads through these thought-provoking letters, she realizes that her perception of many things was different. Mali starts to envision how all information will affect her relationship with her daughters and her family. Also, Mali has to come to terms with the relationship that she had with her mother and the reality.
This is a memorable book that I would highly recommend for readers that like Jewish Historical Fiction.
October 17, 2021
A captivating story of a daughters journey to love and reconciliation.
Mali is at her recently deceased mother's apartment to begin the process of packing it up. She comes across an envelope filled with unsent letters her mother wrote to her to express in written words things she couldn't find it in herself to say in person. It's through these letters that Mali's mother's history is told, from the 1930's in Germany to 2014 in New York, giving Mali a deeper understanding of what led to her own unhappy childhood and what led to her mother's leaving her when she was a child.
While reading this I was completely taken by the author's gift of story telling. I often found myself reflecting on my own relationship with my now deceased mother and the things I learned after her death. I loved how the story put me there in the apartment with Mali reading her mother's letters, feeling the emotions of the moment as she learned of her mother's history.
This is one story that will stay with me for a while and one that I highly recommend.
.
Thank you to the author, Blacks Rose Writing and Suzy Approved Book Tours for the gifted copy and including me on this tour.
Mali is at her recently deceased mother's apartment to begin the process of packing it up. She comes across an envelope filled with unsent letters her mother wrote to her to express in written words things she couldn't find it in herself to say in person. It's through these letters that Mali's mother's history is told, from the 1930's in Germany to 2014 in New York, giving Mali a deeper understanding of what led to her own unhappy childhood and what led to her mother's leaving her when she was a child.
While reading this I was completely taken by the author's gift of story telling. I often found myself reflecting on my own relationship with my now deceased mother and the things I learned after her death. I loved how the story put me there in the apartment with Mali reading her mother's letters, feeling the emotions of the moment as she learned of her mother's history.
This is one story that will stay with me for a while and one that I highly recommend.
.
Thank you to the author, Blacks Rose Writing and Suzy Approved Book Tours for the gifted copy and including me on this tour.
June 22, 2021
From the brilliant title to the poignant cover to the aching stories written inside, this beautiful multi-timeline book is gripping, moving, evocative and incredibly insightful. The author's writing is introspective, keen, bright and thoughtful. Simply said, this is an unputdownable book.
Mali makes a discovery which changes her life and causes her to question everything, including her relationship with her fascinating and unconventional mother. But the discovery also leads her to answers which clarify lifelong haziness. Mali's mother's diary is an important account of the past, her past. The author injects real portions of history such as Kristallnacht and effects of war into the story. "How would I have turned out if there had been no Hitler?" I've wondered what the world would have been had there been no Hitler and no Holocaust. Yet the story is not overwhelmed by that side alone but to me is also a study in relationships and choices. Readers are taken through different perspectives which are flawlessly written in parts which make a seamless whole. Mali reflects and pieces her memories together and begins to understand the whys and whats as she learns about her background spanning the past few generations.
I am usually not a literary fiction fan but this...this is incredible! Am I ever glad I read it. It would have been a shame to miss. Literary fiction, Women's Fiction, General Fiction and Historical Fiction fans alike ought to read this book.
My sincere thank you to Black Rose Writing and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this crushing, lovely and wondrously-crafted book.
Mali makes a discovery which changes her life and causes her to question everything, including her relationship with her fascinating and unconventional mother. But the discovery also leads her to answers which clarify lifelong haziness. Mali's mother's diary is an important account of the past, her past. The author injects real portions of history such as Kristallnacht and effects of war into the story. "How would I have turned out if there had been no Hitler?" I've wondered what the world would have been had there been no Hitler and no Holocaust. Yet the story is not overwhelmed by that side alone but to me is also a study in relationships and choices. Readers are taken through different perspectives which are flawlessly written in parts which make a seamless whole. Mali reflects and pieces her memories together and begins to understand the whys and whats as she learns about her background spanning the past few generations.
I am usually not a literary fiction fan but this...this is incredible! Am I ever glad I read it. It would have been a shame to miss. Literary fiction, Women's Fiction, General Fiction and Historical Fiction fans alike ought to read this book.
My sincere thank you to Black Rose Writing and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this crushing, lovely and wondrously-crafted book.
July 28, 2021
Circumference of Silence is both a historic novel and the moving story of a mother-and-daughter relationship.
After her mother’s death, Mali finds a stack of letters addressed to her in her mother’s apartment. Through these letters, the mother reveals the key experiences of her life, many of which were too painful to express otherwise: her growing up as a young girl in Berlin, her family and friends suffering from Nazi persecution, finally their ‘lucky’ escape to England where they find a new interim home as refugees and eventually the reunion of generations in the United States.
In her written words, the mother also addresses the unresolved conflicts and feelings of guilt about leaving her 8-year-old daughter behind in England after her marriage failed and she moved to New York to re-join her parents.
The letters force a kind of dialogue between the mother and her daughter’s memory, breaking up the silence between them. The repercussions of history, however, that impacted on their lives and on future generations, ‘that ever-widening, ever-frightening circumference of silence’ remain beyond reconciliation.
Through Circumference of Silence Jacquie Herz addresses one most important issue: no matter how painful, history must not be forgotten, else how could we learn for the future.
I am Jacquie’s husband’s cousin. Living in Germany, I am observing some frightening developments here and elsewhere, which I would never have deemed possible after the holocaust. Sadly, this leaves me to conclude that Mali’s words are true: ‘…look at what the world has gone through and persists in going through, time and time again’.
I highly recommend this book. Making history tangible, it may help to ‘pierce’ the silence.
Kathryn Herz
After her mother’s death, Mali finds a stack of letters addressed to her in her mother’s apartment. Through these letters, the mother reveals the key experiences of her life, many of which were too painful to express otherwise: her growing up as a young girl in Berlin, her family and friends suffering from Nazi persecution, finally their ‘lucky’ escape to England where they find a new interim home as refugees and eventually the reunion of generations in the United States.
In her written words, the mother also addresses the unresolved conflicts and feelings of guilt about leaving her 8-year-old daughter behind in England after her marriage failed and she moved to New York to re-join her parents.
The letters force a kind of dialogue between the mother and her daughter’s memory, breaking up the silence between them. The repercussions of history, however, that impacted on their lives and on future generations, ‘that ever-widening, ever-frightening circumference of silence’ remain beyond reconciliation.
Through Circumference of Silence Jacquie Herz addresses one most important issue: no matter how painful, history must not be forgotten, else how could we learn for the future.
I am Jacquie’s husband’s cousin. Living in Germany, I am observing some frightening developments here and elsewhere, which I would never have deemed possible after the holocaust. Sadly, this leaves me to conclude that Mali’s words are true: ‘…look at what the world has gone through and persists in going through, time and time again’.
I highly recommend this book. Making history tangible, it may help to ‘pierce’ the silence.
Kathryn Herz
June 5, 2021
CIRCUMFERENCE OF SILENCE by Jacquie Herz is a beautifully-written historical drama that follows a Jewish family across five generations beginning in Berlin in the 1930s and carrying through to the present day in New York City. Mali is mourning the recent loss of her mother, Eva, and has come to Eva’s NYC apartment to sort and pack up her mother’s belongings. While there, Mali discovers an envelope full of letters her mother wrote to her trying to explain how her life had unfolded and how she came to be separated from Mali when Mali was just eight-years-old. The letters reveal Eva’s memories of her childhood when she and her parents had to flee Berlin to escape Nazi persecution to their life as Jewish refugees in war-ravaged London. Mali learns the details of her mother’s marriage at a young age to her father and the shocking circumstances of their bitter divorce. The story alternates between Mali in the present and Eva in the past, learned from her letters. This is a heart-wrenching and emotional portrayal of mother-daughter relationships and how untold secrets shape those relationships for generations to come. I was totally immersed in this heartfelt story and I know it will stay with me for a long time. I highly recommend CIRCUMFERENCE OF SILENCE and look forward to reading more from Jacquie Herz in the future. Thank you to the author for sharing an early copy for me to read and review.
July 25, 2021
A beautifully written family saga that follows a Jewish family across four generations. Mali is packing up Eva’s, her recently deceased mother, belongings when she finds a manila envelope stuffed with unmailed letters. In these letters, Mali learns her mother’s secrets and why she abandoned Mali when she was only an eight-year-old child. I could feel Mali’s pain of abandonment and loss because of the absence of her mother from her life. In her letters, Eva puts into words to her daughter what she was never able to do orally. Mali finally learns about Eva’s marriage at a young age and what led to her parents’ bitter divorce.
I love family sagas, and this one did not disappoint me. I think what I really like about family sagas is how the reader learns how decisions made in the past carry forward impacting the future generations. I experienced so many emotions while reading this lovely mother-daughter story that begins in 1930s Germany where Eva’s parents experience Nazi persecution, then their resettlement in war-torn London during WWII, and ending in present-day New York.
Herz did a superb job in writing a timeline that alternated between Mali’s present to her mother’s past story told through those unsent letters. The reader is left with an understanding of how the horrors inflicted upon Holocaust survivors impact the following generations.
This book is sure to linger in your memory.
I love family sagas, and this one did not disappoint me. I think what I really like about family sagas is how the reader learns how decisions made in the past carry forward impacting the future generations. I experienced so many emotions while reading this lovely mother-daughter story that begins in 1930s Germany where Eva’s parents experience Nazi persecution, then their resettlement in war-torn London during WWII, and ending in present-day New York.
Herz did a superb job in writing a timeline that alternated between Mali’s present to her mother’s past story told through those unsent letters. The reader is left with an understanding of how the horrors inflicted upon Holocaust survivors impact the following generations.
This book is sure to linger in your memory.
February 11, 2022
Mali and her mother had always had a strained relationship. After her mother's death, Mali finds an envelope full of letters to her. As she reads the letters, she comes to know the mother she thought abandoned her as a child in London.
I feel a connectedness to Mali, although my mom and I did not have a strained relationship. My own mother passed away last June and as my sisters and I go through her things, I experience many of the same feelings as Mali. Even though this book deals with the mother's childhood experiences as a Jew in WWII Berlin and then a refugee in England, there is something special about how Herz deals with the loss of a mother. Perhaps there is some truth here, that daughters can't really know their mothers until they are forced by grief to look back through all the years.
I feel a connectedness to Mali, although my mom and I did not have a strained relationship. My own mother passed away last June and as my sisters and I go through her things, I experience many of the same feelings as Mali. Even though this book deals with the mother's childhood experiences as a Jew in WWII Berlin and then a refugee in England, there is something special about how Herz deals with the loss of a mother. Perhaps there is some truth here, that daughters can't really know their mothers until they are forced by grief to look back through all the years.
July 30, 2021
Moving, touching; emotions hitting me like a lapping of waves on a shoreline.
I felt like sadness and pride were being poured on to the pages all at once.
My heart was utterly engaged with Mali’s.
Our emotional scars carry through generations whether we believe we are allowing them to be or not. What is the weight of them?
Silence can also be deafening.
Mother’s and Daughters are much more bonded than we can imagine. Mali and her mother were like that, and her mother knew it.
(I see it viscerally as an electrical current…It’s a bit unseen when working and flowing well, but has bite to it and a fire can start when something isn’t going well.)
Mali and her mother have so much to work through, even after death. The beauty with which Jacquie writes is as melodic as the heart beating between them.
I love stories told through letters. This one has extra meaning because it covered times in history I enjoy reading about.
“The Circumference of Silence” by Jacqui Herz is a novel I won’t soon forget.
Brilliant debut novel!
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.
I felt like sadness and pride were being poured on to the pages all at once.
My heart was utterly engaged with Mali’s.
Our emotional scars carry through generations whether we believe we are allowing them to be or not. What is the weight of them?
Silence can also be deafening.
Mother’s and Daughters are much more bonded than we can imagine. Mali and her mother were like that, and her mother knew it.
(I see it viscerally as an electrical current…It’s a bit unseen when working and flowing well, but has bite to it and a fire can start when something isn’t going well.)
Mali and her mother have so much to work through, even after death. The beauty with which Jacquie writes is as melodic as the heart beating between them.
I love stories told through letters. This one has extra meaning because it covered times in history I enjoy reading about.
“The Circumference of Silence” by Jacqui Herz is a novel I won’t soon forget.
Brilliant debut novel!
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.
August 5, 2021
In her debut novel, Circumference of Silence, Jacquie Herz succeeds in rivaling best-selling authors. In her historical drama, she encapsulates the impact of Hitler and WWII on four generations of a Jewish family starting in Nazi Germany and ending in New York City. Jacquie’s enamoring imagery and artistry with words easily pulls the reader into the story to live the experiences. Not a book to put down and one to remember. I highly recommend Circumference of Silence and am anxious to read Jacquie’s next book.
Rebecca Gautreaux
Rebecca Gautreaux
August 19, 2021
This poignant debut novel is amazing! Once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. It's told in present day, from Mali's POV, but she's reading letters her mother wrote to her to tell the tale. Letters that her mother wrote as a type of catharsis. Eva wrote about her Jewish childhood in 1930's Berlin, all the way up through most of Mali's life. Dredging up Mali's own motherless childhood.
While it's a tough read in some spots, it's completely worth it!
While it's a tough read in some spots, it's completely worth it!
October 7, 2021
Jacquie Herz’s beautifully written, poignant novel explores the loving and often fraught relationship between a mother and daughter. Covering a swath of modern history, the work demonstrates how the traumas and suffering of one generation have lasting consequences for those who follow. Beautiful descriptions place the reader in the scene, whether it is Berlin, London or New York. You will love this novel.
July 20, 2021
In The Circumference of Silence, Mali is cleaning out her mother’s Manhattan apartment when she comes across a pack of letters that her mother never sent. In the letters her mother writes about her marriage and divorce, her absent mother and unhappy childhood, how she was forced to leave her daughter in London and return to New York. I thought it was very well done.
December 21, 2021
Worthwhile read
I'm glad I read this book. I think it was well written and thoughtful. It's holocaust theme seen from a personal view point was moving and a reminder of the importance of passing this horror of history to the next generations.
I'm glad I read this book. I think it was well written and thoughtful. It's holocaust theme seen from a personal view point was moving and a reminder of the importance of passing this horror of history to the next generations.
July 31, 2021
When we think of the Holocaust, what immediately jumps to mind is the millions of lives lost. But what about those who escaped? Certainly, their lives were irrevocably altered, even more so if they kept their experiences bottled up inside -- after all, they were "the lucky ones." But perhaps the silence must be broken for the healing to begin. A beautifully written tale of survival, alienation, and -- at long last -- reconciliation.
February 12, 2022
Interesting read
It was interesting to read the effects of the war on a generation who had not experienced it personally. I would recommend to people who like to read the WWII period historical novels.
It was interesting to read the effects of the war on a generation who had not experienced it personally. I would recommend to people who like to read the WWII period historical novels.
May 27, 2021
This an excellent book! I wasn’t too sure about it in the beginning pages, but once I realized what was going on, I was drawn in. The story is about a family living through the Nazi reign, and the things they did to survive. The telling of the story is done in a way I haven’t experienced before, and I really liked it.
Anyone who enjoys WW II historical fiction will want to read this book. I received a copy of this book from the author. All opinions expressed are my own.
Anyone who enjoys WW II historical fiction will want to read this book. I received a copy of this book from the author. All opinions expressed are my own.
August 11, 2021
A beautifully written debut. Circumference of Silence will grab your heart as it shows, through a compelling story, how our history has an impact on future generations. The author’s use of letters and journals to craft this important book brought me to a quiet place. I sank into story and kept turning pages until the quiet, very satisfying end.
September 6, 2021
Circumference of Silence opens with Mali, going through her mother Eva’s apartment. A week has passed since her mother’s death. The two complicated women experienced a delicate relationship. Mali finds a large manila envelope addressed to her. Inside she finds stacks of unsent letters from her mother throughout her lifetime. Through these letters Mail realizes the truth of her mother’s past.
I loved the dual perspectives in Circumference of Silence. Getting to know Mali and Eva throughout the span of the novel felt like spending time with family. I was stunned when I started reading the book. Throughout reading Circumference of Silence, I had to keep checking if this book was a memoir. There was so much truth in her beautiful writing- a sign of a truly powerful historical fiction!
The accuracy in which the author expresses grief over her mom’s death were so devastatingly on point. Throughout the novel I found myself with tears streaming down my face. A beautiful story of Eva surviving WW2 then trying to salvage a relationship with her daughter later in life.
I loved the dual perspectives in Circumference of Silence. Getting to know Mali and Eva throughout the span of the novel felt like spending time with family. I was stunned when I started reading the book. Throughout reading Circumference of Silence, I had to keep checking if this book was a memoir. There was so much truth in her beautiful writing- a sign of a truly powerful historical fiction!
The accuracy in which the author expresses grief over her mom’s death were so devastatingly on point. Throughout the novel I found myself with tears streaming down my face. A beautiful story of Eva surviving WW2 then trying to salvage a relationship with her daughter later in life.
July 8, 2021
This is a story told through the letters of a dying mother to her adult daughter which she reads after her mother's death. They bring into perspective the reasons why their relationship was so difficult when Mali was a child not understanding why her mother wasn't there for her. And it's the story of her mother's Jewish parents who lived through the difficult years leading up to WWII. The reverberations of which still continue. This is a heartbreaking story. Probably not one to read if you're already feeling sad. But it is eye-opening, well-written, and engrossing, both in the telling of the story of the Jewish people in Europe in the years leading up to the war, and in Mali's story as she struggles to understand her mother's heart. This is the first book I've read by this author. I will read more. And many thanks to Jacquie Herz for my copy. Pub date is July 8, 2021.
August 20, 2021
This book is based on the authors mothers life, and is such a profound emotional read about a family being torn apart by the Nazis. It shows how secrets shape generations, and affect generations to come.
This book is so eloquent and emotionally written. I loved every single word.
This book is so eloquent and emotionally written. I loved every single word.
October 1, 2021
Circumference of Silence
Author, Jacquie Herz
Pub date: July 7, 2021
Thank you @suzyapprovedbooktours, @jacquieherz, and @blackrosepublishing for my #gifted copy!
Jacquie Herz wrote an immersive and exceptional debut novel about complex family dynamics, inherited trauma, loss, and love and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to read and participate in this tour!
This is a multigenerational story with dual timelines told in the present day in 2014 by Mali, who is at her mother's apartment in Manhattan getting ready to pack it up after her mother passed away last week. This novel also has epistolary qualities as told by Eva, Mali's mother, written in letters to her daughter of her memories growing up as a Jewish child in Berlin in the 1930's, her life in war- torn London, her marriage and its demise, and how she left Mali and her husband for New York.
When Mali discovers her mother's letters, this emotional and heartbreaking, yet hopeful story begins. Eva's memories are haunting, yet historically imperative and most importantly, allows Mali to begin to understand her absent mother and of the gap and silence that often overpowered their relationship. Mali is forced to recall parts of her own unhappy childhood and how it has shaped her to how she relates and care for her own two daughters. Eva's letters become a valuable piece of their family's past, present, and future.
It is a powerful and moving story of how history unfold throughout generations, of survival, the bonds of family, and of motherhood. I thought it was exceptional and I highly recommend for those who love to read historical fiction, family saga's, and gorgeously done epistolary novels.
Author, Jacquie Herz
Pub date: July 7, 2021
Thank you @suzyapprovedbooktours, @jacquieherz, and @blackrosepublishing for my #gifted copy!
Jacquie Herz wrote an immersive and exceptional debut novel about complex family dynamics, inherited trauma, loss, and love and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to read and participate in this tour!
This is a multigenerational story with dual timelines told in the present day in 2014 by Mali, who is at her mother's apartment in Manhattan getting ready to pack it up after her mother passed away last week. This novel also has epistolary qualities as told by Eva, Mali's mother, written in letters to her daughter of her memories growing up as a Jewish child in Berlin in the 1930's, her life in war- torn London, her marriage and its demise, and how she left Mali and her husband for New York.
When Mali discovers her mother's letters, this emotional and heartbreaking, yet hopeful story begins. Eva's memories are haunting, yet historically imperative and most importantly, allows Mali to begin to understand her absent mother and of the gap and silence that often overpowered their relationship. Mali is forced to recall parts of her own unhappy childhood and how it has shaped her to how she relates and care for her own two daughters. Eva's letters become a valuable piece of their family's past, present, and future.
It is a powerful and moving story of how history unfold throughout generations, of survival, the bonds of family, and of motherhood. I thought it was exceptional and I highly recommend for those who love to read historical fiction, family saga's, and gorgeously done epistolary novels.
October 3, 2021
This fiction book reads almost like a memoir as the plot is told through Mali’s recollections of her childhood as well as letters written by Mali’s mom, Eva.
Eva has recently passed away. When Mali goes into Eva’s apartment to start packing up Eva’s things, Mali finds a cache of letters that Eva has written to Mali.
Eva’s letters tell about Eva’s childhood as a Jewish child in Berlin during the late 1930s as well as the other parts of Eva’s adult life in London and New York.
The letters are part of Mali’s legacy but also bring back painful memories of Mali’s childhood in London growing up without her mom.
This is a family story that is well written. Even though partially told through letters as well as in different voices and timelines, the read flows harmoniously.
I felt like this book did an excellent job of bringing a portion of World War II history to life while at the same time bringing into focus all the unspoken feelings between a mother and daughter.
Eva has recently passed away. When Mali goes into Eva’s apartment to start packing up Eva’s things, Mali finds a cache of letters that Eva has written to Mali.
Eva’s letters tell about Eva’s childhood as a Jewish child in Berlin during the late 1930s as well as the other parts of Eva’s adult life in London and New York.
The letters are part of Mali’s legacy but also bring back painful memories of Mali’s childhood in London growing up without her mom.
This is a family story that is well written. Even though partially told through letters as well as in different voices and timelines, the read flows harmoniously.
I felt like this book did an excellent job of bringing a portion of World War II history to life while at the same time bringing into focus all the unspoken feelings between a mother and daughter.
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