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All Whom I Have Loved
The haunting story of a Jewish family in Eastern Europe in the 1930s that prefigures the fate of the Jews during World War II.
At the center is nine-year-old Paul Rosenfeld, the beloved only child of divorced parents, through whose eyes we view a dissolving, increasingly chaotic world. Initially, Paul lives with his mother–a secular, assimilated schoolteacher, who he adores until she “betrays” him by marrying the gentile André. He is then sent to live with his father–once an admired avant-garde artist, but now reviled by the critics as a “decadent Jew,” who drowns his anger, pain, and humiliation in drink. Paul searches in vain for stability and meaning in a world that is collapsing around him, but his love for the earthy peasant girl who briefly takes care of him, the strange pull he feels towards the Jews praying in the synagogue near his home, and the fascination with which he observes Eastern Orthodox church rituals merely give him tantalizing glimpses into worlds of which he can never be a part.
The fates that Paul’s parents will meet with Paul as terrified witness–his mother, deserted by her new husband and dying of typhus; his father, gunned down while trying to stop the robbery of a Jewish-owned shop–and his own fate as an orphaned Jewish child alone in Europe in 1938 are rendered with extraordinary subtlety and power, as they foreshadow, in the heart-wrenching story of three individuals, the cataclysm that is about to engulf all of European Jewry.
At the center is nine-year-old Paul Rosenfeld, the beloved only child of divorced parents, through whose eyes we view a dissolving, increasingly chaotic world. Initially, Paul lives with his mother–a secular, assimilated schoolteacher, who he adores until she “betrays” him by marrying the gentile André. He is then sent to live with his father–once an admired avant-garde artist, but now reviled by the critics as a “decadent Jew,” who drowns his anger, pain, and humiliation in drink. Paul searches in vain for stability and meaning in a world that is collapsing around him, but his love for the earthy peasant girl who briefly takes care of him, the strange pull he feels towards the Jews praying in the synagogue near his home, and the fascination with which he observes Eastern Orthodox church rituals merely give him tantalizing glimpses into worlds of which he can never be a part.
The fates that Paul’s parents will meet with Paul as terrified witness–his mother, deserted by her new husband and dying of typhus; his father, gunned down while trying to stop the robbery of a Jewish-owned shop–and his own fate as an orphaned Jewish child alone in Europe in 1938 are rendered with extraordinary subtlety and power, as they foreshadow, in the heart-wrenching story of three individuals, the cataclysm that is about to engulf all of European Jewry.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1999
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187 people want to read
About the author
Aharon Appelfeld
65 books199 followersAHARON APPELFELD is the author of more than forty works of fiction and nonfiction, including Until the Dawn's Light and The Iron Tracks (both winners of the National Jewish Book Award) and The Story of a Life (winner of the Prix Médicis Étranger). Other honors he has received include the Giovanni Bocaccio Literary Prize, the Nelly Sachs Prize, the Israel Prize, the Bialik Prize, the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize, and the MLA Commonwealth Award. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has received honorary degrees from the Jewish Theological Seminary, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, and Yeshiva University.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
January 17, 2018
This book has the same direct, sparse style marked predominantly by simple declarative sentences as Appelfeld’s other novels do. He provides just enough description of the setting to give one a visual sense of the surroundings and/or of the people portrayed. Dialogue between characters is brief and infrequent. Most of it consists of the observations which 9-10 year old Paul who is the book’s narrator makes about his parents and others he encounters over the course of the novel.
Paul was raised by parents who grew up in an orphanage. Thus, not surprisingly, they have meager communication skills and little empathy for his needs for nurturance. As a way to try to cope with and make sense of the increasing chaos and confusion taking place in his life over the course of the novel he develops remarkable observation skills and a growing insight into the motivations of others. Sadly, but not unexpectedly, this child has little capacity to express these observations to others. And even less trust to do so. How could this be otherwise when both parents have little ability themselves and/or no tolerance for him to do this?
Appelfeld uses Paul as the narrator of the story. On the one hand, this allows the reader to identify strongly with this child. On the other hand, as the plot progresses Paul makes observations that on occasion left me feeling incredulous. More specifically, how could a child that age have been able to articulate with such clarity, at least to himself, such things about his parents and others?
As was the case with Blooms of Darkness the author exhibits a very sophisticated grasp of the dynamics of alcohol abuse. Slowly but surely he portrays the terrible and ultimately self-destructive physical, psychological, and interpersonal damage which the drinking by the father of Paul inflicts on himself and all of the people in his life. Either Appelfeld witnessed this himself in his life or he has done a lot of research on it. In either case, his understanding of alcoholism is profound and admirable.
As was also done with the main character in Blooms of Darkness Appelfeld uses Paul’s dreams and fantasies in various ways. First, these express his confusion, fear, and ambivalence about his parents and other important people in his life. Second, these portray the growing uncertainty and chaos happening in his life. Third, symbolically the dreams depict the impact that anti-Semitism is having on their lives as Jews in the Ukraine and Romania in the late 1930’s.
As was the case in The Conversion and other books Appelfeld’s portrayal of Jews trying to cope with a world that is growing more and more anti-Semitic is a powerful one. Both religious and non religious members of the faith are subjected to harsh and increasingly violent treatment by many around them. Paul’s father reacts with aggression to such treatment. But in the end, he becomes as much, or more, of a hapless victim as those who do nothing about it.
All in all Appelfeld’s direct and unadorned prose makes for a fairly ‘quick’ read. But the subject matter and, particularly, the ending do not make it a lighthearted one.
Paul was raised by parents who grew up in an orphanage. Thus, not surprisingly, they have meager communication skills and little empathy for his needs for nurturance. As a way to try to cope with and make sense of the increasing chaos and confusion taking place in his life over the course of the novel he develops remarkable observation skills and a growing insight into the motivations of others. Sadly, but not unexpectedly, this child has little capacity to express these observations to others. And even less trust to do so. How could this be otherwise when both parents have little ability themselves and/or no tolerance for him to do this?
Appelfeld uses Paul as the narrator of the story. On the one hand, this allows the reader to identify strongly with this child. On the other hand, as the plot progresses Paul makes observations that on occasion left me feeling incredulous. More specifically, how could a child that age have been able to articulate with such clarity, at least to himself, such things about his parents and others?
As was the case with Blooms of Darkness the author exhibits a very sophisticated grasp of the dynamics of alcohol abuse. Slowly but surely he portrays the terrible and ultimately self-destructive physical, psychological, and interpersonal damage which the drinking by the father of Paul inflicts on himself and all of the people in his life. Either Appelfeld witnessed this himself in his life or he has done a lot of research on it. In either case, his understanding of alcoholism is profound and admirable.
As was also done with the main character in Blooms of Darkness Appelfeld uses Paul’s dreams and fantasies in various ways. First, these express his confusion, fear, and ambivalence about his parents and other important people in his life. Second, these portray the growing uncertainty and chaos happening in his life. Third, symbolically the dreams depict the impact that anti-Semitism is having on their lives as Jews in the Ukraine and Romania in the late 1930’s.
As was the case in The Conversion and other books Appelfeld’s portrayal of Jews trying to cope with a world that is growing more and more anti-Semitic is a powerful one. Both religious and non religious members of the faith are subjected to harsh and increasingly violent treatment by many around them. Paul’s father reacts with aggression to such treatment. But in the end, he becomes as much, or more, of a hapless victim as those who do nothing about it.
All in all Appelfeld’s direct and unadorned prose makes for a fairly ‘quick’ read. But the subject matter and, particularly, the ending do not make it a lighthearted one.
April 6, 2015
אף פעם לא התהלבתי מספרות מקור, היא יותר מידי פרובנציאלית ומחזירה אותי למציאות הישראלית. כך שהנסיונות שלי בתחום מצומצמים לסופרים שנראים לי בעלי שיעור קומה או סתם מעניינים.
במסגרת זו "כל אשר אהבתי" של אהרון אפלפלד (זוכה פרס...) היווה אתגר לא פשוט.
מחד הספר מתאר את ההויה המזרח אירופאית טרום מלחמת העולם השניה, מאידך, היה לי מאוד קשה איתו ומיד אסביר.
הספר מתאר חיו של ילד להורים יהודיים גרושים. האב צייר האם מורה. בתחילת הספר הילד חי עם האם ולקראת סופו הוא עובר לחיות על האב. האם התנצרה על מנת להתמודד עם המציאות במזרח אירופה, האב נשאר יהודי אבל לא מאלה הדתיים אלא מהמתבוללים, שמזדהים יותר עם הנצרות יותר מאשר עם היהדות אבל לא חוצים את הנהר.
הספר מצייר את שני ההורים באור לא מחמיא. על רקע האנטישמיות המתגברת, האם בוחרת באופן מודע בהתנצרות ובנשואים עם גוי. היא מוותרת על החזקה בבן שלה ובכלל כל תיאור ההפרדות בין האם לבן שנעשה בשלבים מתואר בשפה עשירה המצליחה להעביר לקורא את הכיעור שבהתנהגות של האם. על אותו רקע האב הצייר, אינו מצליח לממש את עצמו ומאשים את האנטישמיים ולא את האלכוהליזם שלו (לדוגמא).
בין שני הקטבים, הילד נמצא ובדיאלוגים קצרים (פנימיים וחיצוניים) מצליח להביא לקורא את מציאות חיו העגומה.
למה היה קשה לי עם הספר, כי ראשית למרות שהוא כתוב נהדר, אני לא מחובבי הדיאלוגים. אבל מעבר לכך, התיאור של המציאות כל כך קולע עד כדי שלא נותר אלא להזדהות עם הדמות של הילד ולהתעצב, להתעצבן ולתהות יחד איתה. הנאיביות של הדמות כל כך נוגעת ללב ומול זה המציאות שטופחת על הפנים שזה פשוט מעצבן.
במסגרת זו "כל אשר אהבתי" של אהרון אפלפלד (זוכה פרס...) היווה אתגר לא פשוט.
מחד הספר מתאר את ההויה המזרח אירופאית טרום מלחמת העולם השניה, מאידך, היה לי מאוד קשה איתו ומיד אסביר.
הספר מתאר חיו של ילד להורים יהודיים גרושים. האב צייר האם מורה. בתחילת הספר הילד חי עם האם ולקראת סופו הוא עובר לחיות על האב. האם התנצרה על מנת להתמודד עם המציאות במזרח אירופה, האב נשאר יהודי אבל לא מאלה הדתיים אלא מהמתבוללים, שמזדהים יותר עם הנצרות יותר מאשר עם היהדות אבל לא חוצים את הנהר.
הספר מצייר את שני ההורים באור לא מחמיא. על רקע האנטישמיות המתגברת, האם בוחרת באופן מודע בהתנצרות ובנשואים עם גוי. היא מוותרת על החזקה בבן שלה ובכלל כל תיאור ההפרדות בין האם לבן שנעשה בשלבים מתואר בשפה עשירה המצליחה להעביר לקורא את הכיעור שבהתנהגות של האם. על אותו רקע האב הצייר, אינו מצליח לממש את עצמו ומאשים את האנטישמיים ולא את האלכוהליזם שלו (לדוגמא).
בין שני הקטבים, הילד נמצא ובדיאלוגים קצרים (פנימיים וחיצוניים) מצליח להביא לקורא את מציאות חיו העגומה.
למה היה קשה לי עם הספר, כי ראשית למרות שהוא כתוב נהדר, אני לא מחובבי הדיאלוגים. אבל מעבר לכך, התיאור של המציאות כל כך קולע עד כדי שלא נותר אלא להזדהות עם הדמות של הילד ולהתעצב, להתעצבן ולתהות יחד איתה. הנאיביות של הדמות כל כך נוגעת ללב ומול זה המציאות שטופחת על הפנים שזה פשוט מעצבן.
April 15, 2017
A well written and moving story. Appelfeld certainly has his own style and themes.
December 30, 2018
Appelfeld is an Israeli writer, whose books are written in Hebrew and translated to English. The narrator in this book is a bewildered child, Paul Rosenfeld. The story is often morbid and sad, but it is equally seductive and devastating. It occurs in Eastern Europe in the 1930's prior to WW II.
Paul is an only child of divorced parents. They are Jewish, but non observant and atheist. He does not attend school due to questionable asthma. Early on he is doted upon by his mother, who before long begins to neglect him and remarries a Christian man. His father is an increasingly failed artist, who is labeled as a “decadent Jew”. He is often morose or angry, fueled by his alcoholism. However, he takes on the responsibility of 9 year old Paul and they wander through Roumania and the Ukraine regions.
Paul daydreams about life with mother and finds himself drawn to the Orthodox Jews he meets. Meanwhile, strangers hurl anti-Semitic insults, occasional physical attacks and World War II looms. He stumbles into gratingly precious territory on occasion. Although the period in this book subtly foreshadows the cataclysm of the Holocaust,the temperament of most of the people and the increasing chaos is observed to engulf the populace and especially all Jewry.
More to follow...
Paul is an only child of divorced parents. They are Jewish, but non observant and atheist. He does not attend school due to questionable asthma. Early on he is doted upon by his mother, who before long begins to neglect him and remarries a Christian man. His father is an increasingly failed artist, who is labeled as a “decadent Jew”. He is often morose or angry, fueled by his alcoholism. However, he takes on the responsibility of 9 year old Paul and they wander through Roumania and the Ukraine regions.
Paul daydreams about life with mother and finds himself drawn to the Orthodox Jews he meets. Meanwhile, strangers hurl anti-Semitic insults, occasional physical attacks and World War II looms. He stumbles into gratingly precious territory on occasion. Although the period in this book subtly foreshadows the cataclysm of the Holocaust,the temperament of most of the people and the increasing chaos is observed to engulf the populace and especially all Jewry.
More to follow...
April 23, 2023
Ratings:
Writing 5
Characters 5
Story line 4
Impact 4
Overall rating 4.5
Writing 5
Characters 5
Story line 4
Impact 4
Overall rating 4.5
January 15, 2018
A little rambling
This book was not as i had hoped it would be. This is my first book by A Appelfeld and his work is very praised but hope this was not one of the best. I will read another, just to see if it is better.
This book was not as i had hoped it would be. This is my first book by A Appelfeld and his work is very praised but hope this was not one of the best. I will read another, just to see if it is better.
March 11, 2018
Nine year old Paul narrates the story of his family and life before the world as they knew it ended. By the end of the story, when he is orphaned, his future looks so bleak. A sad story of a day time.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 8, 2018
Wow! New author for me. What a moving story seen thru the eyes of a child. so many intricate themes intertwined. Fast reading well written. I believe it was translated from Hebrew. Will Continue to read hthe other books by this author
April 18, 2019
The voice of a 9 year old boy (though at times a bit too articulate) makes this a very moving story about a child shuttled between divorced parents with few communication skills in pre WWII eastern Europe. Quick read, and a quite heartbreaking.
November 20, 2018
Reading this book felt like... I don't know, that the author was trying to write a book that would be a classic, but it lacked the stuff to even be a good novel. It lacked purpose and direction.
May 18, 2025
Not terrible, but it felt kind of pointless. Also the book jacket gives away the whole story.
December 12, 2014
Having been blown away by Appelfeld's The Conversion, I bought a few more of his books - All Whom I Have Loved being one of them. It's similar to The Conversion in some ways: a pre-Holocaust Europe setting, anti-Semitism, and a great deal of sadness and death. However, there are many differences between the two stories, so I didn't feel like I was reading the same book.
Paul, a young Jewish boy, lives with his parents until their divorce. His mother obtains a teaching position in another city, and Paul moves there with her. He is taken care of by a local girl, Halina, whom he at first doesn't like but grows quite fond of rather quickly.
The book, as a previous reviewer mentioned, is very sad, but considering the time frame in which this book is set, I would be surprised not to have it be relentlessly sad. And I love Appelfeld's writing style; I read somewhere (and I wish I remembered where) that Appelfeld chose to write in Hebrew (the language in which this book was originally published) because it necessitates being sharp, without relying on flowery language to get your point across. Every sentence must mean something or convey something, and that is very true of his work. No sentence is wasted.
I will definitely be reading more of his works, although I am giving myself a break of at least a few months before starting another of his novels. They're quite emotionally charged.
Paul, a young Jewish boy, lives with his parents until their divorce. His mother obtains a teaching position in another city, and Paul moves there with her. He is taken care of by a local girl, Halina, whom he at first doesn't like but grows quite fond of rather quickly.
The book, as a previous reviewer mentioned, is very sad, but considering the time frame in which this book is set, I would be surprised not to have it be relentlessly sad. And I love Appelfeld's writing style; I read somewhere (and I wish I remembered where) that Appelfeld chose to write in Hebrew (the language in which this book was originally published) because it necessitates being sharp, without relying on flowery language to get your point across. Every sentence must mean something or convey something, and that is very true of his work. No sentence is wasted.
I will definitely be reading more of his works, although I am giving myself a break of at least a few months before starting another of his novels. They're quite emotionally charged.
May 23, 2010
This book took place during the "pre-World War 2" period.Paul once had a family. With a father playing dominos with him and a mother who read him bedtime stories. However, there is still a problem. Pail's parents hardly talk, and the silence is almost getting unbearable. Then, his parents decide to devorce and Paul followed his mother to a summer vacation, which he will never forgets, and then later to a spacious house which Paul's mother was able to get for working as a teacher.
It is also during this time that Paul met Halina, who takes care of Paul when his mother is at school teaching. Paul had loved Halina but unfortuantely, Halina was later shot by her fiance. Paul was heart brokened. Paul's father later came back for him and Paul followed his father because he could not bear staying with his mother because she is getting remarried. Paul's father used to be a famous artist but because he is a Jew he was hated. That is how Paul's father went from a renowned artist to a acoholic. Paul loves taking walks with his father and it is through these walks that he discovered bits and pieces of secrets that his father kept away from him....
It is also during this time that Paul met Halina, who takes care of Paul when his mother is at school teaching. Paul had loved Halina but unfortuantely, Halina was later shot by her fiance. Paul was heart brokened. Paul's father later came back for him and Paul followed his father because he could not bear staying with his mother because she is getting remarried. Paul's father used to be a famous artist but because he is a Jew he was hated. That is how Paul's father went from a renowned artist to a acoholic. Paul loves taking walks with his father and it is through these walks that he discovered bits and pieces of secrets that his father kept away from him....
November 20, 2012
I didn't really care for this book. There are times when I really enjoy the view point of a child, but I guess I need the child to more vocal or verbal about his feelings. He doesn't have to be too verbal, but enough so that I, as a reader, don't get frustrated that this kid is not saying anything he feels at all. The whole book was narrated by this little boy and we hear all his thoughts and feelings and concerns about his mother and father. But does he once relay these thoughts, feelings, or concerns to his parents? No. His mother abandons him and he is completely emotionally destroyed by this. Or a close friend of his dies and his mother shows no care about how he is feeling and this leaves him extremely depressed. We hear all about these feelings, but never once does he tell his mother he misses her or how sad he is that his friend is dead. I just needed at least one moment of clarity, but alas, I was never given it, thus causing me to dislike this book.
August 1, 2019
A story of a young boy is a small village where anti-Semitism is on the rise. Sadly portrays the father, a painter, who has lost out on the success he feels he deserved and drinks his sorrows away.
The focus is the child and family, but underlying is the question of which is the better way to survive - avoiding the hate and confrontation or taking a stand. The father does take a stand with sad results for him and his son. Appelfeld writing is as good as ever but this is a depressing story without hope ultimately.
The focus is the child and family, but underlying is the question of which is the better way to survive - avoiding the hate and confrontation or taking a stand. The father does take a stand with sad results for him and his son. Appelfeld writing is as good as ever but this is a depressing story without hope ultimately.
September 2, 2016
I tried with extreme difficulty to appreciate this story. If it had been non fiction I may have given the tale more than 2 stars but for non fiction it just didn't work for me. The images were simply too vague and confusing for me to appreciate. The only part I found interesting was when the child was being cared for by Helena. The history of pre ww2 Europe is of immense interest to me and I had much hope that this book would paint a better picture than it did.
December 7, 2010
I checked it out thinking it was a book about holocaust. However, it wasn't. I ended up really liking it and I think I am into Appelfeld now. I am glad I discovered him by chance at the local library. I love his writing style.
Read
August 30, 2010I didn't finish. After three weeks only 3/4 of the way through and I just couldn't do it anymore. Too many books on my list I am dying to read.
September 22, 2014
Well written but very slow and ending was terrible. Seemed pointless.
November 14, 2016
I truly enjoyed this book. The child's viewpoint is lovely and haunting. I would like to read this book again.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews