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Ein Stein: A Novel
Elderly Holocaust "survivor" Jack (Yaakov Stein) now lives in Melbourne. After trying to pass off a false testimony to a young Catholic photographer, Ian Gross, he then relents and tells us the truth ... Or does he? With false memoirs all the rage, this is clearly a fictitious story with some real characters, at once highly entertaining and deadly serious. Ernst Leitz II ("the photography industry's Schindler") not only designed and manufactured Germany's most famous camera, the Leica, but also saved hundreds of Jewish lives from certain death during the Holocaust. From the kernel of this true story, Joe Reich weaves an interesting - sometimes outrageous - blend of fact and fiction, historical and contemporary times, drawing the reader into the fictional life and exploits of the protagonist. "Joe has the ability to seamlessly merge history with the present, and create a most readable and enjoyable story." - Nicolas Brasch, author of Gallipoli Reckless Valour "Ein Stein is a real page turner and a terrific read." - Esther Kister, Chairperson Melbourne Jewish Book Week
304 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 1, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 25, 2021
The inspiration for this remarkable book by Melbourne ophthalmologist Joe Reich AM was, he tells us in the Acknowledgements, his previous book, the biography of Zwi Lewin (My Sack of Memories, see my review) and the difficulty of reconciling memory with history. The result, in Ein Stein, is a cunningly constructed mystery which kept me reading long after I should have turned out the light.
The novel raises all kinds of interesting questions about truth and history; about identity and politics, and about the ethical pressures that bedevil people in times of war, not just in Nazi Germany but also in the Cold War. In this novel we see a man who made dubious moral choices, when really, at crucial times in his life, his only choices were whether, when and how to flee. However, his reasons to flee were only partially to do with having Jewish antecedents. I think that book groups will have a fine time unpacking the morality of the postwar decisions he made.
Ein Stein confounds glib judgments about guilt or honour. After the war, Yaakov Stein retrieves an old identity to search in Wetzlar, Germany for his missing wife and son. He visits the industrialist Herr Leitz whose Leica Freedom Train enabled his escape and the escape of many others, but is surprised to find that the business is in limbo and Leitz is being investigated for war crimes because of the Faustian bargain he made to be allowed to make a 35mm camera, a toy compared to the serious scientific microscopes my father built this company on.
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2021/05/26/e...
The novel raises all kinds of interesting questions about truth and history; about identity and politics, and about the ethical pressures that bedevil people in times of war, not just in Nazi Germany but also in the Cold War. In this novel we see a man who made dubious moral choices, when really, at crucial times in his life, his only choices were whether, when and how to flee. However, his reasons to flee were only partially to do with having Jewish antecedents. I think that book groups will have a fine time unpacking the morality of the postwar decisions he made.
Ein Stein confounds glib judgments about guilt or honour. After the war, Yaakov Stein retrieves an old identity to search in Wetzlar, Germany for his missing wife and son. He visits the industrialist Herr Leitz whose Leica Freedom Train enabled his escape and the escape of many others, but is surprised to find that the business is in limbo and Leitz is being investigated for war crimes because of the Faustian bargain he made to be allowed to make a 35mm camera, a toy compared to the serious scientific microscopes my father built this company on.
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2021/05/26/e...
March 16, 2021
This book has real heart. It was warm, moving and beautifully written. This is the type of book that stays with you long after you’ve finished it. The characters feel so real, and the story draws you in. Highly recommend.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews