Between Sky & Sea

by Herz Bergner, Arnold Zable (Introduction), Judah Waten (Translator)

A group of Jewish refugees are thrown together on board a dilapidated freighter charting a course for Australia. Fleeing terrible scenes of destruction in Europe, they are bound by a deep sense of loss and the uncertainty of their fate.

As the ship lists, inner conflicts burst to the surface and romance, revenge, guilt and desperation fill the craft. There’s poignancy, drama and an abiding strength of humanity as the passengers’ lives play out in this unbearable hinterland between sky and sea.

Now, more than sixty years since its publication in 1946, Between Sky & Sea has been resurrected to take its place among Australia’s major works of diaspora fiction.

Arnold Zable’s introduction highlights the chilling parallels between Bergner’s tale and the sinking of the SIEV X off the Australian coast, giving the reader pause to reflect on the unchanging plight of asylum seekers throughout history and across the globe

Genres: Fiction, Australia

215 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1946

About the author

Acclaimed Yiddish writer Herz Bergner was born in Radymno, eastern Galicia in 1907, the younger brother of Melech Ravitch. His family settled in Vienna during the Great War before returning to Poland. Bergner then settled in Warsaw. From 1928 he wrote and published short stories in leading Yiddish periodicals in Europe, Israel, Australia and the USA. In Warsaw his first collection of short stories, Houses and Streets, was published in 1935. He was co-editor of Shriftn in 1936. As the storm clouds of war were gathering over Europe, Bergner decided to emigrate. He settled in Melbourne in 1938.

As a new immigrant, Bergner became interested in the problems of Jewish integration and the preservation of Jewish traditions. In 1941 he published The New House, a collection of short stories set both in Warsaw and Melbourne that reflected the experiences of Bergner's immigrant readers and depicted the challenges they faced in adapting to a new life. In 1946 he wrote what many claim is his greatest novel, Tsvishn Himl un Vaser (Between Sky and Sea). In 1947, in a bid to reach a larger audience, Bergner had the book translated into English by Judah Waten and published by Dolphin. It went on to win the Gold Medal Award of the Australian Literature Society. It has been reprinted in 2010.

Licht un Shotn (Light and Shadow) was published in 1960 and the English translation in 1963. It won the Zvi Kessel prize and was acclaimed as one of the best Jewish books published in the world that year. Two other books, A Town in Poland and Warsaw Stories, were also translated into Hebrew and published in Israel. His short stories continued to be published in Yiddish magazines and newspapers throughout the world. His novels were syndicated by the world Jewish press. Bergner's Australian short stories, especially his volume Vu der Emes Shteyt Ayn (Where the Truth Lies) 1966, realistically mirror various aspects in the life of Jewish immigrants in Melbourne.

Herz Bergner died in Melbourne in 1970 and was survived by his wife Miriam and son Ephraim.

Reviews

[Anne Fenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A unique piece of fiction, written mid twentieth century by a writer who knew the subject matter very well. It’s originally written in Yiddish, the author was living in Melbourne, very keen on maintaining the language for fellow Jewish emigrants. The story tells of a Greek ship full of Jewish passengers fleeing the past, unsure of the future. The ship drifts, so does our view of recurring characters, there’s a range of them who appear so real. It’s a short book but full of detail, people’s obsessions, looks, clothes, speech, restless movement to and fro.
It was recognised as a prize winner in its day, not well known now. It’s valuable
on many levels.

[Text Publishing · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘This novel, resurrected from its foreign country of the past, might stand as an epitaph for the 353 men, women and children drowned in 2001 when the SIEV X sank while trying to reach Australia. At the very least, Between Sky & Sea should be required reading for refugee policymakers today.’
Canberra Times

‘Beautifully written with extraordinary insight into the frailties of humanity, Bergner’s tale is as much a version of the past as it is a vision of our present…We can only hope that publishers such as Text continue to salvage the treasury of migrant literature that is no longer in print.’
Australian

‘Bergner’s astute observation of life shows in his sharp psychological dissection of this human cargo and his unflinching assessment of people’s flaws…Bergner writes with such compassion that a reader becomes infected by his characters’ yearnings.’
Herald Sun

‘There’s poignancy, drama and an abiding strength of humanity in this story.’
Australian Jewish News

‘This beautifully written story will resonate with readers with its universal theme of emigration and its particular topicality today. Perhaps this book should be required reading for refugee policymakers?’
Toowoomba Chronicle

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a simple story really. A rickety old Greek freighter is carrying a group of Jewish refugees from the Nazi invasion of Poland, but it’s denied entry at a succession of ports. Supplies are running out, and internal tension wracks the ship. These people are traumatized after suffering enormous losses and they fear that no one will take them in.

Reissed by Text Publishing in 2009 because this issue is again topical, Between Sky and Sea won the Australian Society of Literature’s gold medal for book of the year in 1948. It’s an important book which deserves to be widely read.
To read the rest of this review, please visit http://anzlitlovers.wordpress.com/201...

[Jose Luis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pensé que el libro era un relato de lo que sucedió al buque de pasajeros St. Louis, que en mayo de 1939 partió del puerto de Hamburgo con destino a La Habana, llevando a más de 900 refugiados judíos que buscaban asilo ante la persecución de la Alemania nazi. Pero el autor tomó de ese viaje su base para realizar el libro con personajes ficticios y tomando elementos de hechos que le ocurrian a los pasajeros en un viaje ininterminable.
El libro se desenvuelve en algunas partes lento a mi parecer pero va aumentando la historia conforme se acerca el final del libro que al llegar ahí fué inesperado la forma como termina (triste y abrupto). Buen libro pero que no volverias a leer en buen tiempo.

[Damian Reyes · Rating 2 out of 5]

(Salvo las dos últimas páginas) Un libro no particularmente destacado, es una historia corta donde los nazis, el holocausto es una circunstancia lejana, casi anecdótica y no una relación constante en la historia. El contexto reúne condiciones dramáticas que en ningún momento recaen sobre los personajes.
Las dos últimas páginas son aplastantes, crudas. Un excelente final para un libro que no lo es tanto.