The Week UK - 28.03.2020

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28 March 2020 THE WEEK

ARTS

HadleyFreeman’sfamilymemoir,
triggeredbythediscoveryofashoebox
fullofmemorabiliaatthebackofher
grandmother’swardrobe,tookher 20
yearstowrite–and“Idon’thesitateto
callitamasterpiece”,saidTanyaGold
inTheDailyTelegraph.HouseofGlass
isa“near-perfect”studyofJewish
identityinthe20thcentury,of“the
anguishofJewishsurvival”.Freeman’sgrandmother,SalaGlahs,
andherthreebrothers,Jehuda,JakobandSender,werebornin
PolandbutdriventoParisbythepogromsthateruptedafterthe
FirstWorldWar.Theywantedtobelong,andchangedtheir
names–toSara,Henri,JacquesandAlex.Eachhadavery
distinctivecharacterandtragedy, and itisthese–asmuchasthe
broader storyoftheHolocaust–thatmake the book sogripping.
“Adventurous” Alexand “beautiful”Sara were“teenage
Francophiles”,who immediately tooktotheirnew home,said
JamesMarriottin TheTimes. Alex,apugnaciousfive-footer–
“toughlike abullet”–was determinedtobecome acouturier.At
20,he openedasalon. By30,“heemployed60people (including

ayoungChristianDior)andwas

spendinghiseveningsinnightclubswith

MarcChagallandÉdithPiaf”.Inthe

late 1930 s,hebecamesodesperateto

savehissisterfromtherisingtideof

anti-SemitisminEuropethatheforced

Saraintomarriagewitha“coarse”

American.Alextoldherthather

newhusbandwasamillionairefrom

Manhattan.Infact,heownedapetrol

stationonLongIsland,whereshewas

“heartbreakinglyoutofplace”.Alex

alsoescapedtheHolocaust:heleapt

fromthetraintakinghimtoadeath

camp,andhidoutinanAuvergne

farmhouse,survivingtheWartobecame

amillionaireartdealer.StudiousHenri

–asuccessfulbusinessmanwho

inventedamicrofilmingmachine–alsowentintohiding,inParis.

OnlygentleJacques–afurrierwhomadeapittancefrompiece

work–turnedhimselfintothelocalpolice,“refusingtobelieve

theFrenchstatewouldharmhim”.HediedinAusc hwitz.

Asachild,FreemanwasunsettledbyhergrandmotherSara’s

“melancholia”, saidVictoria SegalinTheSundayTimes.Itwas

only12 yearsafter Sara’sdeath that she overcameher uneaseand

“setout toanswer painful questions”aboutthese emotionsand

theirrootsin the past.Theresult,HouseofGla ss,isa“chilling”

wor k,but alsofulloflove. “It triggersthesameshockof

recognition thatcomesfromcolourisedfilm;black-and-white

historyfloodedwith brightdetail,humanwarmth.”

House of Glass

by Hadley Freeman

Fourth Estate 464pp £16.99

The Week Bookshop£14.99

Review of reviews: Books

Bookoftheweek

Alongwithsalesoflooroll, tinned
sardinesandhandguns, demandfor
“epidemic-themed”literature hasshot
up asthecoronavirushasspread
around theworld,said Jon Day inthe
FT.AlbertCamus’sThe Plagueis
perhaps thebestknown–Penguin
rushedoutareprintwhenstocksranout
lastweek–butthereareother illustrious
examples,fromGiovanniBoccaccio’s
Decameron,viaDaniel Defoe’sAJourna
of the Plague Year,toJoséSaramago’s
BlindnessandStephenKing’sTheStand
Writingin1722, Defoebasedhis nove
on hisuncle’saccountof the 1 665 -66
Londonplague season. From theperspec
Marina Hyde in The Guardian:“Ye olde g, y
isolate–‘theydidnot takethe least careormake anyscrupleofinfectingothers’
–yeoldewittering and twitteringofconspiracytheories.” (TowhichIcan only
say,“Waittill they getschool parents’WhatsApp groups,and uncleson
Facebook”.)Caughtoutwith an empty larder (“I wasone of thosethoughtless
ones...”), thenarrator stockpilesCheshirecheese andmalt to brewhis own
beer. Hishopesthatthe plaguewilluniteadividednationcometo naught, but
he admiresthegreat courage of thosefighting it onthefront line.
In Camus’sgreatnovel,atown in French Algeria is quarantinedduring a
mysteriousepidemic (the authoronce said thebook wasanallegory for Nazi
occupation). As inDefoe’s account,the populace reactsatfirst with denial, then
with “optimism,complacencyand ignorance”,said BenMacintyre in The
Times.Somepanic, some tryto escape, some seektoprofit.In the end, hope
survives–thanks, Camus insists,notto“heroism”, but to common decency.
“What’s trueof all the evils oftheworldis trueof plagueas well,” hewrites.
“Ithelps mento riseabove themselves.”

The run on Camus
Novelof theweek

peirogon

yColum McCann

loomsbury 480pp £18.99

e Week Bookshop£16.99

olum McCann’s seventh novelist he kind

book that “comes alongonly once in a

neration”, saidAlex PrestoninThe

bserver.Ittellsthe real-lifestory of two men

aPalestinian,Bassa mAramin,and an Israeli,

amiElhanan–both grieving fordaughters

led by an Israeli bulletand aPalestinian

icidebomber, respectively.Bothhave become

acecampaigners since their personaltrag edies

uck,andhaveforged afirm friendship–“a

ing ofgreat andsustaining beauty”. McCann’s

accountof thei rlives “buoys theheart”, despite

its great sadness. It is“a masterpiece,anovel

that will change theworld”.

I’d havetodisagree,saidDwightGarner in

The NewYork Times.McCanndoesnot let

us “settle into thetexture andnuance”of his

characters’lives,becausehedivides his

telli ng into 1,001chapter s(areference tothe

1,001 Nights), many of whicharedevotedto

“art yand onlyvaguelyrelevant facts about

birds, oraboutJohnCage’ smusic,or about

the Dead SeaScrolls”. Besides,his toneis so

solemn,it“tipsover almostinstantlyinto camp,

into corn”.

To orderthese titlesor any other bookinprint, visit

theweekbookshop.co.ukor speak toabookseller on 020 -317 63835

Opening times: Monday to Saturday 9am-5.30pm andSunday10am-4pm

AlexandSara:“TheanguishofJewishsurvival”

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