Helpful Score: 4
Excellently written,This book keeps you hooked from beginning to end ,but it seems like there are alot of loose endz but I guess there probably would be considering the circumstances.
Helpful Score: 3
This woman's experience finding out about her hidden Jewish heritage was interesting, enjoyable to read, and felt personal. She has a way of bring the reader into the story and making you feel the emotions she felt.
Helpful Score: 3
This book is fantastic. It was fascinating to read not only the story of Helen Fremont's family, but also her exhaustive search to discover their past. The author clearly put in a lot of time and energy in this book and it shows. Book is a quick read and I would definitely recommend it.
Helpful Score: 3
this was a very good story about how a jewish family even after all these yrs still hide the fact that their jewish. afraid another holocoust could happen anywhere anytime.
Helpful Score: 3
This is a great book about secrets and what they do to people and families. It's an incredible story of what people can endure in the most frightening and difficult circumstances and how it affects their lives. A look at war, the human soul, family, religion and identity.
Helpful Score: 1
let me start by saying I have read MANY books about WWII and the Holocaust. This was not one of my favorites. I liked it, but I felt that it could have been written much better. It seemed the author was trying to make this story about herself more than about her family in general. I also felt confused as the author switched character viewpoints at the drop of a hat.
In the end I felt like the book barely scratched the surfaces of her family history. Enough so that I didnt read anything that I wasn't expecting already. I also felt that the book was a bit scattered.
In the end I felt like the book barely scratched the surfaces of her family history. Enough so that I didnt read anything that I wasn't expecting already. I also felt that the book was a bit scattered.
Helpful Score: 1
Story of daughters - raised Catholic - who slowly unravel the European history of their parents - Jewish survivors of WWII. The chaos and horror of the period (1930's - 1940's) is well documented in this book.
The parents who were forced to abandon Judaism to survive, did not wish to relive this past with their daughters -so the truth was a challenge to obtain.
All in all, an eye-opening book.
The parents who were forced to abandon Judaism to survive, did not wish to relive this past with their daughters -so the truth was a challenge to obtain.
All in all, an eye-opening book.
Very interesting read about a woman who finds out about her hidden Jewish ancestry and what her parents went through during the holocaust, and their pact to keep it secret.
In many ways, this is a tragic story, but also a wonderful one. Who knew those two things were mutually possible, but they are. As the Chicago Tribune said, "Fascinating...A tragic saga, but at the same time it often reads like a thriller filled with acts of extraordinary courage, descriptions of dangerous journeys and a series of secret identities."
"Driven to uncover their roots, Fremont (the author) and her sister pieced together an astonishing story: of Siberian Gulags and Italian royalty, of concentration camps and buried lives. After Long Silence is about the devastating price of hiding the truth, about families; about the steps we take, foolish or wise, to protect ourselves and our loved ones. No one who reads this book can be unmoved, or fail to understand the seductive, damaging price of secrets."
This author's memoir is a harrowing journey and a very brave attempt to insure that her family's heroic suffering has not been in vain. It is such a compelling, moving and eloquently written story. There are times it will leave you breathless and at all times you will find it a reminder of how fortunate you are to be reading it and not living it.
"Driven to uncover their roots, Fremont (the author) and her sister pieced together an astonishing story: of Siberian Gulags and Italian royalty, of concentration camps and buried lives. After Long Silence is about the devastating price of hiding the truth, about families; about the steps we take, foolish or wise, to protect ourselves and our loved ones. No one who reads this book can be unmoved, or fail to understand the seductive, damaging price of secrets."
This author's memoir is a harrowing journey and a very brave attempt to insure that her family's heroic suffering has not been in vain. It is such a compelling, moving and eloquently written story. There are times it will leave you breathless and at all times you will find it a reminder of how fortunate you are to be reading it and not living it.
Powerful, interesting, historical, awesome.
I really liked this nonfiction book. It took me a while to get in to, but once I did, I could hardly put it down.
Helen and her sister, born in the 50's to a catholic family trace their family history only to find out both their mother and father were Jewish holocaust survivors. They did not even know their parents real names and both mom and dad were tight lipped and refused to give them solid information. The books shares the hidden secrets of their families roots. I loved this book.
Helen and her sister, born in the 50's to a catholic family trace their family history only to find out both their mother and father were Jewish holocaust survivors. They did not even know their parents real names and both mom and dad were tight lipped and refused to give them solid information. The books shares the hidden secrets of their families roots. I loved this book.
veri interesting and valuable memoir.a must read.
Amazing story! I could not put this book down.
Very compelling. EXCELLENT. Thought provoking.
Helen Fremont and her sister search for information regarding their jewish past. It was interesting how this family was able to hide their identities for over fifty years. I still don't quite understand their thinking and the neccesity in doing this. I found the author's parents especially the mother strange and very hard on her daughter. It was a good book and very different from other holocust experiences.
A memoir of the family of two Jews who did what they had to in order to survive WWII.
Helen Fremont was raised a Roman Catholic. It wasn't until she was an adult, practicing law in Boston, that she discovered her parents were Jewish--Holocaust survivors living invented lives. Not even their names were their own.
Driven to uncover their roots, Fremont and her sister pieced together an astonishing story: of Siberian Gulags and Italian royalty, of concentration camps and buried lives.
Driven to uncover their roots, Fremont and her sister pieced together an astonishing story: of Siberian Gulags and Italian royalty, of concentration camps and buried lives.
Excellent book, hard to put down.
excellent book
Helen Fremont was raised as a Roman Catholic. It wasn't until she was an adult, practicing law in Boston, that she discovered her parents were Jewish--Holocaust survivors living invented lives. Not even their names were their own. A powerful memoir. Two sisters piece together the painful story.
