. After reading No Angel (see below) I couldn’t wait to start the 2nd book. A friend said to me that she liked #2 better than the first one, and I think I agree. It carries on the saga of this gentrified family in the publishing business in WWII era England. There are wartime injuries, even deaths as the family spreads out some (France and America), but it’s still about the London-based core family group that get themselves into trouble at several junctures. Loved this one. Do read them in order, though.
. No, not that Homer, but Homer, the blind cat. It’s a charming, funny, sweet, riveting book that any animal lover should read. We haven’t owned cats for decades, but I enjoy reading about them even if I don’t have one. Homer was a tiny kitten when found, with a dangerous eye infection. The vet who saved him had to remove his eyes, so the little kitten never knew sight. He’s adopted by a patient gal who is a writer already, and I can imagine that little Homer almost wrote the book himself. He’s very brave, willing to take risks – she almost loses him once. If you love animals, you’ve got to read this. I found it at Costco, but it’s also cheap at Amazon in paperback.
by Sarah McCoy. A really really interesting story. About WWII but told from the side of loyal German Hitler-loving citizens. The kind of local people who could be your neighbors, who were very nationalistic and truly believed Hitler was leading them to a better future. I’ve never read anything with a German perspective. The book isn’t political. In a way it’s a type of chick lit (which is why I didn’t suggest my DH read it) as it’s got a moderate amount of romance in it. The entire book is enveloped in the story of the family, who live in Garmisch (a place I’ve visited twice), who own a bakery. Mostly it’s about one of the bakery owner’s daughters. One daughter goes to a 
– by Erik Larson (hard copy) – wow, what a book. In all the literary fiction I’ve read about Nazi Germany, I’d never read that much about what it was like living in Berlin leading up to Hitler’s demonic rampages. This biography is about America’s ambassador to Germany from 1933-37, William Dodd. An academician, Dodd was probably unsuited to the job, yet he brought a kind of humility and clarity to the unrest. Accompanied by his wife and two adult children, they assimilated into the gay life of diplomacy. Dodd was not liked by his counterparts at home, yet he had the ear and appointment specifically because of Roosevelt, but only after 5 other career diplomats turned down the job. Dodd took his position very seriously, hoping that he’d make time to write a book he had worked on for much of his life (a detailed history of the American South). With no internet, no commercial jets and little but old fashioned typewriters or often written by hand, communiques sailed back and forth in diplomatic pouches. Dodd originally was lenient with Hitler, wanting to believe the hype Hitler broadcast. In time, though, he came to realize that Hitler had an insidious master plan. Dodd’s vivacious and beautiful daughter dated all manner of diplomats, Nazis and Russians, and very few Americans. She leaned left. Very far left, to the point of socialism. She had affairs – very inappropriate ones (says me), which undermined her father’s role (yet he seemed oblivious). This book is a real picture of the day to day life back then, well written, well researched and riveting. The Ambassador never did finish his book. But this book – well, everyone should read it. Erik Larson is the famous author of 
– by Willa Cather (on my Kindle) – what a joy to read. I’ve been a big fan of Cather’s writing most of my adult life, although I’ve not read all of her books. She had such a gift of words – such an ability to write a liquid picture – a conjurer of time and place that just doesn’t happen anymore in today’s writing world. The story revolves around a young girl (yes, it’s a coming of age novel) the daughter of a minister in the Midwest who has a musical gift. Her mentors help her to go to Chicago to study. Thea, the heroine here, is a very serious and studious young woman and not given to joy in life. She struggles with loneliness, yet seems to have no ability to reach out of her box to find friends or companionship. As with any young person who moves to a new place for work or study, there is that soulful pull from “home.” Does she give in? I’m not telling. A very good read.
– by Penny Vincenzi (hard copy from the library) – when two friends of mine recommended this book I knew I needed to read it. It’s not new (2004), but it is part of a trilogy by this English author. And I just refused to pay the very high Kindle price so that’s why I visited my local library and found it on the shelf. Vincenzi writes about the day-to-day lives of English gentry, and since I’m addicted to Downton Abbey these days, it sounded like a natural to read this book. It chronicles the lives of this particular family including marriages, births, affairs and chicanery, with their lovely home as the surround, the life style of the then-rich-and-famous, formal dinners. See? Downton Abbey. The difference is that there’s not much in this book about the servants, the below-stairs family. It takes place during the same pre-WWI era (1910′s). Prominent in the story is the book publishing business the family maintains (and with difficulty during the war years run by the two women left at home). Now I need to find the next in the series. If you enjoy family sagas, this one is a gem.
(Stacy Schiff); 
; and 
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It was just last month that I read an article in our local newspaper, written by Judy Bart Kancigor, about this book. [As an aside, I have one of Kancigor’s recipes here on my blog already – one of my favorites, a Layered Hummus & Eggplant appetizer.] Hardly before I’d finished reading the newspaper article, I went to my amazon account and added the book to my wish list. Thank you, Sara, for buying it for me for Christmas!
This book, Recipes Remembered: A Celebration of Survival
So, what’s this book all about? The writer (editor and writer), June Feiss Hersch, interviewed countless families in the process of compiling the stories and recipes in this cookbook. Earlier, she approached the Director of the Museum of Jewish Heritage (in New York City), with the germ of an idea, to publish a cookbook of stories and associated recipes from Holocaust survivors. An aside: all the proceeds from the book go to the museum. It’s already into its 4th printing.
The recipes cover a broad Eastern European geography (ethnic and physical) including Poland, Austria, Greece, Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Russia and the Ukraine. And at the back is a lengthy list of Yiddish words, pages I referred to often, since I didn’t know the meaning of words like schmuts (dirt), cholent (a sacred stew prepared on Friday, baked overnight in a community bakery oven, to be eaten on Saturday), shtikel (morsel); and bashert (fated). I loved learning some of these new words (aside from other Yiddish words I did know: schlep, maven, nosh, kibbitz, mentsh, and shul).
As I write this, I’ve only read about half the book – I’m not even through reading the chapter on Poland (obviously there are more Polish recipes than those from other countries). But I’m awed by the stories. The true stories of survival, about the Crystal Night (when over 1,000 synagogues were burned to the ground and over 7,000 Jewish business destroyed), about people who hid in cupboards, cellars, forests, barns and other places to avoid the ghettos and concentration camps. But it’s also stories about people who did survive concentration camps (mostly ones who were interned there later in the war) or work camps. About those few who had skills the Nazis needed and wanted so they were fed better than some. About how prisoners hid food for others. About how they kept their spirits alive. About how they survived. About meeting other survivors, about first loves, marriages, boat trips to Israel, or America or Canada. About the yearning to live and thrive. About how some survivors would never – ever – talk about their wartime experiences – or shared them only at the end of their lives. And about how these proud Jewish people honor their loved ones by preparing the family recipes regularly.
Each country chapter contains numerous stories (told from the actual survivor or a spouse or grown child) along with a photo or two about the family. About where they were from, their years of trying to escape, and managing to survive either in the dense forests with virtually no food, or in the concentration camps. And, thankfully, about their liberation and emigration somewhere else. Then, following that is a recipe, or two. Most of them are the actual recipes from the Holocaust survivor, or a descendant; a few are creations or re-creations from celebrated Jewish chefs (like Faye Levy, Mark Bittman, Daniel Boulud, Gale Gand, Ina Garten, Jonathan Waxman, Joan Nathan, Sara Moulton, and others).
In my copy, several recipes have been yellow-stickied already, and this week you’ll read about the first one I made from this book – a braised red cabbage and apple dish. Nothing fancy, but oh, so very delicious. Next I plan to make a Chocolate Chip Cake, and a Citrus Rice Pudding. Then maybe I’ll try one of the cholent recipes in the book. I’m intrigued about a 24-hour, slow-roasted stew.
Obviously, I highly recommend this book. If you enjoy reading stories, then a recipe to go along with it, you’ll be mesmerized by the book, as I’ve been.
Toffeeapple
said on January 15th, 2012:
I think I would become too ‘caught up’ in the stories to be able to enjoy the book – I can’t watch anything about either of the two world wars without getting over-wrought. But, if you share recipes only, I might be able to cope.
I probably won’t go into detail about the stories with any recipes I share on the blog – except a link to buy the book if people want to. There is an element of angst as I read the stories, particularly those survivors who lost everyone in their family. Those are particularly poignant and sad. And yet, so many younger people just don’t understand what happened during WWII, particularly for the Jews, that I just can’t NOT write about it some. Stay tuned . . .carolyn t
Gloria
said on January 15th, 2012:
Thanks for sharing Carolyn. Sounds interesting and I look forward to seeing the recipes you post from the book.
You’ll see one in a couple of days. It’s a winner I’ll be making again and again. Haven’t decided what will be next on the list. I wish I had more energy to be trying new recipes with 3 meals a day, but I don’t. We eat the same-old breakfast nearly every day of the week. My DH doesn’t often eat lunch, so I usually have a bit of leftovers. Dinner is the experiment. So, stay tuned. . . carolyn t