Every holocaust victim’s story should be published. I am glad of having Benzion Malik’s.

A brief but powerful retelling. Martin Bodek does his grandfather’s story justice, allowing a glimpse of the holocaust from a perspective that I haven’t read before. Fascinating, devastating and hopeful.

(I received a free copy of this book from the author via VoraciousReadersOnly.) ( )

This is a heartfelt memoir told by the author’s Romanian grandfather of his experience surviving the Buchenwald concentration camp. It is a simply told story but very compelling. ( )

A young man writes of the life of his grandfather Zaidy, who experienced the Holocaust as a Romanian Jew. The author share’s his family’s world with the reader, and it was interesting to learn about their strong faith and their way of life. I was reminded of when I was graciously invited to Seder at a friend’s house. (I am not Jewish.)

The book has a few sections. The first half of the book is the story of Zaidy as narrated by the author. The section on his early life and survival through the horrors of the Holocaust are by far the most interesting. Zaidy ultimately moves to the US and works a series of jobs and has many grandbabies in his old age. A large section of text is the transcript of the interviews in which the author tries to tease out details of Zaidy’s experiences and the timeline. This allows the reader to hear Zaidy’s story firsthand, but it is the same information that was already covered. I felt it was superfluous. An extensive genealogy is also included in the appendix, and references too.
I was provided with an ARC (thanks to the author & publisher!) and I am voluntarily posting my honest review. ( )

As a family genealogy project, this books works. It feels hand written- not formally polished or reframed. The narrator is openly present in the storytelling - alternating between referring to his grandfather by his first name and “Zaidy” (grandfather in Yiddish). The story arc of the grandfather’s war would be compelling but the storytelling got in the way.
As a family heirloom and something to share with his children - solid job. As a commercial biography, it’s not quite up to the job.

Ostensibly, this is a biography of the author's grandfather, Benzion Malik. Actually it's a rambling account of Benzion (Zaidy) Malik's life, his experiences in World War II, and his life after the war in Romania, Israel, and tne United States. Interspersed in his life's trajectory are chapters on events leading up to the war, the direction of the itself, and the fate of other members of his family during the war and after.
The book is divided into 5 parts with an introduction and several appendices. Parts 1, 2, and 3 are a history of the Malik family, written in a chronicle style. It has a staccato-like delivery, which makes it easy to read because it is very much lime a list. But it has no narrative structure or flow, and one doesn't get immersed in the telling. It also bounces around in a sloppy way that would have benefitted from a firmer editorial hand.
Part 4 is in fact a chronological list of Benzion's life and events, along with a description of the author's dreams that inspired this book. The dreams would have been better placed in the introduction.
Part 5 contains transcripts of interviews with Zaidy Malik, and in these one gets a feel for the subject character. In these there is an appreciation of Zaidy's war, his endurance, his faith, his humor, his anger and his love. This 60-page section is the book. ( )

The thing which struck me most about this book, and which will stay with me the longest, is the evident love for his grandfather with which the author has imbued every page: love, pride and huge affection. It was worth reading for this alone.

Zaidy's War is one entry in the publisher's project to provide a record of and repository for Holocaust testimony, as memorial for those who were lost, for those dwindling few who survived, and to stand witness against the pernicious falsehood of anti-Semitic Holocaust denialism. Consequently, Bodek's moving account of his grandfather's survival of WWII, of the linked stories of death and survival of his family, and his long life thereafter in Israel and the USA, takes up about one third of the book, the rest containing transcripts of Bodek's interviews with Zaidy, and reproductions of supporting documents. These "pad out" the book, but are integral to its purpose and of interest in themselves.

Whilst the author doesn't flinch from the horrors of the persecution of Jewish people by the Nazis and their allies in progressing the Final Solution policy of genocide, he does spare us from graphic descriptions, whilst providing references to where more detailed evidence of the atrocities can be found. This leaves space for the reader to connect with themes of resilience, trauma recovery of individuals, families and communities, and how experiences of deep despair and loss can be transformed into deep love and connection.

I received a copy of the book through Library Thing's Early Reviewers scheme, and feel privileged to have done so. ( )