The house of returned echoes /

The House of Returned Echoes, Lustig's fictionalized memoir of his father, who perished in Auschwitz, graphically portrays Hitler's Final Solution. Writing about a Jewish Everyman who only wants to enjoy his family and give them a bit of prosperity, the author, himself a Holocaust survivor, portrays a good man who daily sees his world and his opportunities shrinking. As the Germans tighten their grip on Czechoslovakia, Emil Ludvig struggles to maintain a vestige of normal life. He will work at any job, however lowly, and suffer any humiliation to keep his wife and children safe. Lustig portrays a time when people, despite some rare acts of humanity, looked at their Jewish neighbors as so much vermin to exterminate. This unflinching narrative by a highly respected chronicler of the Holocaust is more chilling for its matter-of-factness. This unflinching novel, part of Northwestern's Jewish Lives series, belongs in most libraries. Olbracht's book should be purchased selectively, where appropriate.Andrea Caron Kempf, Johnson Cty. Community Coll. Lib., Overland Park, KS (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.