This is a fascinating book. I don't know if the author created the structure of the book on purpose, but it reads as if he didn't -- so that the reader takes part in the discovery along with the author; but then the book circles back to give more details. I was surprised how much information he was able to find, and the personal stories are very moving. I'm not interested in going to Eastern Europe to see the relics but I am glad that I read about Mr. Reshef's trip.

I didn't know about (or realize about) the name changes. It makes a lot of sense, but I never thought about it -- and I don't know if people in the US changed their names.

A treasure....a true reading treasure. The author takes you alongside himself as he searches for answers, long left buried with history,it's a memoir and a journal.
Reshef is told of a lot of land he would inherit IF he could prove who he was, and where his father lived in a specific year, 70 years previous...of course before the holocaust devastated his family. Painstaking research where one door closes and another opens leads him to the info he needs.
But then Yaron decides to go see for himself where his ancestors lived and died.....the best part of the book to me. HOWEVER it isn't a part one, part two type read....he managed to blend both parts of the stories together, and does it so smoothly. I smiled in triumph at one point and i was literally in tears in others......
As his mum said " the evil that one day rose and turned heaven into hell". Who knows what treasures are still hidden in shoe boxes in attics and basements? Boxes holding yellowed photos and journals....yet be aware....open that box and ghosts WILL emerge..

* The victim does not want to remember so as to not to awaken old demons, and the murderer is too ashamed to tell the story. And so, absurdly, the silence is preserved.* ( )

While I found the information interesting and at times very moving I did find it difficult to follow both because the story moved around and there were place names that I wanted to look-up to be sure I was following correctly. Yaron Reshef receives word that his father had a piece of land he and his sister don't remember. The story that follows is very much like being present at a family reunion where a shoebox of old photos and memorabilia are brought out along with the conversations and memories the box brings to life. This is another story of a Jewish family who lost so much because of the Wars. ( )

While I found the information interesting and at times very moving I did find it difficult to follow both because the story moved around and there were place names that I wanted to look-up to be sure I was following correctly. Yaron Reshef receives word that his father had a piece of land he and his sister don't remember. The story that follows is very much like being present at a family reunion where a shoebox of old photos and memorabilia are brought out along with the conversations and memories the box brings to life. This is another story of a Jewish family who lost so much because of the Wars. ( )

While I found the information interesting and at times very moving I did find it difficult to follow both because the story moved around and there were place names that I wanted to look-up to be sure I was following correctly. Yaron Reshef receives word that his father had a piece of land he and his sister don't remember. The story that follows is very much like being present at a family reunion where a shoebox of old photos and memorabilia are brought out along with the conversations and memories the box brings to life. This is another story of a Jewish family who lost so much because of the Wars. ( )