Description:
A lyrical memoir of
living under, and escaping from, anti-Semitism and the tyranny of communism.
"There are scenes in this book that the
reader will never forget."--Mircea Eliade
With a new Afterword
by the author and a new Introduction by bestselling historian Wilfred M. McClay
In Notes from the
Other Side of Night, Juliana Geran Pilon provides a beautiful memoir of a
return to her native Romania in 1975, which she left with her family when she
was just fourteen. Poetically weaving together hard-won adult insights with her
childhood perceptions, Pilon tells the haunting stories of her parents,
grandparents, neighbors, and friends. She recounts the chilling realities of anti-Semitism,
political imprisonment, and judicial execution under Romania's ruthless
communist authorities. And she remembers those few who managed to retain their
humanity despite the horrors that surrounded them.
Told with detached
melancholy, the result is a book full of political and spiritual wisdom. At a
time when the totalitarian crimes of the last century are being minimized, if
not entirely ignored, Pilon's meditation on evil, hope, and love is profoundly moving.
Brief description:
Wilfred M. McClay is Professor of History at Hillsdale College,
where he holds the Victor Davis Hanson Chair of Classical History and Western
Civilization. He is the author several award-winning books, including The
Masterless: Self and Society in Modern America, Jewish Roots of American
Liberty: The Impact of Hebraic Ideas on the American Story, and the
bestselling Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story.
Review Quotes: "A powerful story of
a Jewish family discriminated against by two totalitarian regimes told with
great talent."--Radu Ioanid, Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies