The Speed of Light by Elizabeth Rosner

I am now on to Speed of light – which I’ve nearly finish. This is the story of a brother (Julian) and sister (Paula), adult children of a holocaust survivor. The two grew up in a house with a father who refused to talk of his experiences in Auschwitz – forcing his children to imagine the horrors he suffered. For Julian, he has become a recluse, afraid of human touch (seems a bit of a mix between obsessive/compulsive with autistic tendencies) while his sister has taken the opposite attitude: An adventure-seeking opera singer hoping to become a star. When Paula heads to Europe to audition in various opera houses, she hires her housekeeper (Sola) to stay at her apartment (she and Julian live in the same apartment building – different apartments – one up, one down) and keep an eye on Julian. Interestingly, a friendship develops between Julian and Sola and she teaches him about healing and allowing others – through the sharing of stories/horrors – to be “witnesses” to their personal tragedies. I’ll let you know how it all turns out for me.

Update:  Okay so I've finished Speed of Light by Elizabeth Rosner - I like it A LOT. I can't say that there was anything earth shattering about it or that the story itself was life-altering - it just did something for me. It made me think differently about my own issues in life. It made me realize that the things that I tend to worry about, the things that I feel are sometimes overwhelming and worrisome aren't so catastrophic outside of my own mind. This novel made me think about the things that other people have to deal with and live through and survive in spite of. - the horrible things that some people don't even live through..and it made me recognize that the things in my own life are not bad. Puts everything into perspective.

No comments:

Post a Comment