Kurshan has a compelling writing style in which her passion for books and reading shines through clearly. She also showcases her passion for her Jewish faith as she uses the Torah (the first five books of the Christian Bible) to structure her memoir. While I would have preferred less didactic portions, I understand why she used those to frame the memoir portions. Some may find these portions off-putting or boring which might keep others from picking up the memoir.
However, I still encourage many to read this book should they have the chance. Kurshan tells her story well.
I feel conflicted about this heavily illustrated middle grade work in the style of books like Diary of the Wimpy Kid. Personally, I did not like the art style, specifically how the illustrator drew the people. I also thought that the plot was a bit lackluster. Overall, it’s not bad but it’s extremely engaging either. Unfortunately, this one fell flat for me.
While I firmly believe that many people need to learn about the history chronicled in this book, I believe that this narrative is too dry to have wide appeal. Hazaresingh tells the story of person after person, group after group who refused to cease their struggle against unjust enslavement. This struggle spans continents, ethnic groups and centuries. I recommend this book with the caveat that the narrative leans more academic in tone.
I found this book to be a fascinating take on how history gets told. I love looking at the historiography (how we write about history) stemming from my bachelor and master’s days. This book profiles several different people’s time covering the Nuremberg war crimes trials. I really wish that more people would learn from history so that books like this would not hit as hard as they do in this country rapidly descending into the fascism these trials were supposed to rebuke.
I enjoyed this memoir and learning about the author’s fascinating life. However, I could quickly tell that this is the type of book written by an older person sitting down at the computer and reminiscing as the postscript by one of his daughters confirms to be true. While Das Ray reflects on his life in this narrative, he does not go deeper than a surface reflection making this memoir feel like stories from a grandfather for his family
to enjoy rather than a book meant for publication. I did, indeed, learn from the story but it’s nowhere near any of the best memoirs I have read.
I have had Locke’s first, well-known memoir on my TBR for some time now. While you can read this quite short follow up without reading From Scratch, reading that book would likely enhance the reading experience of this one. Locke’s insightful prose flows beautifully. Reading about this short chapter in her life
definitely bumped up the earlier memoir on my TBR. The only thing that detracted a little from my experience was the inclusion on the audiobook of ambient sounds that Locke recorded. They did not make sense to me but I understand her stated purpose for including them.