My first book, that I have read by this author, absolutely brilliant! Highly recommended, and I will definitely read others written by this author!

This is quite a fascinating story about a father, who was a Holocaust survivor, and his son, traveling through Europe to locate sites where the father experienced significant events during the war. The son, who wrote the story, learned a lot about his father and about himself on the trip. Their focal point was finding the bridge on which the father's brother died while en route to Auschwitz--could they possibly identify the place, since neither had ever seen it and had no names to go by? The description of their day in Auschwitz really moved me. I just read a book about Corrie Ten Boom, and to hear a first-hand description of what it is like today was quite touching.
I received a review copy of this book from NetGalley, and these are my honest thoughts about it.

A very difficult subject written with lightness and respect that proved to be enlightening and educational as it provides more information on the Holocaust and WWII. Jason Sommer has done beautiful work with his words when putting this personal and poignant story together. I'll be looking forward to reading other books by this author.

Jason brought his father's story to life by traveling to the camp where his father was interred with his family. This story is told via his father's recollections, poetry, and photographs. This is a great book for anyone that wants to learn more about personal experiences during this time. This book handled a difficult subject in a respectful manner.

Shmuel's Bridge is a riveting memoir describing author Jason Sommer's complicated relationship with his father and Jewish Holocaust survivor, Jay. In particular he addresses Jewishness and horrors inflicted by humankind upon others during WWII in Eastern Europe. But it is more than the horrors of Auschwitz-Birkenau. It is a story about the enduring physical and (mostly) mental effects of Jewish persecution and genocide through the eyes of father and son (his mother was American and was not involved in the war, though she visited Eastern Europe with her husband earlier). Prefacing each chapter is poetry written by Sommer, also a poet who writes frankly, introspectively and thoughtfully. Blessed with an intellectual family, he has a beautiful and poignant way with words. Jay spoke many languages and was a recognized master teacher.

At the age of 98, Jay understandably had trouble remembering things. Jason frequently showed him pictures and videos including those of their 2001 trip to Eastern Europe where they visited Jay's childhood home, the labour camp in Budapest from which he escaped, the search for Shmuel's bridge and visiting killing camps. Their trip took them to Hungary, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine. Jason's aunt and uncle are survivors as well, against all odds. However, Uncle Shmuel did not. The topic was hushed at home but discovered further details when he asked questions once at the dinner table and later in situ in Europe.

Those interested in WWII history and reflections on its multigenerational effects ought to read this. I really liked the inclusion of family photographs and maps.

My sincere thank you to Charlesbridge, Imagine and NetGalley for the honour of reading this compelling and harrowing book.

Growing up Jewish in a community with Holocaust survivors, books like Shmuel's Bridge bring me to tears. Not only is a beautiful story about Jay Sommer trying to remove the memories about the Holocaust, but about his son reflecting on the trip he and his father took retracing his fathers steps all the way to Auschwitz. Its touching, heartfelt and well written - it helps us to never forget the horrors that the Jewish people and many others endured

I am always hesitant to read books that deal with the Shoah because they often seem to romanticize people saving Jews/Roma and glorify the trauma, but Sommer does nothing of that. Having such a personal connection to the Shoah, Sommer truly deals with the atrocity with such beautiful delicacy that I could not put this book down. It was incredibly well-written and moving. I highly reccomend.

I enjoyed reading it. It was a journey from beginning to the end that I will recommend to others. I'm looking forward to read books by Sommer in the future.

Shmuel's Bridge: Following the Tracks to Auschwitz with My Survivor Father
Jason Sommer
Release date: 15 Mar 2022

Description:
"A moving memoir of a son’s relationship with his survivor father and of their Eastern European journey through a family history of incalculable loss.

Jason Sommer’s father, Jay, is ninety-eight years old and losing his memory. More than seventy years after arriving in New York from WWII-torn Europe, he is forgetting the stories that defined his life, the life of his family, and the lives of millions of Jews who were affected by Nazi terror. Observing this loss, Jason vividly recalls the trip to Eastern Europe the two took together in 2001.

As father and son travel from the town of Jay’s birth to the labor camp from which he escaped, and to Auschwitz, where many in his family were lost, the stories Jason’s father has told all his life come alive. So too do Jason’s own memories of the way his father’s past complicated and impacted Jason's own inner life.

Shmuel's Bridge shows history through a double lens: the memories of a growing son’s complex relationship with his father and the meditations of that son who, now grown, finds himself caring for a man losing all connection to a past that must not be forgotten."

Review:
True story of a father and son (also the author) who journey to Eastern Europe in 2001 to revisit the atrocities of the Second World War. Jason, a poet, seems to have had a complicated life growing up with his father but other than a few occasional quips, I don't think this angle was thoroughly explored, however. As with most books dealing with the Holocaust, it was an unbelievably horrendous time to be alive. And, if you were Jewish, life only got worse. The Sommers went on the trip with the purpose of finding where exactly Uncle Shmuel died, but in the process, they discovered so much more. I enjoyed their trip through Hungary, Czech Republic and Poland. Trips like this need to be taken by everyone so that we never, ever, forget what happened when Nazi Germany was in power.

I was gifted this advance copy by NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

This book is a moving memoir, written from quite a different perspective to similar books. This is not the story of what happened "then", those memories are locked into hearts & kept in the past. The family are curious, but respect the fact that the survivors want to move on & leave that part of their lives behind. This is the story of finding closure to one part of the story - what happened to the youngest brother Shmuel - where exactly did he lose his life?
Commemoration and remembrance is a large part of Jewish culture, but Meilech Steinberger had never been able to remember his brother because he never knew the date of his death or where exactly he died. A chance comment from his sister-in-law over Thanksgiving dinner put them on a new track, one that would lead to a journey that father & son would take together through Eastern Europe. A pilgrimage of sorts, to find Shmuel's bridge. The bridge where young Shmuel attempted to escape from the train taking him & hundreds of other Jews to Auschwitz, where he was shot for his attempt.

As his father is now losing his memory, Jason is sharing the memories of their trip with his father & we get a glimpse into those memories. As a photo is carefully studied or a piece of video footage plays on a laptop screen to the old man, Jason recounts the trip that he took with his father in 2001, a trip that would change them both as old memories came to life and fragments of family stories come together like pieces of a jigsaw. Throughout the book we discover a relationship between son & father that has not always been easy but together they find a new understanding which enables them both to understand how the father's complicated past impacted the son's life, and what the future might hold.

The addition of the maps & the railway line helped the story come to life, a new section of map was added as the story moved along helped me to visualise not only where in Europe they were, but where in the story we were.

This book has made me realise that whilst we must not ignore the stories of the Holocaust survivors & the atrocities of the camps like Auschwitz-Birkenau, there is so much more that we are rarely told. The stories of the Eastern Europeans in the days preceding the war, the poverty, the way that friends & neighbours ostracised families they had known for years, the pogroms, the Russian influence, the difficulties still being faced by people in 2001 who wanted to move between Ukraine and Slovakia. This book is a new look at stories we thought we knew, and as an outsider it really moved me to find out more, to listen, to learn, to not assume that I knew the story before it had been told!

#ShmuelsBridge #Netgalley

Despite my best efforts at reading NetGalley help files and using Google, I have been unable to convert this pdf so that it’s readable on my phone.
If I do figure out a way before the link expires I’ll come back and update my review.