What Remains

Cultured, privileged, German, and Jewish. When Hitler comes in, the family is dispersed to London, Cuba, and the United States.Often told through the eyes of the two children of the American family. Story goes from 1988 to 1964 to 1944. Well written and interesting ( )

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The bulk of the story takes place in the years 1944-48, but this is sandwiched in between first and last chapters in the year 1964, with a 1984 prologue and a 1994 epilogue. In the ’forties, however, Jacob and Ben were children, through whose eyes we see momentous events unfolding between the end of WWII and the creation of a Jewish state in 1948.

Delbanco’s telling of this family’s story—in England, in transit to America, and in its efforts to learn what passed for culture there—is masterful. Told with warmth, sympathy, humor, and honesty, it convincingly presents finely nuanced sensibilities that cut across three generations and three countries. The cultural references are so authentic and prevalent that the book is almost a course on Twentieth-Century Western Civilization. This is definitely not light fiction. The language and dialogue is simple enough (except for the German and Latin passages), but the meanings, references, and associations have layers. ( )