Alice Rene

Hailed as “a deftly written memoir that will hold the reader’s attention from beginning to end” by the Midwest Book Review and described as “a magnificent memoir and an impressive, courageous piece of work” by Writers Digest Magazine, Alice Rene‘s Becoming Alice: A Memoir deserves every word of praise it got…and more. The memoir begins with a description of the Anschluss, when Hitler annexed Austria to the Third Reich in 1938. Becoming Alice describes the impact of these tragic show more historical events upon Austria’s Jewish population from the perspective of a six year old girl named Isle.

Isle and her family watch helplessly as the Nazi soldiers march down their street in Vienna. Faced with discrimination and the threat of deportation, they’re obliged to flee Austria for fear of worse. Taking only their most basic belongings, Isle and her father, mother and older brother Fredi risk a difficult journey through Stalinist Russia, at war with Germany, to eventually make their way to Portland, Oregon. The memoir reflects historical fact, but it’s as well written as the best of novels. In fact, Becoming Alice is reminiscent in subject and narrative voice of The Diary of Anne Frank.

Alice Rene’s autobiographical narrative skillfully captures the girl’s limited and innocent perspective as she lives through one of the most inhumane and incomprehensible moments in human history. While Isle and her family are quite fortunate to have escaped the Holocaust, finding themselves as new immigrants in the U.S. is no easy matter either. As Isle adapts to the new culture and craves acceptance and assimilation, she becomes increasingly critical of her family dynamics: particularly of the interaction between her overbearing father and submissive–yet also, in some respects, incredibly strong and resilient–mother. By the end of the narrative, when she’s already in her teens, Isle succeeds in Americanizing not only her name–which she changes to Alice–but also her whole identity and outlook. She doesn’t forget, however, her original culture, nor the historical calamity that brought her family to the U.S. This is a riveting story : a memoir that reads like a novel about a moment in history that we should never forget.

Claudia Moscovici, Notablewriters.com show less

"Becoming Alice" is a coming of age memoir that begins on the day during WWII when Nazi soldier's march into Vienna, Austria and ends in Berkeley, California when a young girl finally finds her true self.

Author Alice Rene recounts her childhood with amazing courage and heart while drawing the reader into her story to the point where I could feel the emotions she must have felt. She was only 6 when her family had to escape Vienna and to see that drama unfold through the eyes of a child was show more often heart-wrenching but always hopeful. Upon arriving in the US they struggled in a city and culture that was very different from where they came from and Alice found she didn't fit in with the other children her age. I could totally relate to that, although for different reasons, and became embroiled in Alice's attempts to be like everyone else. She even changed her name from Ilse to Alice in an effort to seem more American to those she met.

Eventually Alice realized it would take more than a name change and that what she really needed to do was find her own identity somewhere between her Jewish roots and the American culture. I really think this is something everyone can empathize with, as we all struggle to find our identities, and Alice does an excellent job of describing her battles with her family and herself as she searches for her path in life.

This memoir is a true gem that will have you laughing and crying right along with Alice as she goes through the good times and the bad. Young adults and anyone who had trouble fitting in will relate to her challenges in her new American environment and her journey to be her own person. I recommend this book for anyone interested in WWII Jewish history, young adults struggling to find their place in the world, or anyone who likes good story-telling. show less

After one of my novels won a 2017 CIPA Evvy award, I thought it might be fun to read the other winners in the historical fiction category. The Other Side of Him by Alice Rene won one of the two first place awards. I loved the book!

In the beginning Rene's writing felt a little rushed, as it jumped among short glimpses of Claire's younger life, living with her brother and her poor, single, immigrant mother in a Chicago housing project. But after Claire moved to San Francisco, the novel settled show more into a careful study of her life, a young woman working first on a bachelor's degree then a master's degree in social welfare.

The novel is set in the 1950's, a time that presented a number of problems for women trying to establish careers and dealing with limiting expectations from society. Claire also faces family issues common to second generation Americans.

Claire's brother, Tom, moved to the San Francisco area before she did. After she had lived on the west coast for some time, Tom set her up with Greg, a man he met at a gym. Greg had many wonderful qualities, but also, as the title states, another side. The slow, careful way Greg's personality is revealed through Claire's point of view is the greatest strength of this wonderful, intense story. I couldn't put it down.

Steve Lindahl – author of Hopatcong Vision Quest, White Horse Regressions, and Motherless Soul show less

Oh dear gawd ,SUSPENSE is not word-enough (