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1kidzdoc
This thread is for discussion of Far to Go by Alison Pick, which was selected for the 2011 Booker Prize longlist.
2Cait86
I'm currently in the middle of Far to Go, which is excellent so far; it is the story of a Jewish family living in the Sudetenland in 1938, right when things where starting to really ramp up in Europe. I'm a fan of Holocaust/WW2 novels (that sounds a little odd, but there you go), so I figured I would enjoy this book.
The main character is Marta, the gentile governess of Pepik Bauer, and her feelings towards her employers, and Jews in general, seem very realistic to me. She goes back and forth - on one hand, she considers the Bauers to be her family, but on the other hand, she is living in a world where Jews were considered the enemy, and Hitler the saviour of the German people. Even though I think/hope Marta will make the right decisions in the end, it is good to see her waver. So often in Holocaust novels people are very black and white - they are either Jewish supporters or not. I think that the average person, however, probably found the issue much more complicated than that, and had to work out how they felt about the things going on around them.
The narrative structure is interesting too, as it moves between past and present, third- and first-person, and also includes letters. I like variation in voice, so I'm good with the transitions, even if they are a little jarring at first.
The main character is Marta, the gentile governess of Pepik Bauer, and her feelings towards her employers, and Jews in general, seem very realistic to me. She goes back and forth - on one hand, she considers the Bauers to be her family, but on the other hand, she is living in a world where Jews were considered the enemy, and Hitler the saviour of the German people. Even though I think/hope Marta will make the right decisions in the end, it is good to see her waver. So often in Holocaust novels people are very black and white - they are either Jewish supporters or not. I think that the average person, however, probably found the issue much more complicated than that, and had to work out how they felt about the things going on around them.
The narrative structure is interesting too, as it moves between past and present, third- and first-person, and also includes letters. I like variation in voice, so I'm good with the transitions, even if they are a little jarring at first.
4cushlareads
I read this one in June and liked it. I've reposted my review below.
Cait, I agree that the way Pick had Marta changing her mind and unsure of what she thought was really good.
Far to Go is set mainly in the Sudetenland (the areas in Czechoslovakia near the border with Germany) and Prague in 1937 and 1938. It's written by a Canadian author, Alison Pick, and is based on her grandparents' lives. The main character, Marta, is nanny to Pepik Bauer, and very close to him - closer than his mother, almost. His parents, Pavel and Anneliese Bauer, are wealthy Jews in the Sudetenland, where Pavel owns a textile factory. As the novel progresses, Pavel changes from being a secular Jew who knows very little about his religious background to being much more observant. The novel is about life closing in on the family (and to a lesser extent Marta) as Hitler first takes over the Sudetenland then Prague. The detailed part of the story stops before World War 2 starts.
I really liked how Pick showed that a series of small decisions were crucial to what happened to the family, and Marta 's dilemmas were quite convincing. What I didn't like was the way she had a modern looking back story line woven through the book - it felt like a creative writing course device, and the twist wasn't necessary for a good story. A few too many sentences like "The moon rubbed the river's back" early on didn't help. I enjoyed Simon Mawer's The Glass Room more, mainly for his better writing, but this one made me cry.
Overall I found it good, with a different perspective from other Holocaust books I've read, and it would fit really well with the book Nathalie (Deern) recently read about the Kindertransport children. 3 1/2 stars.
Cait, I agree that the way Pick had Marta changing her mind and unsure of what she thought was really good.
Far to Go is set mainly in the Sudetenland (the areas in Czechoslovakia near the border with Germany) and Prague in 1937 and 1938. It's written by a Canadian author, Alison Pick, and is based on her grandparents' lives. The main character, Marta, is nanny to Pepik Bauer, and very close to him - closer than his mother, almost. His parents, Pavel and Anneliese Bauer, are wealthy Jews in the Sudetenland, where Pavel owns a textile factory. As the novel progresses, Pavel changes from being a secular Jew who knows very little about his religious background to being much more observant. The novel is about life closing in on the family (and to a lesser extent Marta) as Hitler first takes over the Sudetenland then Prague. The detailed part of the story stops before World War 2 starts.
I really liked how Pick showed that a series of small decisions were crucial to what happened to the family, and Marta 's dilemmas were quite convincing. What I didn't like was the way she had a modern looking back story line woven through the book - it felt like a creative writing course device, and the twist wasn't necessary for a good story. A few too many sentences like "The moon rubbed the river's back" early on didn't help. I enjoyed Simon Mawer's The Glass Room more, mainly for his better writing, but this one made me cry.
Overall I found it good, with a different perspective from other Holocaust books I've read, and it would fit really well with the book Nathalie (Deern) recently read about the Kindertransport children. 3 1/2 stars.
5LisaCurcio
Managed to pick this up at Borders today at 20% off. I don't plan to read all of them, and this was the only one of those I want that I was able to find there.
6Cait86
In the end, Far to Go was good, but not great. I thought the first half of the novel was brilliant - a slow build-up to the occupation of Czechoslovakia through the eyes of some very well-constructed characters. Marta, Pavel, and Annaliese were all interesting characters with plausible motivations, and their actions seemed realistic. The last half was not nearly as strong, and the ending felt rushed (not to mention a bit irritating).
7cushlareads
Cait I found the ending irritating too. I think you said on the main thread (or maybe on your CR thread...somewhere!) that you wouldn't expect to see it on the shortlist. Neither would I, not that I have read any of the others yet, just based on the ones from earlier shortlists that I've enjoyed.
8vancouverdeb
I enjoyed really quite well. I gave it 4 stars and my review is here - I hope! ;) http://www.librarything.com/work/10166055/reviews/65860436
I admit, I don't see it taking the Booker, though. I actually quite liked the ending.
I admit, I don't see it taking the Booker, though. I actually quite liked the ending.
9kiwidoc
About half way through this one and really enjoying it so far. Lovely writing style, and really hard to fault at this stage. Will have to see if I had the same reaction as Cait to the second half.
10alexdaw
I just read this...it's the only one I managed to read before I had to give it back to the library. Poor old Hollinghurst didn't even get a look in. That's back on the wishlist for the minute.
Here's my review...
It was with some misgiving that I began reading Far to Go. Here are my shameful thoughts presented to you in all honesty..."Not another book about the Holocaust...How many do I have to read?" My Jiminy Cricket conscience tells me - "Never enough". After all, I only have to read the stories, don't I? And perhaps it might be a good idea to tell them to my children - even though they are well beyond bedtime stories. And this is not the stuff of bedtime stories.
Do you wonder, as I do, how memories/history will change once our slim connection with the past evaporates? As the generation before you dies and you are pushed to the front line? What orders should you give ? What philosophy should you bequeath to the next generation? My children perceive me as ancient, of course. The way I perceived my mother as ancient. The 1940s to my young eyes were so funny and old-fashioned in terms of dress and hopelessly romantic love songs (think "We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when"). And yet they were only 30 years ago when I was a teenager. Now my kids are close to 20. It's hard to imagine that they must see the 1970s as funny and old fashioned. What must they think of WWII and the Nazi atrocities? It must seem very far away and hard to believe.
And so, yes. Reading Far to Go wasn't easy - and yes, to a degree, we all know how it will end. But I didn't know about the Kindertransport. So it is a story from a different angle. And the angle is further fractured and complicated by the author's own connection to the tragedy which she chooses to present at this point in time in a fictionalised form.
It is a story about making difficult decisions. About trying to read "history" as it happens. About deciding what to pack. About sacrifice.
It is ultimately a story about identity. And what is identity but a jumbled up mass of stories that people have told you about yourself or you have told you about yourself. What if someone questions your identity? What if your identity becomes dangerous to own? What if you thought you were something and then you are told years later that in fact you are something else? How does that change you? Which bit of you is real?
It is a good story. And one that leaves many questions. The best kind really.
Here's my review...
It was with some misgiving that I began reading Far to Go. Here are my shameful thoughts presented to you in all honesty..."Not another book about the Holocaust...How many do I have to read?" My Jiminy Cricket conscience tells me - "Never enough". After all, I only have to read the stories, don't I? And perhaps it might be a good idea to tell them to my children - even though they are well beyond bedtime stories. And this is not the stuff of bedtime stories.
Do you wonder, as I do, how memories/history will change once our slim connection with the past evaporates? As the generation before you dies and you are pushed to the front line? What orders should you give ? What philosophy should you bequeath to the next generation? My children perceive me as ancient, of course. The way I perceived my mother as ancient. The 1940s to my young eyes were so funny and old-fashioned in terms of dress and hopelessly romantic love songs (think "We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when"). And yet they were only 30 years ago when I was a teenager. Now my kids are close to 20. It's hard to imagine that they must see the 1970s as funny and old fashioned. What must they think of WWII and the Nazi atrocities? It must seem very far away and hard to believe.
And so, yes. Reading Far to Go wasn't easy - and yes, to a degree, we all know how it will end. But I didn't know about the Kindertransport. So it is a story from a different angle. And the angle is further fractured and complicated by the author's own connection to the tragedy which she chooses to present at this point in time in a fictionalised form.
It is a story about making difficult decisions. About trying to read "history" as it happens. About deciding what to pack. About sacrifice.
It is ultimately a story about identity. And what is identity but a jumbled up mass of stories that people have told you about yourself or you have told you about yourself. What if someone questions your identity? What if your identity becomes dangerous to own? What if you thought you were something and then you are told years later that in fact you are something else? How does that change you? Which bit of you is real?
It is a good story. And one that leaves many questions. The best kind really.
11vancouverdeb
Great review, Alex Daw. While I'm not sure if it's Booker material, I certainly thought it was a great story.
