TITLE INFORMATION
\nTHE GRAYLING
\nHidden Truths: Poems By Martin Freier
\nFreier, Cheryl
\nAuthorHouse (156 pp.)
\n$23.99 hardcover, $14.95 paperback, $3.99 e-book
\nISBN: 978-1468524062; January 9, 2012
\nBOOK REVIEW
\nIn a novel about faith and fortitude, a Jewish family escapes to the woods and struggles to survive there after Nazis
\ninvade their Czechoslovakian town.
\nIn the 1940s, war seems far away to the Freiers. Joseph, the patriarch, provides for his middle-class family\u2014his wife,
\nthree sons and a daughter\u2014by running the lumberyard in their Czechoslovakian town. Then the Nazis begin purging the
\narea of Jews. The Freiers manage to escape each time the Germans round them up. The first time, they return home after
\ntrying to buy passage to Switzerland. The next time, they slip away in the chaos before the Nazis can herd them onto the
\nconcentration camp\u2013bound trains. After that, Joseph\u2019s foreman gets them special dispensation to stay in town. They also
\nbuy forged papers and live as Christians until, at last, they escape into the woods. On their own, they struggle to survive,
\nwith help from Joseph\u2019s talent with a hammer, their knowledge of wildlife, and their commitment to faith and one
\nanother. Their lives constantly at risk, the family\u2019s saga might have made for a powerful, uplifting tale if the book had
\ndeveloped the characters better. As it is, the Freiers lack individuality. Except for Sam, the eldest son, and Martin, the
\nnarrator, the characters don\u2019t acquire distinctive personalities. They speak in platitudes and have implausible
\nconversations. Their story moves about in a haphazard way as it jumps for no apparent reason from Martin\u2019s first-person
\nperspective to a third-person point of view. The book also unnecessarily repeats paragraphs, which adds to the confusion,
\nas do what appear to be significant skips in time. However, the novel has undeniable charm that derives in part from the
\nstrong family bond it describes. The story offers a unique glimpse of life in a Jewish ghetto and what happens, physically
\nand emotionally, when the persecuted must literally run for their lives.
\nHarrowing in its realism yet not fully developed.
\nKirkus Indie, Kirkus Media LLC, 6411 Burleson Rd., Austin, TX 78744
\nindie@kirkusreviews.com
\nI am sending this message all across America:
\nI am the wife of a survivor of the Holocaust. My husband\u2019s name was Martin Freier. He was a survivor from Micholovce, Slovakia. For the Passover holidays, you must listen to him singing most of the well-known Passover songs. Anyone can hear his singing on the website: www.thegraylinghiddentruthpoems.com. Martin was a Cantor with a voice that resonated with every note and with a voice with a special ring that was incomparable. Treat yourself to Martin\u2019s singing as you eat the macaroon, and pieces of cake, and drink the Passover wine. Play his songs for the seder. Sing along with his melodious rendition of each song. Martin was liberated on Passover. Celebrate his liberation in spirit with love. Think that his liberation was your liberation. I am the wife of a survivor of the Holocaust. If you wish to read poems that he wrote, you may do so by reading the book: The Day of the Hidden Truth Poems. Thanks
\nCheryl Freier<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TITLE INFORMATION THE GRAYLING Hidden Truths: Poems By Martin Freier Freier, Cheryl AuthorHouse (156 pp.) $23.99 hardcover, $14.95 paperback, $3.99 e-book ISBN: 978-1468524062; January 9, 2012 BOOK REVIEW In a novel about faith and fortitude, a Jewish family escapes to the woods and struggles to survive there after Nazis invade their Czechoslovakian town. In the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1],"tags":[528,526,527],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8LuB6-7C","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thegraylinghiddentruthpoems.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thegraylinghiddentruthpoems.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thegraylinghiddentruthpoems.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegraylinghiddentruthpoems.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegraylinghiddentruthpoems.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=472"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thegraylinghiddentruthpoems.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":473,"href":"https:\/\/thegraylinghiddentruthpoems.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472\/revisions\/473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thegraylinghiddentruthpoems.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegraylinghiddentruthpoems.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegraylinghiddentruthpoems.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}