I won’t lie, I was a little skeptical when I first read about this novel. Did we really need another book about the Holocaust?

Turns out that yes, actually, we did.

The Postcard, Anne Berest’s much-acclaimed and prize-winning book isn’t just a historical novel - it’s also a memoir, and a detective story. Berest masterfully merges all three genres into something beautiful and quite unforgettable. It’s also a lovely hymn to the power of storytelling.

So yes, it’s a goodie. And it’s available now (with a 15% discount!)

We’ll be meeting at the shop on Thursday, August 31 at 6:30 p.m.

Here’s the gist…

January, 2003. Together with the usual holiday cards, an anonymous postcard is delivered to the Berest family home. On the front, a photo of the Opéra Garnier in Paris. On the back, the names of Anne Berest's maternal great-grandparents, Ephraim and Emma, and their children, Noémie and Jacques--all killed at Auschwitz.

Fifteen years after the postcard is delivered, Anne, the heroine of this novel, is moved to discover who sent it and why. Aided by her chain-smoking mother, family members, friends, associates, a private detective, a graphologist, and many others, she embarks on a journey to discover the fate of the Rabinovitch family: their flight from Russia following the revolution, their journey to Latvia, Palestine, and Paris. What emerges is a moving saga that shatters long-held certainties about Anne's family, her country, and herself.