Customer Reviews

A Day of Small Beginnings: A Novel

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Other reviewers have summarized the plot of this wonderful debut novel by Lisa Pearl Rosenbaum. I'm impressed by the way Rosenbaum expertly interweaves characters and plot lines, taking us on a journey from Europe to America and back again. On the way, she tackles the big topics, such as how one connects to his or her past, how one learns to balance the spiritual and the intellectual in the modern world, and how one learns to embrace an almost-unknown heritage, to forgive, and move on. The novel is about courage, assimilation, reconciliation, and the healing power of art.

As I read the story of Itzik, Nathan, and Ellen, all influenced by the magical spirit of Freidl, I was led to examine my own relationship with my ancestors, my religion, and my creativity. It's hard to imagine that a book about being Jewish in the last century could be so positive and hopeful. That Rosenbaum accomplishes this is a masterful achievement.

In 1906 Poland, Itzik Lieberman, an overworked 14-year-old, stumbles across a Polish peasant whipping three young Jewish children who were on their way home from studying. He stops to help them, and in the process, accidentally kills the Polish peasant.

Itzik flees the angry mob that comes looking for him and hides in the Jewish cemetery. There, he falls on the newly uncovered grave of Friedl Alterman and prays to God for protection. His terrified and frantic prayers awake the spirit of Friedl, who comes to protect the scared boy.

Itzik, who has been called faithless since his father left his family, cannot hear Freidl's spirit and does not realize the help he has been given. He eventually flees Poland for America, where he can be free from the horrible accident. Itzik raises a family and never talks about either Poland or the religion that he has cast aside for socialism. When his son and then his granddaughter return to Poland after his death, the country they encounter is vastly different from the little they know of Itzik's Poland.

Lisa Pearl Rosenbaum's first novel explores the idea of the loss of family history once members make the journey to the new world. She bases her story on a tale she heard about her own family's loss of heritage. She weaves a story that crosses four generations, two countries, and one religion.

A Day of Small Beginnings examines what it means to be Jewish even when you don't practice the religion, and what happens when Jews-by-name begin to explore their heritage and the rich history of Judaism. Because this is such a plausible story, not just for Jews but for anyone with an immigrant background, Rosenbaum's story engages readers across the spectrum and allows them to identify with the ill-fated Itzik and his reasons for running away from home.

Armchair Interviews says: Thought-provoking story about heritage.

This is an extraordinarily rich novel on so many levels, Jewish and non. We are taken on a soulful, suspenseful journey of 3 generations of a Jewish family. Grandfather Itzik triggers a series of events that lead to his immigration to America. Years later, his son Nathan travels to Poland on a work-related project, where he awakens unresolved issues relating to his father's secret past and begins to question his own inner identity as a secular Jew with an Americanized last name. The third and final generation is represented by his daughter Ellen, a young, modern Jewish woman whose sensibilities and attitudes are, to me, characteristic of the generation she represents. Each character makes discoveries about the role of Judaism in his/her life. The characters are extremely human and multifaceted.
Regarding Judaism, you will find lots of references to Jewish wisdom and experience. (I delighted to learn that pisha paysha was indeed a real card game, not just a game made up by my own Jewish Polish immigrant grandmother.) In the author's recreation of the Jewish world that was, we do not find a musty world. Freidl - a ghost - is a link between all 3 generations and their Polish past. She is, in fact, the driving force in this suspense novel. Her role as catalyst and connecting thread is, from a literary standpoint, superbly woven. She is something of a "living" witness to shtetl life, thrust into our modern era. This makes for some humorous moments, as well.
Besides recreating the experiences of Poland's Jewish past, the author gives us a vibrant look into modern Poland. Through some well-developed, non-Jewish Polish characters, we are presented with perspectives into the Polish psyche. As Ellen starts to make friendships with other young adults she meets in Poland, she explores the possibility for Jewish-Christian reconciliation and also finds new meaning in being a Jew. This is one of the best novels I have read in a very long time, and I am awed by the knowledge base of the author.

'A Day of Small Beginnings' is such a good book- well written, credible and sympathetic characters, thoughtful insights into history and genealogy, a setting that depicts anti-Semitism to those of us who did not grow up in Europe and that adds to one's understanding of the world that created pogroms and the Holocaust in the first place. The main aspect of this world that makes me sad, however, is that the hope we have lived with since the end of the Second World War, the values of individual liberty, democracy, progress , help for the suffering, freedom of religion, and so on, are perhaps farther away now than they were 60 years ago. Tribalism and balkanization are as alive and well now as they were in the Middle Ages.

My mother recommended this book. Said she couldn't put it down, so I bought a copy. I struggled a bit with the first chapter, but once the story got going I really got pulled in and also found that I couldn't put it down.
Maybe it helps to say that my father's family came from northern Poland, that I am the president of a landsmanschaft (organization of Jews who came from that particular area) and an amateur Jewish genealogist, and also administer the cemeteries for my landsmanschaft, so this story struck many personal chords for me.
It is very well written for a first novel, well produced, richly imagined. At times the dialogue becomes heavily didactic, but not so much as to detract from the overall thrust of the story.

This is a wonderfully layered and satisfying novel which is sure to be a hit with book groups. Some novels are so beautifully written and have such a great story that you can't wait to share it. This is such a book. 'A Day of Small Beginnings' sparked a discussion so energetic and fun in my group that we had to drag ourselves home. I believe that the mark of a good book club selection is how long the members discuss it before breaking for dinner. I can't speak for everyone, but I forgot to eat.

In 1906, a fourteen-year-old Jewish boy tries to save small children from the wrath of a drunken bully. The man is killed by accident, and Itzik Leiber is pursued by an angry group bent on revenge. When Itzik hides in a cemetery, the ghost of Freidl Alterman rises to save his life. Childless in life, she promises God she will care for the errant boy.

In 1991, Itzik's son, Nathan, travels to Poland for a political conference. While there, he visits the town where Itzik was born. He meets Rafael, the last Jew of Zokof, and learns about the ghostly woman who figured in Itzik's escape. Nathan returns to the United States confused and restless.

In 1992, Itzik's granddaughter, Ellen, is invited to work with a prestigious Polish dance troupe. During her summer stay, she visits Rafael to learn more about her heritage and Freidl. Raised an atheist, Ellen is confused about her identity as a Jew. She senses her love of dance and music are connected to many unknown aspects of her life, including Freidl, who she comes to admire. Supported by her musician lover, she seeks meaning and rest for a charismatic ghost.

In this, her first novel, Lisa Pearl Rosenbaum writes not only with the voice of a seasoned author, but also with a deep, soulful heart. The stories of Itzik, Nathan, and Ellen are painful, beautiful, and illuminating. Questions raised by the characters will sink into the reader's spirit in a way rarely accomplished in popular fiction. What does it mean to be a Jew? What does it mean to be a Gentile? What does it mean to deny who you are? These are small beginnings to larger questions.

Beyond the inherent soul-searching, Rosenbaum meets head on the issues of anti-Semitism in today's world. Americans of Jewish descent often have little idea that walls of hatred and suspicion still exist in places far from the "land of milk and honey." What we see in the news is abstract until we experience it for ourselves. This is a small part of what Rosenbaum teaches us. But more importantly, she offers hope. A good life is a series of steps taken over roads rough and smooth. Know what lies within your heart and use it, then you will find the strength you need to move on.

Reviewed by Christina Wantz Fixemer
11/03/2006

If you like reading multi-generational historic novels, you will love A Day of Small Beginnings. Set in Poland and the United States, the story begins with a heroic act by a young teenager. The results of this act change the lives of generations past and present. The plot unfolds as a beautiful song's refrain hangs in the background binding the characters together. I recommend this book to married women as it contains some sexual encounters by one of the contemporary characters.

I couldn't put the book down from beginning to end. I was stirred by the lack of awareness I had about the tensions between Polish people and those who were of Jewish descent. So much so that it made me think about the levels of anti-Semitism that still exist today. It raised the issue of how we need to continue educating our children to be mindful of what they've gained through the pains of our ancestors and that they still bear a responsibility to learn and keep watch while also (as seen through Ellen's and Marek's relationship) stay open to others' plights.
The second emotion I had was the impact of the loss of living European ancestors on our newer generation. How much of our strength and humor have provided us backbone from the immigrants, and their Yiddish, as seen through the translations of Rafael's and Friedl's words that are lost to our children of today.
Finally, the meaning of beshert is fully appreciated as these three generations are left to individually and silently confront their faith and relationship with G-d.
Thank you Ms. Rosenbaum for a wonderful book. I hope you write others and will look for them.

Rarely do I come upon a book that is readable, lyrical,charming, and an example of good literature. Rosenbaum's book is one. Her novel will not be a challenge for the average reader. Yet, the strong reader will be able to enjoy the lyrical language and the various levels of meaning the book offers. We meet Itzik the patriarch, Nathan, the very assimilated American born Jew, Ellen, Nathan's daughter, Friedl, a spirit who can find no rest, Rafael, the last Jew in Zokof, and Marek, Ellen's Klezmer playing Polish boyfriend. The story opens with Itzik fleeing from Zocof after breaking Friedl's tombstone and ends with an attempt to reconcile Poland's terrible history of anti-semitism and its Jewish heritage through art. The author uses techniques of magical realism, Jewish mysticism, character soul searching, Yiddish cadences, Yiddish phrases and romance to take the reader on a wild ride. Friedl's spirit cannot rest until she fulfills the prophecy inherited by all Jewish women. She must pass down Jewish traditions and history to the next generation. With the ghost as a literary device the author reveals the importance of passing on one's history and especially an ethnic history to the next generation. So many immigrants tried to abolish their ethnicities upon landing on these shores. So much history was lost as recent immigrants tried to become "real Americans." With this novel the author is telling us that our immigrant histories are part of the American experience. As such they should be treasured and revered. I did not want this book to end. It is both an immigrant story and a holocaust story. It is a tale both of scholarship and performance, of curse and redemption. To call it a ghost story is an oversimplification of the role played by Friedl's spirit.