Customer Reviews

The Dream: A Memoir (Random House Reader's Circle)

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

After reading his moving and evocative first memoir, The Invisible Wall, about his life till age 12 living in Manchester as a child of Polish Jewish immigrants, I had eagerly awaited the possible sequel. This new book is as good as the first. Mr. Bernstein, now 98 years old, continues his story, covering the time of the family move to the USA, their experiences in Chicago and New York, their life during good times and then the depression. This book fits into several genera: 1. It is an autobiography, 2. It is a case study in parental abuse and general dysfunctional family members, and 3. It is a pesonal memoir of how this boy, and then man, responded to the various situations. To be honest, while I loved the writing and the story, something I cannot forget is the beautiful picture of Mr. Bernstein's wife, in her later years, looking up at him. The love is just so clear in her face.

Read this book, after reading the Invisible Wall, and be swept into this remarkable family history.

I have read many memoirs, since those are what I prefere to read. Now that I have read this beautiful memoir, The Dream, writen by Harry Bernstien, all the others pale in comparison. I first picked up The Invisible Wall by Mr. Bernstein, I liked it from the first page. I was glued to that book and absolutley could not put it down. While reading it I was thinking, Oh please let there be many many more of his books continuing the tale of his very interesting family. As soon as I finished The Invisible Wall and found there to be a sequel, I ordered it from Amazon and was so impatient, could barley wait for its arrival. I just finished it. It took about 18 hours, non stop, except to sleep. It was just as good as the first.
He tells his story so vividly. I felt that I was there with these people, that I knew them personally. I cringed when I knew some thing that was said or done was going to make the father angry. For I had "known" how his father was by now. I felt sad for Harrys mother. I cried, deep rib racking cries at the end of The Dream.
I know Harry is 98 now, but I selfishly want him to keep producing books. But, I know in reality..... But the grapevine says he started another. Wow, this man is something else. I don't remember what happen in my life nine years ago let alone 90 years ago. I will never forget these stories of how it was for this family in those days. Very interesting to see it through a mind of a child all the way through to his adulthood. The story was so easy to read, well told and written beautifully, by this beautiful man and his heart wrenching account of what took place.
Oh "Arry", my only regret is that you didn't start to write this sooner. Thank you for bringing readers this unforgettable story. It will stay in my mind and heart forever!

I could not wait until this book arrived and it was even better than Bernstein's first book. He really describes his family members so that the reader can understand who and why they are. His devotion to both his mother who was the inspiration for his dreams and his wife who was the love of his life is very touching. I cried when I finished the book. My only solace is the note at the end which indicates that he is planning a third book. What a feat for a man of 98!

As soon as I heard that Harry Bernstein had written a second memoir dealing with his early life America, I ordered it at once and devoured it. God bless this writer! He is 98 years old and hopes to give us a third memoir of his life with his beloved wife Ruby. I will buy it the day it is printed.

Young Harry and his brothers and sisters, devoted mother and rather despicable, drunken and despotic father, leave their Liverpool poverty and travel to America in the early twentieth century. As Harry grows, the first of his family to complete high school (his mother cannot read or write), he takes on the role of the man in the house, eventually managing to work even during the Depression (though nearly killed by a band of thugs), trying to get his mother away from his father who has always made their life miserable. The strength, charm and humor of young Harry is wonderful and when he at last falls in love with a girl he meets in a dance hall, he begins a romance and marriage which will last him almost three quarters of a century.

So many people are lovingly and fascinatingly portrayed, none less than his grandfather who in a strange, lonely, almost unbelievable profession, supports them all.

Please write the next book quickly, Mr. Bernstein!

Stephanie Cowell (author of the novel MARRYING MOZART)

Harry Bernstein is an incredible story teller, a natural born author. I admire that he waited until his later years to write his autobiograhy/memoir. My husband bought me the first book, The Invisible Wall, which I would highly recommend. His recollection of his growing up in a poor neighborhood with his absent alcoholic father and the love he had for his mother who did the best she could, is touching. I am now into The Dream and it doesn't disappoint. You can feel Harry's disappointments and small moments of joy as he unfolds them for you with candor. If you like a story that you can almost see the people involved because the author is that honest, this book is for you. I can't say enough about it, when I received my book (The Dream) in the mail from Amazon, it put a smile on my face and made my day. What a gift Harry has to give that to a perfect stranger.

After reading "The Invisible Wall" I knew that I had to purchase "The Dream." Not only is Mr. Bernstein an effective writer--he just happens to live in the town next-door! Mr. Bernstein's account of his early years in England, living on a street comprised of both Christians and Jews and of the "invisible wall" between the two cultures was so moving that I immediately started on "The Dream." This book does not disappoint. The 98-year old author continues his story, now in the United States. But the realization of his mother's dream of living in the USA does not make life easier for this family. They say that truth is stranger than fiction and Mr. Bernstein's history certainly proves the old maxim to be true. Unusual characters, from mobsters to rabbis, many of them relatives, abound. Poignant but never maudlin, his books are reminiscent of those of Frank McCourt and tell of an age long past. Replete with sorrow and deep sadness we are reminded in the end of the triumph of the human spirit and of our shared humanity. In telling his own tale Mr. Bernstein has managed to tell the story of us all and to tear down the walls that separate us. This book is a must-read!!

Last year, I read Harry Bernstein's "The Invisible Wall" and could not put it down. I could not believe what a vivid memory Harry had of his youth in England - especially considering that he wrote it at age 95. His description and detail made the story come alive and I felt as if I was right there with his family. It was because of that first book that I eagerly awaited the arrival of "The Dream". The Dream was not a disappointment. It met all my expectations. Again, I could not put it down until I finished reading it. It is amazing to think he wrote the second book at age 98. I now eagerly await the new book that Harry is writing. There is a Yiddish expression: "To one hundred and twenty". I can only wish that longevity for Harry so he can write more books for me to read.

I can't wait to read what Harry Bernstein has to offer next. His stories are so fascinating, the hurdles he and his family members had to overcome, the complex relationships, and how he manages to still find joy and happiness for himself while doing all he can to help out everyone else. It's a classic story of struggling for a better future against all the odds, and this nice, humble, talented man has given such a gift to those who read his stories. I just wish we had more and more wonderful books like this one.

This tender memoir showcases Mr. Bernstein's gifted ability to thoroughly connect with his readers. In The Invisible Wall - an equally fabulous book - we begin to follow Harry (the author), his parents, brothers, and sisters through the ups and downs of their hardscrabble existence in England. Now in The Dream, we connect all the more with them as they cope with incredibly difficult situations during the 1920's and 1930's in Chicago and New York. It's not a pretty existence, but it's one that exemplifies perseverance, resilience, love, forgiveness, and hope - some of which are undoubtedly scarce in this 21st century.

Keep in mind that this is a two-volume treasure. Read The Invisible Wall first to become acquainted with Harry's family, including his amazing mother and her dream. Then treat yourself to The Dream to find out the incredible things that happen in America, including Harry's romance with Ruby, who becomes Harry's wife. And, if by book's end, you experience a very special closeness to Mr. Bernstein and his life story, you won't be the only one.

I am a well read book lover who enjoys a wide range of authors from Tolstoy to Chuck Palanuik, yet of the hundreds of writers I enjoy, there is something about Harry Bernstein--and in particular his memoir The Dream--that moves me beyond all others. Perhaps it is the deeply moving tribute to his mother that speaks to the entangled dreams of all mothers and sons; or the vivid prose that magically recreates Chicago and New York circa the early 1900s; or the simple way he seems to accept the gifts and losses of his incredible life which unconciously shines a harsh light on modern culture's self-pitying sense of entitlement. I would recommend that you read The Invisible Wall first, so you understand the context behind his relationships with his family--but I think he did an artful job at making this book able to stand on its own. I know there is a lot of well-deserved publicity about Mr. Bernstein becoming a published author in his nineties, but the real story is the birth of a classic that rivals To Kill a Mockingbird, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and Angela's Ashes.