My Version of the Facts [Hardcover]

George Hochfield (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 20, 2005

My Version of the Facts is the self-portrait of a middle-class Italian Jew whose entire world was unexpectedly altered by the rise of fascism and the invasion of World War II. Pekelis's recollections form an absorbing, delicately nuanced portrait of a life transformed, and a world transfigured, by the relentless currents of twentieth-century history.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Italian, English, French

From the Back Cover

"what did it mean to be a Jewish child in Italy at the beginning of the century?" Carla Pekelis asks herself as she sifts through her early memories, and answers, "As a matter of fact, nothing, absolutely nothing." But shortly, as fascism began its march through her homeland and racial laws slowly constricted her world, Carla would learn that being a Jew in Italy might indeed have a profound meaning, and dire consequences. Pekelis's recollections, pieced together in My Version of the Facts, form an absorbing, delicately nuanced portrait of a life transformed, and a world transfigured, by the relentless currents of twentieth-century history.
Pekelis recalls her childhood in a household more middle-class than Jewish-her grandmother's mysterious observances, her favorite tutors and first love-disturbed only subtly by the war that ended with the fall of the wicked Hapsburgs, the liberation of Trento and Trieste, the marching of children-Carla among them-through the streets of Soriano al Cimino waving flags and singing patriotic songs. As the thrust of these events, and the dangers and implications of Fascism became less subtle, Pekelis's story becomes one of awakening, of flight-first to Florence, then as a mother escaping with her children to Paris, to Lisbon before Nazism's advance, and finally to New York-and of growing consciousness and courage as the challenges of sustaining herself and her family intensify and multiply. My Version of the Facts comes full circle as Pekelis, after years as a widow and an exile, by now an expert in reversals and revivals, returns to Italy in search of a clearer sense of what happened to her, and to her Italy.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Marlboro Press; 1 edition (April 20, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810160862
• ISBN-13: 978-0810160866
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,408,781 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.