Customer Reviews

Ostrich Feathers

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

 

 

Ostrich Feathers is the remarkable story of an eight year old girl, living in Israel, who accidentally discovers that her father is not her natural parent, and that her father disappeared in Poland during the holocaust. She is now fifty five years old, after years of trying to learn about her dad and trying to contact him or at least find out if he is still alive. She has returned to Poland, the land of her birth, perhaps someone knows about her dad.
She meets an old man in his eighties who has lost his memory of his youth. Can he be her father? Is it possible that the many Nazi beatings that he suffered during years of incarceration caused his loss of memory? Is she able to help him regain his past? Can she finally, after close to fifty years of searching, defeat the Nazis and be reunited with her dad?
The story is true, but it is written like an engrossing suspenseful novel and, as with a good novel, it draws its readers' attention. It is hard to put down.
There are subplots, such as the love story of her father and mother, her mother's escape from the Nazis while she was pregnant, the girl's birth surrounded by nuns who name the Jewish child Mary, or Miriam in Hebrew, after Jesus' mother, the two miracles surrounding Miriam's birth that the city is unable to forget for two generations, Miriam growing up in Israel, her marriage and children, the capture of her husband by Egyptians, and the rise of her husband to become a two star general in the Israeli Air Force, representing his country in America.
This book is so good that readers will find themselves saying that they hope that Miriam Romm writes another book, either fact or fiction.

I found reading this book to be a wonderful journey. As I read, I became so wrapped up in the 'characters' that I kept having to remind myself that this was a true story, not that of a fictional character in a classic novel. Working full time and having two young children, I don't have much free time to read but I found myself so engrossed in this story, and so eager to find out more, that I carried the book around with me everywhere and read it every time I had a few spare minutes.

While there are so many things that I could say about why I enjoyed the book, I realize that it really all comes down to the fact that I was totally engrossed in the story of a truly amazing woman with a strong will and a love for family and life. While her story couldn't help but touch on so many dark and hurtful topics, I found so much hope in the miracles, both large and small, that Mrs. Romm encountered along the way. It made me appreciate all the more everything that I have and the people that I am blessed to have in my life.

Before I read this book, I had the honor of meeting the author through her husband. She is one of those rare people that you meet and immediately feel as though they are someone truly special and that you are blessed to have encountered them. After reading her book, I understand why I felt that way. She is a truly amazing person and I am very thankful that she has chosen to share her story. It will make you reflect not only on history, but on your own personal life, the challenges that you face, and the gifts that you have been given. I highly recommend this book.

Ostrich Feather is a touching and original novel of personal quest and personal discovery - an engrossing and graceful book, peopled with memorable characters. in a style that is both candid and lyrical the author portrays a unique story, that is also a story of a generation that has lost its roots in the aftermath of the second world war. But without roots there can be no growth, and this need burns at the center of the protagonist's soul and is also the driving force of her brave mission: she is set to find her father, lost to her before she was born, even at the price of leaving her ordered life behind and setting into the unknown. What follows is a voyage that leads her to the corners of the globe, to the far reaches of history but also closer to home. The result is an absorbing tale of courage and hope. I highly recommend this book.

While this story jumps around a lot and has a slightly unsatisfying ending, it offers a unique perspective on World War II. What happens to the descendants of people who changed their identity to survive? This book shows just how literally the devastating effects of the Holocaust reach later, current generations.

For those attempting their own family research, Miriam Romm demonstrates how perseverance, dedication and sometimes sheer pushiness when required, pay off. The dreaded 'brick wall' that genealogists sometimes encounter was no barrier to her. She just climbed it.

Apart from the harrowing accounts of her childhood, and the moving encounter with the old Polish man, she manages to confront many ethical dilemmas that potentially face parents:

How much does one divulge to ones children and/or when? How much family history can one hide, if it is not pleasant? Is it fair to do so, especially given the danger that the child may inadvertently find out from someone else?

All in all, well worth the read. The story and the issues float around in one's head long after one reaches the end - sign of a good book.

I put aside this book after reading the first chapter; it was a difficult read in many ways and along with the subject matter I thought I would try it again later. I finally made another attempt and was glad I did. I agree with many of the other reviewers that the translating of the story from Hebrew to English created a rather awkward storyline. I found that by treating the storyline as a series of "vignettes" I was able to put the puzzle of this story together and enjoy it. I truly enjoyed visualizing Moniek, what a wonderful picture of this real flesh and blood man the author paints for us! I think this story would be of particular interest to genealogists, the process of research outlined in this book is truly wonderful. I was however disappointed that the question of the character of Carl was never completely answered.

When reading a book in translation, it's always hard to tell whether any awkwardness in the text comes from the original or the translation. And there's a lot of awkwardness in this story, though not all of it can be attributed to problems in translation. Some of the awkwardness could go either way, such as the stilted dialogue (I understand that recreating dialogue in a memoir can be problematic, but I think most readers would agree that ease of reading trumps efforts to be strictly faithful to events, as long as gist and meaning are maintained).

Other kinds of awkwardness are easier to pinpoint, such as when the author tells us that she wishes she had broached the subject of her father earlier so that she would have had an opportunity to talk to his friends who are now either dead or past the point where she can talk to them about their memories of her father. This would indeed be unfortunate, except that throughout the book we are repeatedly given the memories of several of her father's friends, given, we are told, directly from them to her.

This extensive awkwardness is a very unfortunate factor in what otherwise could have been a very good read. The author's quest to find her father, lost during the Holocaust, is a very interesting subject, but this book would have benefited greatly from either a ghost writer, or a better editor, or both.