That Year of Our War [Hardcover]

Gloria Goldreich (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1994

The momentous year of 1944 is teenaged Sarah's year of starting life anew, as she copes with her mother's death, her father's army duty in Europe, and first love among her Brooklyn relatives. By the author of Leah's Journey. 25,000 first printing. $25,000 ad/promo. Lit Guild Alt.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Goldreich's ( Years of Dreams ) deeply moving novel views events of the last year of WW II through the eyes of a 15-year-old American girl, narrator Sharon Grossberg, who is exceptionally perceptive, analytical and vulnerable. The heart of the story lies in Sharon's evolving relationship with her mishpacha (extended family), who, after her mother dies of leukemia, resolve that she live with an aunt in Brooklyn. (Sharon's father, a doctor, is serving somewhere in Europe and the absence of his letters is a constant source of anxiety to her.) The young woman spends the summer of 1944 in Woodstock with another aunt and uncle, and her introduction to their offbeat, intellectual and creative friends adds a new dimension to her expanding world. Goldreich again brings a sense of immediacy to the Jewish experience as Sharon's perceptions of the cycles of life--a birth, a wedding, death--are evoked in rich detail, made poignant without being maudlin. The ordinary life of the family, with their Shabbat dinners and various holiday preparations, is tinged with growing horror as they learn of the extermination of relatives in Europe. Sharon's evaluation of a complex adult world is rendered with skill and power.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

For 15-year-old Sharon Grossberg, June 6, 1944, is "Death Day"--the day she loses her mother to leukemia. Since her father is serving in Europe, Sharon leaves her Boston home to live with relatives in New York City. This novel is a chronicle of the last year of World War II in the lives of this large, extended Jewish family. The story focuses on Sharon as she struggles to cope with her mother's death, her constant anxiety about her father's safety, and her own coming of age. The cycle of life is presented in the birth of a new cousin, the marriage of another, the devastation caused by the death of friends and family members, and the realization of the horror of the Nazi concentration camps. The story is well crafted, and Goldreich ( Years of Dreams , Little, Brown, 1992) successfully evokes the mood, time, and place of the American home front during the world war. Recommended for most fiction collections.
- Maria A. Perez-Stable, Western Michigan Univ. Libs., Kalamazoo
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 356 pages
• Publisher: Little Brown & Co (T); 1st edition (May 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316319430
• ISBN-13: 978-0316319430
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,825,126 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding glimpse at WWII life from a Jewish-American teen's perspective..., March 13, 2007

By 

Joanna Mechlinski (CT, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: That Year of Our War (Hardcover)

Although 15-year-old Sharon Grossberg's mother has just died of leukemia, and her doctor father is serving in the Army, she feels responsible for everyone else in her life. Rather than taking care of *her*, Sharon's relatives allow her to be the support they need in their own lives, such as her 20-year-old cousin Beth, newly married and pregnant as she anticipates the return of her soldier husband; her aunt Dina, a new mother whose husband Robert cheated on her and left her; and her 16-year-old cousin Heidi, who can't bear to tell her mother how miserable she is, practicing the piano she knows she just isn't good at.

All the while she is attending high school and doing normal teenage things, Sharon grieves...for the mother who left her so abruptly, for the father she fears may be dead, for all the Jews in Europe, left to die under such unspeakable cruelty. It's only a matter of luck, she knows, that she and her family are in America.

While Sharon is just aware, however, her cousin Heidi becomes obsessed with her guilt of being a survivor. She allows herself to grow gaunt and malnourished, as are the death camp prisoners; she refuses to allow anyone to buy her new clothes, as death camp prisoners don't get any. Although everyone else in the extended family either ignores or is oblivious to Heidi's obsession, it's soon clear to Sharon that Heidi is quickly slipping away, over a point of no return.

No matter what happens, Sharon believes it's up to her to hold everyone else together. But what happens when her own life spins out of control?

5.0 out of 5 stars The Year of our War, December 31, 2001

By 

LUV TO READ "LORRAINE" (RHODE ISLAND, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: That Year of Our War (Hardcover)

I was about the same age as Sharon in 1944-45. I can certainly identify with the times... This is the first book by Gloria Goldreich that I have read, but it will not be the last.... Most people today don't really know the unrest that all people felt during the WWII battles. I can understand how the Jewish people felt and how awful it was for the people in Europe at the time as well as the Pacific area....This story is about a large Jewish family in New York during the last year of the war. It shows all the wonderful togetherness experienced by this family and how strong they were. I still remember them even after I have finished reading the book and feel as if I know this family very well... I do remember the songs of those days as well as the ration stamps. These were times of hardship as well as great patriotism by all living in the USA at that time.............. I recommend this book to anyone. Well written!