House on Endless Waters, by Emuna Elon (2016)
The novel begins when the well-known Israeli author, Yoel Blum, is boarding an airplane. Right from the beginning, we realize that his is not really a likable character. He is a bit of a snob, and he has trouble interacting well with people. At some point in the novel, he acknowledges that he is not sure that he married for love, rather than convenience.
Regardless, his latest book is being published in the Netherlands and he is traveling to Amsterdam to promote his book. He has mixed feelings about this trip because his mother had always told him he should never, ever go to Amsterdam. Although he was born in Amsterdam during World War II, he and his family never returned. His mother is now deceased, but he wants to keep his promise to her not to go.
While in Amsterdam, he goes to one of the Jewish museums and observes a movie clip that shows his mother holding a baby, along with his father (who perished in the War) and his older sister, Nettie. Upon his return to Israel, he discussed what he had seen with his sister. He tells her that he recognized his family, but the baby doesn’t look like him. Soon after, he feels compelled to return to Amsterdam to search out his background.
The novel mixes the past and present as Yoel seeks out information of his family. He decides to use his search for his identity as the basis for his next novel. At times the past and present blur. He seeks out the building where his family once had a small apartment. The building is now a rather seedy hotel, but Yoel decides to rent a room. He decides to use his search for identity as his next
Yoel visits the local synagogue and eventually meets a man about his age who confides that he was a child of Jewish parents who were hidden by a Christian family during the War. This man has only recently confronted his past with the life he lived for most of his life.
As Blum takes notes for his next novel, he imagines his family life in the building of a wealthy Jewish banker, and the banker’s daughter and her family. All are in denial of what is happening during the War until it is nearly too late.
This novel also reads like a travel map of Amsterdam. Streets and buildings are vividly described.
The reader can easily guess early on the punchline of the novel, but the payoff comes too late. SPOILER ALERT: Yoel is not the biological child of his mother. Their neighbors switched their son with Yoel’s mother on the pretext that they would soon be following them to Palestine. Still, it was a fast read, and not many Holocaust novels address the non-Jewish Dutch families who were willing to hide and safe Jewish children.
Read: August 3, 2020
3 Stars
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