The Holocaust Kid

Sonia Pilcer succeeds in making the reader experience the horror of the Holocaust, not by directly describing it, but by showing its impact on a child of the next generation, and in so doing creates a more powerful impact. It's painful to witness Zosha's journey to her own personal "liberation" but the book's denouement is a touching testament to the power of the renewal of life, and the grace that is mysteriously granted if we are open to receiving it.

Sonia Pilcer creates an unforgettable emotional tapestry in this beautifully written collection of stories. Zosha is the child of Holocaust survivors and through this series of related stories we see the terrible impact of the Holocaust on two generations. Born in a Displaced Persons camp in Germany, Zosha comes to America as a child and grows up surrounded by the ghosts of those who died in the concentration camps. As she struggles for her own identity, she must live with the transplanted memories of those who died before she was ever born. The stories are, poignant, painful, funny, and always right on target. The Holocaust Kid is a joy to read.

These fifteen interrelated stories by the daughter of Holocaust survivors will live on in your heart, long after you've devoured them. Our narrator, Zosha, is a charming and always elequent raconteur, taking us on a witty, haunting journey. Pilcer treats difficult subjects with wit, charm and intelligence. Eloquently written and extremely felt, this material is for Jews and nonJews alike.

In a world where there seems to be a code of "rules" about how the Holocaust should be discussed, Sonia Pilcer dares to dissect the rules themselves, from a very personal vantage point, in The Holocaust Kid. This collection of stories centers around Zosha, a very American young woman whose parents are survivors. The weight of the Holocaust and the necessity of remembrance is an everpresent burden to Zosha, for whom these "memories" are important but also surreal, dependent on the multitude of stories shared among her parents and their friends. Survivor's guilt is passed down to the second generation, in an adulterated, confusing form that leaves Zosha simulaneously alienated and obsessed with the residue of the war. For me, the most poignant story is "Thieves," in which Zosha's mother Genia "cleans" her daughter's apartment in her absence, snooping through Zosha's unfinished writing, all of which centers around the Holocaust. At first, Genia is glad Zosha takes an interest, as she reads a poem about her own father's cigarette case, which the family had managed to keep through the war. However, as Genia reads on, her daughter's work begins to examine, maybe even break the "rules" of remembering the Holocaust, and Genia feels violated, her family secrets now exposed. Both mother and daughter are "thieves," prying in each others' stories.A very poignant and, for me, enlightening collection of stories.

In The Holocaust Kid, Sonia Pilcer movingly depicts the story of Zosha Palovsky, a child of Holocaust survivors, from the beginning of her life in a German DP (displaced persons) camp, throughout her childhood, turbulent adolescence, and finally, into adulthood. The book is a collection of stories, each one dealing with a different period in Zosha's life, or the lives of her survivor parents.The stories dealing with her parents' experiences in the camps provide the context and background for the atmosphere in which Zosha was raised. As a member of the Second Generation myself, the book has a great deal of meaning for me. However, many of the issues in this book are universal (parent-child relationships, rebellion, etc) and I highly recommmend it to anyone looking for a fascinating read, regardless of their background or experience.