By
– December 20, 2011
This novel weaves together the life of a young budding rock star with the tragic story of how his mother survived the Holocaust. Peter Jameson grows up cocooned in the suburbs of New Jersey, enjoying the closeness of his three friends who make up his rock band, The Master Planets. A typical egocentric American adolescent, living the sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle, Peter has little connection to and knowledge about his family until disaster strikes at home.
The chapters, which span half a century, alternate between Peter’s story and that of Rachel Arenberg, alias for Peter’s mother. Peter is forced by others to confront his mother’s tragic past as a revengeful partisan, in order to understand who she was and how this has affected him. The chapters which delve into Peter’s family history are by far the most compelling, while the music business story serves as an interesting but weaker counterpoint.
Gallinger describes both time periods and geographical locations meticulously and colorfully. His jarring, raw language puts the reader right into the scenes. The author provides an unusual angle to the themes of survival, denial, revenge, family loyalty, and the inevitability of suffering to the second generation of Holocaust survivors.
Miriam Bradman Abrahams, mom, grandmom, avid reader, sometime writer, born in Havana, raised in Brooklyn, residing in Long Beach on Long Island. Longtime former One Region One Book chair and JBC liaison for Nassau Hadassah, currently presenting Incident at San Miguel with author AJ Sidransky who wrote the historical fiction based on her Cuban Jewish refugee family’s experiences during the revolution. Fluent in Spanish and Hebrew, certified hatha yoga instructor.
