Book cover of Under a Cruel Star: A Life in Prague, 1941-1968

Book description

Heda Margolius Kovaly's memoir of the crisis of modern Czech history recounts the tragedies and terrors in the life of a young Jewish woman, beginning with the Nazi invasion and her deportation to Auschwitz. She eventually returned to Prague, where she took part in the May 1945 uprising.

The postwar…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Under a Cruel Star as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Events that happen to us can damn us or liberate us. We will not always know which. 

Stories can help show these events and their consequences, even if they might not give them any real or acceptable meaning. But our descriptions of these events can help us see our life amidst the powers of the events. Heda Margolius Kovaly offers an admirable and brilliant example in her memoir Under a Cruel Star.

The memoir is a remarkable achievement of clarity, focus, and wisdom. Her life is more than that.

If you love Under a Cruel Star...

Book cover of December on 5C4

December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

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But while scoring his last…

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