In her bold and remarkable collection of four stories and a novella Shira Nayman observes the intricate psychology of people struggling with the emotional legacy of the Nazis - focusing on ways in which the daughters of both victims and perpetrators of the Holocaust grew up with either unbearable tales of horror or debilitating silence. Each protagonist embarks on a journey of self-discovery that involves unearthing the dark secrets of their parents' tortured pasts.
In 'Dark Urgings of the Blood' a patient is convinced that she shares a disturbing history with her psychiatrist; in 'The House on Kronenstrasse' a woman returns to Germany to find her childhood home; in 'The Porcelain Monkey' the shocking story of an Orthodox Jewish woman's conception comes to light; and in 'The Lamp' the harrowing experiences of a young woman leave her with the perfect daughter and a strange lamp.
Written in clear and unaffected prose, Nayman's immensely powerful, thought-provoking, and heartbreaking collection explores the burden of history, the necessity of truth and the complex psychology of Holocaust survivors and their children. It is an illuminating and startling book about the stories we tell, the secrets we keep and the consequences of our silences.
"Shira Nayman's stories risk strong emotion and always clear the sentimental. Her sentences have heft and spine and grace, and her vision is clear and generous."--Mary Gordon, author of "Pearl and Spending."
"Brave and bracing...Awake in the Dark is plotted in that perfect way that stops our breath even as our brain hums with pleasure."
-- The Plain Dealer
