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On The Bookshelf

FICTION

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The Shadow Catcher
By Andrzej Szczypiorski; translated by
Bill Johnston; Grove Press; $21.
In his fourth novel to be translated
into English, international best-selling
Polish author Andrzej Szczypiorski
tells the story of 1939 pre-World War
II Poland as seen through the eyes of a
15-year-old boy on a countryside holi-
day. The Shadow Catcher is a story of
the discovery of religion, first love and

Holocaust survivor. But I was-
n't liberated from the
Holocaust, it liberated me."
So begins Luck and Chutzpah by
H.G. Kahn (Geffen Publishing;
$19.95) who, with the help of co-
writer Hillel Halkin, shares his story
of one man's personal triumph over
adversity
Hans Kahn, today the owner of
Jumbo Navigation, which specializes
in transportation of heavy loads,
wrote the book, he says, hoping his
story would give strength to his sons
and others who wish to turn their
lives around.
The author tells us of his escape
from Nazi-occupied Holland and
the certainty of a death camp, travel -
ing throu gh Belgium, France and
Spain, from where he fled to
England to join the Dutch navy-in-
exile. Kahn fills the book with his
personal outlook on life, much of
which is colored by the

,

With figother

ase

*RI

NOT GOOD WITH ANY OTHER OFFER • EXPIRES JANUARY 29, 1998

LUNCH Monday-Friday
DINNER Monday-Sunday

z

Imo

"I'm going on my first trip to Israel and don't
know what clothes to take. Who can I call to
help me prepare?"
•• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Federation Resource Line can get you in touch with the
Michigan/Israel Connection. It knows all about travel to Israel,
including what to pack, currency ex-
changes and sights to see.
•• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Federation Resource Line has thousands
of resources to answer your questions.
For information or referral, call the
Federation Resource Line, (248) 559-
4411; (248) 559-6146 TT (Text Tele-
• (248)
phonefor people who are deaf or have
559-4411
TT: 559-6146
hearing impairments)
• Fax: 559-6140
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t k‘N."
A program of the Jewish Federation of
A Jewish Information
and Referral Service
Metropolitan Detroit

Federation
Resource
Line

1/16
1998

100

NONFICTION

The Illustrated History of the Jewish
People
Edited by Nicholas de Lange; Harcourt
Brace and Company; $36
Narrated by eight of the world's
preeminent Jewish historians, The

`Luck and Chutzpah'

suppose you could call me a

1/2 OFF ANY SANDWICH
from our sandwich board!

personal identity. Originally published
in 1976, the novel deals with impend-
ing war and a boy's worries about the
possibility of the loss of Polish Jews.

loss of his religious beliefs as the war
progressed.
He exhibits little sympathy for
those who were unable to withstand
the pressures of life during the war
years. He calls his father a weakling
and once, when recalling him cry-
ing, says, "I would never bend."
He criticizes his fellow Jews for
submitting to wearing the yellow
star and accuses them of lacking
fighting spirit. His loss of religious
belief is complete when he decides
that if "you owe God for the good
things, you should also hold Him
responsible for all the suffering in
the world."
Kahn says he survived the war
solely on his own instincts and won-
ders if many Jews; including Anne
Frank, might have survived had they
not been so meek.
At the end of the book, he holds
an imaginary conversation with
himself where he concludes that
compassion is a handicap to sur-
vival. If Jews are to survive in this
world, he asserts, they must learn to
react violently when threatened.
While Kahn recounts his personal
philosophy and gives us the facts of
his survival during the war years,
including bragging about his sexual
conquests, the reader is struck by the
fact that we never get to know the
man. He seems cold and unemo-
tional (maybe that's why he has had
three marriages).
Kahn is proud of his life and his
survival, yet his criticism of fellow
Jews seems unwarranted and heart-
less. Luck and Chutzpah could have
used a little humanity.

— Reviewed by Rick Lepsetz

