Anton the Dove Fancier: And Other Tales of the Holocaust

Rating:
Summary: powerful, beautiful, sad.........
Review: Anton the Dove Fancier is a collection of autobiographical short stories about a teenage Jewish boy in Poland during World War II. The stories are so well linked together that the book reads like a novel. In it we discover the Nazi occupation and the death camps through the eyes of an adolescent, which gives this book a different slant compared to much Holocaust literature.

The author, Bernard Gotfryd, shows himself to be a keen observer of people, as well as of the small, humble details of everyday life. He has the gift of being able to illuminate those details, so that they take on a transcendant beauty. We see a world--one which others might find dull and ordinary--through the consciousness of a mind which is itself radiant. Thus, the stories do not only address the horrors of the nazi occupation and the camps; those horrors are set against a backdrop of everyday life and people, the memories of which are interspersed throughout the book. This gives it a chiaroscuro quality which I find to be rare in literature, and through the play of light and shadow the author creates an ambiguous, complex world. This ambiguity is another way in which the book differs from much Holocaust literature. Many of the characters themselves are ambiguous, and after reading about them we find ourselves asking, "Was he good, or bad?" The answer is yes.....

This book indirectly leads the reader to ponder the issues of suffering and healing. Despite the optimistic teachings of the growth psychology movement, there are wounds which are too traumatic to fully heal. Growth psychology would have us believe that without integration, and psychological "functionality," we cannot realize our full potential. It posits a future goal that we can attain through work on ourselves. However, Gotfryd shows us, through the power of his words, that we are most fully human when we can really open our eyes and see the world in its complexity and irrationality, as well as its simplicity and beauty, right now.

Rating:
Summary: Mistaken Identity
Review: This is a wonderful, heart-felt, quietly powerful, sincere and important collection of stories by my father, who survived the Holocaust. It is a must-read for anyone who doubts there is a great deal of humanity at the core of so many of us, in the face of global insanity.

I, however, was born years after the Holocaust ended. I did not write this book of short stories with my father, I only provided the foreward. "Anton" is by Bernard Gotfryd, NOT Howard Gotfryd.

Thank you. Howard Gotfryd

Rating:
Summary: It is not possible to praise this book enough.
Review: Why is Anton The Dove Fancier out of print? It is an extraordinary collection of true stories that ought not be buried away. This book illustrates that human behavior is, simultaneously, both the most fascinating and disturbing form of contemplation. Anton The Dove Fancier is well worth any effort it takes to track down. Buried treasure indeed - it is profound, intensely moving, raw in its simplicity. Humanity and its many layers are exposed without judgement. Quite a trick, and something afforded only to the calm, quiet truth tellers. Such as Bernard Gotfryd. Find this priceless gem... and hold on to it. Tight.