4 out of 4 stars
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There’s value in reading about events in history from different perspectives. The more countries, cultures, and races of people there are involved, then the more sides there are from which to view those events. In his memoir, Prague: My Long Journey Home, author Charles Ota Heller tells a story of World War II, the Holocaust, and immigration to the United States from his unique perspective.
Yet, it might be somewhat limiting to indicate that the perspective is the author’s alone. In the book, Heller gives a rather extensive and insightful layout of history concerning his native country of Czechoslovakia. (The country has since split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, or the Slovak Republic.) The author also includes many important details of his family’s history.
Hence, one doesn’t only get the sense of reading the story of the author, the man born Ota Karel Heller. One also gets the sense of reading the story of his family, his country, and the WWII experiences of the Jewish people and families of mixed religions. In the Preface, the author conveys how crucial it is for him to share his account; before too long, there will be no more eyewitnesses or people with firsthand knowledge of the Holocaust.
Admittedly, I’m not a reader of many memoirs, but this one pulled me in much like a literary novel. Chapter One begins with a gripping scene, and then the author goes on to paint a charming and rich picture of Kojetice, the village where he grew up right outside of Prague. The chapter opens in present tense as it sets the tone for the story, and the following switch into past tense is fitting and natural. It’s interesting to see how the author views conditions in his country, the initial ideas he has of America, and how his ideas shift the longer he lives in the U.S. Then, even with all of the historical material the author incorporates into the book, he doesn’t fail to bring his personal story full circle. In this way, he not only depicts his outward, international journey but also his inward journey as a person.
In the beginning, I found the reading a bit bumpy due to the awkward usage of commas. Also, as the author makes certain explanations more than once in the book, I wasn’t sure whether or not the repetition is intentional. Otherwise, I didn’t find anything that put a hitch in the flow of the reading.
This memoir is at once informative, layered, heartrending, and inspiring. Therefore, I give Prague: My Long Journey Home a rating of 4 out of 4 stars. I’d recommend it to readers of biographies and narrative nonfiction, as well as to fans of literary and historical fiction. More broadly, I believe that anyone who values remembering and learning from history can appreciate this book.
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Prague: My Long Journey Home
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