What Genre Is Letters From Rifka

[Katina Piccirilli]

FromNewbery media winner Karen Hesse comes an unforgettable story of an immigrant family's journey to America.

"America," the girl repeated. "What will you do there?"

I was silent for a little time.

"I will do everything there," I answered.

Rifka knows nothing about America when she flees from Russia with her family in 1919. But she dreams that in the new country she will at last be safe from the Russian soldiers and their harsh treatment of the Jews. Throughout her journey, Rifka carries with her a cherished volume of poetry by Alexander Pushkin. In it, she records her observations and experiences in the form of letters to Tovah, the beloved cousin she has left behind.

Strong-hearted and determined, Rifka must endure a great deal: humiliating examinations by doctors and soldiers, deadly typhus, separation from all she has ever known and loved, murderous storms at sea, detainment on Ellis Island--and is if this is not enough, the loss of her glorious golden hair.

Based on a true story from the author's family, Letters from Rifka presents a real-life heroine with an uncommon courage and unsinkable spirit.

We made it! If it had not been for your father, though, I think my family would all be dead now: Mama, Papa, Nathan, Saul, and me. At the very best we would be in that filthy prison in Berdichev, not rolling west through Ukraine on a freight train bound for Poland.

At the train station, Papa and Mama hid behind bales of hay in boxcars to my right. My two giant brothers, Nathan and Saul, crouched in separate cars to my left. Papa said that we should hide in different cars. If the guards discovered only one of us, perhaps the others might still escape.

As Papa expected, not long after he and Mama and the boys had hidden themselves, two guards emerged from a wooden shelter. They thundered down the platform in their heavy boots, climbing in and out of the cars, making their search.

They did not notice me at first. Saul says I am too little for anyone to notice, but you know Saul. He never has a nice word to say to me. And I am small for a girl of twelve. Still, my size did not keep the guards from noticing me. I think the guards missed seeing me at first because they were so busy in their search of the train. They were searching for Nathan.

You know as well as I, Tovah, that when a Jewish boy deserts the Russian Army, the army tries hard to find him. They bring him back and kill him in front of his regiment as a warning to the others. Those who have helped him, they also die.

Hearing the guards speak this morning, I understood his precaution. It was dangerous enough for you to know we were leaving. We could not risk telling you the details of our escape in case the soldiers came to question you.

The guards said terrible things about our family. They did not know me, or Mama or Papa. They did not even know Nathan, not really. They could never have said those things about my brother Nathan if they knew him. Saul, maybe, clumsy-footed Saul. They could have said hateful things about Saul, but never Nathan. The guards spoke ill of us, not because of anything we had done, not because of anything we had said. Just because we were Jews. Why is it, Tovah, that in Russia, no matter what the trouble, the blame always falls upon the Jews?

The guards hastened down the track toward me. One had a rough, unshaven face and a broad mouth. He stared at me for a moment or two as if he recognized me. Then he seemed to change his mind. He reached out to touch my hair.

S is a book that includes the novel "Ship of Theseus" by fictional author V.M. Straka, along with various added items such as postcards, photographs, and a campus map drawn on a napkin. This copy of "Ship of Theseus" is a university library book, and the novel extends from the text itself into the margins as two readers pass the book back and forth, forming a rather complicated relationship as they work together to try to solve the mystery of V.M. Straka's identity and the S, a secret society that continues to crop up over time. Though I found "Ship of Theseus" to be rather dry at first, S became so captivating that I read the second half in one sitting. It becomes very tempting to write in your own notes in the margins, though, as the book reminds you, writing in a library book is prohibited.

The story of the past ten years of Vanzant's life details how she went from being on top of the world as one of Oprah's featured writers and having her own show, to losing her home, her business, and her daughter on Christmas day. But it is not just a book of sad tales, it is also a book of victories. Vanzant details how she overcame the obstacles and the pain to the point where she is back on top. I couldn't put the book down!

American Pastoral by Philip Roth

I had read other books by Roth, but this one is the best. A Pulitzer prize winner, it's vaguely autobiographical about growing up in Newark, New Jersey (Nathan Zuckerman is his alter ego). Very complex and layered story about his friend "Swede" Levov.

Planning to read:

The Plot Against America by Philip Roth [also available as an audiobook]

Also set during his childhood in Newark, but this novel is about what would have happened if Charles Lindbergh had been elected president in 1940 instead of FDR.

The Enchanted by Rene Denfeld [request it from the public library]

A death-row inmate narrates a lyrical and deeply-moving story of the fantastic world he perceives with and beyond his limited reality.

Je Anne Boleyn: Struck with the Dart of Love by Sandra Vasoli [request it from Interlibrary Loan]

My mother has just published her first book, which is an historical fiction novel. She has researched the book for the past few years and it is historically accurate down to the most minute detail. She gained access to the love letters from Henry VII to Anne Boleyn in the Papal Library.

Brain on Fire: My Months of Madness by Susannah Cahalan

Hands-down, this is my favorite book of the year! Susanna, 24, a recent college graduate, was working as a reporter at the New York Times. She began exhibiting psychotic behavior and as time went on, could not function. Her parents were convinced that a medical problem was causing the sudden change in their daughter's behavior - and they were right - but it took almost a year of being caught in a frustrating maze of doctors/hospitals/testing. Cahalan's message is that many young adults being treated for schizophrenia have a treatable disease which does not have to result in a sometimes lifetime sentence in a mental hospital.

The Parasite by Michel Serres

Serres is a literary-minded philosopher of science. Through a series of idiosyncratic readings of moments of parasitism in La Fountaine's Fables, Serres offers a complex theory of social relations. "If some equilibrium exists or ever existed somewhere, somehow, the introduction of a parasite in the system immediately provokes a difference, a disequilibrium. Immediately, the system changes; time has begun."

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

"... a tale of transformation, second chances, why we read and why we love." A wonderful book which is set in a book store. I wish I could go to A.J.'s store....

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler

An amazing, enthralling novel that is really a grand magic act, seducing you with a smart & funny "family saga" narrative that hides at its core dark & terrible secrets. Fowler draws upon her immense skills as a storyteller, which we've seen before in her novels from Sarah Canary to The Jane Austen Book Club. But this is likely the book that all of those previous novels were preparing her to write. Once you start, you won't be able to walk away from it.

Planning to read:

Chance by Kem Nunn

Nunn has been call the "heir to the tradition of Raymond Chandler and Nathanael West" and he has certainly filled those shoes with his previous California-based novels.

The Heir Apparent: A Life of Edward VII, the Playboy Prince by Jane Ridley

A well-written, interesting book filled with details about "Bertie", the oldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, this biography is entertaining and easy to read. The author uses her extensive research to support her view of Edward VII as a prince who evolved into a hardworking and effective model king.

Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela

I had read bits and pieces of Nelson Mandela's autobiography, but reading the entire book from start to finish made an even greater impact on me. The story, although painful to read at many points, is full of incredible stories of resilience, resistance, and happiness even in the worst of circumstances. You also get to see how Mandela learned from the greatness of others in leading his extraordinary life.

Straw Dogs by John Gray

Don't read this book if you are feeling depressed because Gray is unsparing. DO read this book if you want to challenge your preconceptions about who we as humans are. Many of Gray's insights are primal, deep and brilliant. Even if you don't agree with them completely, they will force you to consider new perspectives and re-evaluate old ones. He rips right through layers of illusions we have about ourselves, some of which originated centuries ago and have become so deeply rooted in our collective psyche that we might never question them.

Steps Going Down by John T. McIntyre

A 1936 novel by a little known, though prolific Philadelphian who at the time of the book's publishing was 65 years old and had already been a writer across many genres for 50 years. He was born and lived his entire life in Northern Liberties. The appeal of the book is its intimate depiction of early 20th century Philadelphia and its people. Even though not of the same literary caliber, it's reminiscent of Balzac in its social realism.

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