OCTOBER 2019 - AudioFile
Hoffman works her magic once again in this unique audiobook. Judith Light's intensely dramatic narration suits the subject matter well. She delivers the dialogue passionately, and the narrative is brisk and sharp. Set in Europe during WWII, this unconventional story traces the steps of women so desperate that they are driven to create a golem to serve as a protector. The magical elements seem perfectly realistic as revealed in Light's driving, theatrical delivery. It doesn't take long for the listener to get pulled into this other realm, eager to keep up with Light's narrative pace. The audiobook lays bare the essentials of love and evil, sacrifice and mortality, for contemplation. L.B.F. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
From the Publisher
Oh, what a book this is! Hoffman’s exploration of the world of good and evil, and the constant contest between them, is unflinching; and the humanity she brings to us—it is a glorious experience. The book builds and builds, as she weaves together, seamlessly, the stories of people in the most desperate of circumstances—and then it delivers with a tremendous punch. It opens up the world, the universe, in a way that it absolutely unique. By the end you may be weeping.”—ELIZABETH STROUT, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Olive Kitteridge
“Alice Hoffman’s new novel will break your heart, and then stitch it back together piece by piece. It’s about love and loss, about history and the world today, about what happens when man goes against the laws of nature for good and for evil. It’s my new favorite Hoffman book—and if you know how much I adore her writing, that’s truly saying something.”—JODI PICOULT, New York Times bestselling author of Small Great Things and A Spark of Light
“[A] hymn to the power of resistance, perseverance and enduring love in dark times...gravely beautiful...Hoffman the storyteller continues to dazzle.”—NEW YORK TIMES
"Every page of The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman is a delicious shock. Even the most wrenching moments are rendered with delicacy and beauty. And, c'mon, it's about a 12-year-old trying to escape the Nazis with the help of a golem. How do you not love that?" — Joe Hill, New York Times bestselling author of Stange Hill and The Fireman
"A spellbinding portrait of what it means to be human in an inhuman world."—KIRKUS REVIEWS (STARRED REVIEW)
“An exceptionally voiced tale of deepest love and loss...one of [Hoffman’s] finest. WWII fiction has glutted the market, but Hoffman’s unique brand of magical realism and the beautiful, tender yet devastating way she explores her subject make this a standout.”—BOOKLIST (STARRED REVIEW)
“One of America’s most brilliant novelists since her debut, Property Of, Hoffman uses her signature element of magical realism to tackle an intolerably painful chapter in history. Readers know going in that their hearts will be broken, but they will be unable to let go until the last page.”—LIBRARY JOURNAL (STARRED REVIEW)
"Page by page, paragraph by paragraph, sen- tence by sentence, The World That We Knew presents a breathtaking, deeply emotional odyssey through the shadows of a dimming world while never failing to convince us that there is light somewhere at the end of it all. This book feels destined to become a high point in an already stellar career.”—BOOKPAGE (STARRED REVIEW)
"Set in Nazi-occupied France between 1941 and 1944, Hoffman’s latest (after The Rules of Magic) is a bittersweet parable about the costs of survival and the behaviors that define humanity."—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"If you haven’t already fallen under the spell of US author Alice Hoffman and her seductive brand of magical realism, then immerse yourself in her extraordinary new novel, a heartbreaking and utterly enthralling wartime odyssey which opens up a unique perspective on humanity and inhumanity amidst the horrors of the Holocaust....Hoffman’s ingenious alchemy blends ancient Jewish folklore, spine-tingling supernatural, and gut-wrenching reality in an exquisite formula that shocks, enchants, and makes us weep."
— Lancashire Post
Library Journal
★ 07/01/2019
Desperate to get her 12-year-old daughter, Lea, out of 1941 Berlin, Hanni Kohn trusts Ettie, the teen daughter of a rabbi, to create a golem—a clay figure brought to life by Ettie's magic. Unusually, Ava is shaped as a woman, and her raison d'être is to keep Lea safe. Ettie and her younger sister accompany Ava and Lea as they escape on a train to Paris. The three are separated by tragedy, and Ettie joins the French Resistance while Lea and Ava first seek shelter with distant relatives, who reluctantly take them in. The fates of the family's teen sons Victor and Julien are soon entwined with those of Lea and Ava as they all move about France. Out of the familiar framework of the extraordinary courage and cunning it took to survive the unspeakable brutality of the Holocaust comes this moving, suspenseful story of love, decency, and fearlessness in the face of evil. VERDICT One of America's most brilliant novelists since her debut, Property Of (1977), Hoffman uses her signature element of magical realism to tackle an intolerably painful chapter in history. Readers know going in that their hearts will be broken, but they will be unable to let go until the last page. [See Prepub Alert, 2/24/19.]—Beth Andersen, formerly with Ann Arbor Dist. Lib., MI
OCTOBER 2019 - AudioFile
Hoffman works her magic once again in this unique audiobook. Judith Light's intensely dramatic narration suits the subject matter well. She delivers the dialogue passionately, and the narrative is brisk and sharp. Set in Europe during WWII, this unconventional story traces the steps of women so desperate that they are driven to create a golem to serve as a protector. The magical elements seem perfectly realistic as revealed in Light's driving, theatrical delivery. It doesn't take long for the listener to get pulled into this other realm, eager to keep up with Light's narrative pace. The audiobook lays bare the essentials of love and evil, sacrifice and mortality, for contemplation. L.B.F. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
