Some Final Thoughts

I actually finished the book a week or so ago, but I didn't want to post. I wanted to let everything just sit for awhile. It was just so sad. So sad. Throughout the entire reading of this novel all of my comments have had a reoccuring theme: recreating history. I've just seen this repeated over and over and I hope you won't mind that mind if I touch briefly on this theme again.

When I saw the movie, I wanted to know more about the grandfather. I wanted to know why he killed himself then, there, and in that way. I think the book really answered my questions and also goes along with the idea of history and what we do with it. The images that were painted by the grandfather of the burning synagogue, the shootings, the pitting of friends and neighbors against each other were really painful for me to read. It was also painful to read about Trachimbrod and what happened during the bombings. There's a lot that could be said about the river too and all that it means, but this isn't a paper it's a post, so I'll get back to my original thought. Here is why I think the grandfather killed himself: because he was the last link to those horrible events and he felt that in order for Alex to truly move on with his life and embrace a better one that all the connections with that night had to be erased. Alex had told his father to leave and his father was present that terrible night. Only the grandfather was left. He was the only survivor in the house and I believe he killed himself to sever any connection with that night. In his final letter to Jonathan the grandfather writes, "They must begin again. They must cut all strings, yes? With you, with their father, with everything they have known"(275). There can be no one left to remember and know firsthand the horrible events that took place. Even Jonathan's grandfather is dead and there is only one survivor of Trachimbrod and she will soon die too.

This book showed the effects of war and how they can be felt for so long after the war is over. The memories never disappear and color the choices the individual makes forever after. I thought the comment about being a good person during a bad time was interesting and also very sad. The grandfather had to choose between his family and his friend. People should never be made to make those decisions. Augustine/Lista's father had to make a horrible decision too: deny your faith or your family dies. Again, a horrific decision to have to make.

I suppose the grandfather thought that Alex and Iggy could start anew, but that's never really possible. Alex knows some of his family history now. He has experienced things with Jonathan that he will not forget. However, he is a good person and he is living in a good time. That makes a difference. I just wonder how he will speak of this experience 50 years down the road. How will he recreate his grandfather's story and his own? The recreation has already begun in the last chapter when he translates his grandfather's letter to Jonathan and the letter has no end. The story has no formal conclusion. It goes on.