Heidi Slowinski

Read Along With Me

This week, I’m continuing my focus on Jewish literature. I’m still working my way through Elie Wiesel’s Night Trilogy. I should be finishing Dawn this week and moving on to Day.

The second book on my list is from my Want to Read list on Goodreads. I add recommendations, titles I learn about through my Facebook groups and Bookstagram community, and suggestions from friends. But then I find other titles and the books on my Want to Read list never seem to make it to the Currently Reading list. My Want to Read list is currently at 83 titles. And that needs to change! So this week, I’m determined to cross the first book off the list, so I’m starting with The Girl with the Silver Star by Rachel Zolotov.

How many books are on your Want to Read list? I hope you’ll add your suggestions in the comments.

Night is one of the masterpieces of Holocaust literature. First published in 1958, it is the autobiographical account of an adolescent boy and his father in Auschwitz. Elie Wiesel writes of their battle for survival and of his battle with God for a way to understand the wanton cruelty he witnesses each day.

In the short novel Dawn (1960), a young man who has survived World War II and settled in Palestine joins a Jewish underground movement and is commanded to execute a British officer who has been taken hostage.

In Day (previously titled The Accident, 1961), Wiesel questions the limits of conscience: Can Holocaust survivors forge a new life despite their memories? Wiesel’s trilogy offers insights on mankind’s attraction to violence and on the temptation of self-destruction.

As a hailstorm of bombs begins to shatter the city of Minsk in Belarus, Raisa and her family run through the darkness of night to take cover. When Raisa, Abraham, and their daughters, Luba and Sofia, emerge from the bomb shelter, they find an unfamiliar city before them; chaos and terror burn in every direction. Fearing for their lives, they must leave at once to find the rest of their family. But before they are able to escape, Abraham is conscripted into the Russian Army and the family is forced to part ways. Raisa’s love and strength are put to the ultimate test as she finds herself on her own with her two young daughters in tow. How will she manage alone without her soulmate by her side?

Relying on hope, resourcefulness and courage, they walk, hitch hike and take trains heading for Uzbekistan, over 2,500 miles from home. Along the way they run from bombs, endure starvation, and face death.

Raisa finds solace in the women around her. Her mother, sisters, old friends and new help carry her through the difficult war years, but Raisa’s longing to reunite with Abraham still rages inside her heart. Will they ever see each other again? Will Raisa and her family find their way back to their homeland?

The Girl with the Silver Star is a captivating journey through war-torn Soviet Union as it illuminates a unique part of WWII history, the female heroes. Raisa’s journey is a tribute to the nameless women, their determination, bravery, grief and unwavering love during impossible times. Their stories shouldn’t be forgotten.

Read Along With Me

This week, I’m continuing my focus on Jewish literature. I’m still working my way through Elie Wiesel’s Night Trilogy. I wish I would have picked this back up sooner. Wiesel’s writing is absolutely brilliant.

The second book on my list is a new release from Kyra Robinov, URGE to ROME: My Quest To Become Sexy, Sultry & Migraine-Free. Robinov recounts her year living in Italy. I’m really looking forward to reading about her journey.

What books are on your list this week? I hope you’ll add your suggestions in the comments.

Night is one of the masterpieces of Holocaust literature. First published in 1958, it is the autobiographical account of an adolescent boy and his father in Auschwitz. Elie Wiesel writes of their battle for survival and of his battle with God for a way to understand the wanton cruelty he witnesses each day.

In the short novel Dawn (1960), a young man who has survived World War II and settled in Palestine joins a Jewish underground movement and is commanded to execute a British officer who has been taken hostage.

In Day (previously titled The Accident, 1961), Wiesel questions the limits of conscience: Can Holocaust survivors forge a new life despite their memories? Wiesel’s trilogy offers insights on mankind’s attraction to violence and on the temptation of self-destruction.

I could have gone to a shrink. But a year in Italy sounded so much more appealing. My fantasy was that by changing my address, my insecurities would vanish and I would magically become the sexy, sultry, and migraine-free woman I was always meant to be.

After 9/11, the stress of daily life in NYC consumed me and everyone else. Throw in a couple of aging parents, two adolescent children, a workaholic husband, and a defective I-can-and-must-do-everything-perfectly gene, and it’s probably not unexpected that migraines had become a way of life for me. The idea of moving away, combined with visions of a slower, quieter life where we’d have time to “chew” our food, “breathe” the air, and take frequent weekend jaunts, was extremely enticing.

When the stars aligned enough to make our adventure possible, we jumped at the chance. Little did we know what awaited us.

Read Along With Me

This week, I’m focusing on Jewish literature. I hope you’ll read along with me as I visit some contemporary classic Jewish literature and a newly published work by historian and artist, Jill Culiner.

The first work on my list is I and Thou by Martin Buber. Regarded as a classic text, Buber explores existence and the relationship with fellow humans as well as one’s relationship to G-d. This has been on my reading list for a long time and I’m really looking forward to finally getting started with it.

The second is Elie Wiesel’s Night Trilogy. I read the first book, Night, about two and half years ago during a period of study so didn’t have the opportunity to read the other two books. I plan to reread the first book again. I’m curious how my perspective on it will change as compared to

Martin Buber’s I and Thou has long been acclaimed as a classic. Many prominent writers have acknowledged its influence on their work; students of intellectual history consider it a landmark; and the generation born since World War II considers Buber as one of its prophets. The need for a new English translation has been felt for many years. The old version was marred by many inaccuracies and misunderstandings, and its recurrent use of the archaic “thou” was seriously misleading. Now Professor Walter Kaufmann, a distinguished writer and philosopher in his own right who was close to Buber, has retranslated the work at the request of Buber’s family. He has added a wealth of informative footnotes to clarify obscurities and bring the reader closer to the original, and he has written a long “Prologue” that opens up new perspectives on the book and on Buber’s thought. This volume should provide a new basis for all future discussions of Buber.

Night is one of the masterpieces of Holocaust literature. First published in 1958, it is the autobiographical account of an adolescent boy and his father in Auschwitz. Elie Wiesel writes of their battle for survival and of his battle with God for a way to understand the wanton cruelty he witnesses each day.

In the short novel Dawn (1960), a young man who has survived World War II and settled in Palestine joins a Jewish underground movement and is commanded to execute a British officer who has been taken hostage.

In Day (previously titled The Accident, 1961), Wiesel questions the limits of conscience: Can Holocaust survivors forge a new life despite their memories? Wiesel’s trilogy offers insights on mankind’s attraction to violence and on the temptation of self-destruction.

The Old Country, how did it smell? Sound? Was village life as cosy as popular myth would have us believe? Was there really a strong sense of community? Perhaps it was another place altogether.

In 19thc Eastern Europe, Jewish life was ruled by Hasidic rebbes or the traditional Misnagedim, and religious law dictated every aspect of daily life. Secular books were forbidden; independent thinkers were threatened with moral rebuke, magical retribution and expulsion. But the Maskilim, proponents of the Haskalah or Jewish Enlightenment, were determined to create a modern Jew, to found schools where children could learn science, geography, languages and history.

Velvel Zbarzher, rebel and glittering star of fusty inns, spent his life singing his poems to loyal audiences of poor workers and craftsmen, and his attacks condemning the religious stronghold resulted in banishment and itinerancy. By the time Velvel died in Constantinople in 1883, the Haskalah had triumphed and the modern Jew had been created. But modernisation and assimilation hadn’t brought an end to anti-Semitism.

Armed with a useless nineteenth-century map, a lumpy second-hand coat, and an unhealthy dose of curiosity Jill Culiner trudged through the snow in former Galicia, the Russian Pale, and Romania searching for Velvel. But she was also on the lookout for a vanished way of life in Austria, Turkey and Canada.

This book, chronicling a forgotten part of Jewish history, follows the life of one extraordinary Jewish bard, and it is told with wry humour by award-winning Canadian writer Jill Culiner.

Read Along With Me

Over the weekend, I made a trip to my local library, in search of some new reading material. I find it incredibly relaxing to wander among the shelves, browsing the spines until something jumps out at me. On a recent trip, I discovered a biography on Charlotte Bronte, a favorite of mine, and the Lucy Worsley on Jane Austen I’ve been meaning to pick up for ages.

My most recent library excursion had me on the hunt for art books. I find doing art helps me transition from my very technical 9 to 5 to a more creative mindset so I can focus more effectively on writing. It’s also a good way to manage stress, process feelings. The benefits of doing art go on and on.

This is the complete body of work of Virginia Woolf, including essays, short stories, novels, writing journals. It’s an impressively lengthy volume. I’m looking forward to working my way through it, a little at a time.

Encaustic art is a medium that involves painting with melted wax. I first discovered it at an art fair, where I had the chance to speak with an artist who specializes in it. With the use of heat, it’s possible to create smooth, blended colors. Brushing melted wax onto a piece creates layers and texture. It’s also possible to embed paper and photographs into the wax, creating mixed media work.

I’ve done a number of pieces in this medium, including vases, coffee mugs, even an old window. It’s always nice to learn new techniques and find new ideas.

I bought a set of pastels ages ago and have done nothing with them. I’m looking forward to getting started with them soon!

This is also a new medium to me, one I was introduced to by my dear friend and artist, Maggie Boraz. She works in a variety of mediums and created the cover art for my debut novel, The House on Maple Street. Visit her online gallery at maggieboraz.com.