Simply Marvellous

Full Circle by Vered Neta is a powerful historical dual timeline novel that totally consumed me.

The action alternates between 1989 America and Prague during the 1960’s. The two time periods are linked by a family as we witness strained mother-daughter relationships in both time periods. Daughters feel trapped and smothered by their mother’s love, believing their mothers are timid and fearful – nothing could be further from the truth! Both mothers are incredibly brave and resourceful. They both keep silent about their pasts and are therefore misunderstood by their daughters. The mother in the 1960’s is an Auschwitz survivor. “Her way of fighting the Nazis was making sure she would stay alive.” This shows real determination – and a lot of luck. Life was lived on a knife-edge all the time.

Life in Prague in the 1960’s was lived behind the Iron Curtain. The Soviets were in control. There were rules and regulations to be obeyed. “The Gulags are filled with the bodies of people who thought differently.” To be in opposition to Communism could spell a death sentence. People had to learn ways to be able to read banned books and to go against the state.

Religion was dead. Communism reigned. For a mother in the 1960’s “her God died in Auschwitz with the rest of her family.” This belief meant that a daughter’s Jewish heritage was not celebrated. She had to find out about her roots by being resourceful and seeking out a rabbi who would educate her. This contrasts sharply with America where people could worship and celebrate their Jewish heritage.

Behind the Iron Curtain trust was in short supply. “She knew now that eyes and ears were everywhere.” To make an enemy of the state would mean blacklisting for life – or worse.

The late 1960’s saw a student uprising in Prague. As a teen in the 1970’s I had seen footage of a student who set fire to themselves in Wenceslas Square – but to read about it within the book was still shocking. People died. The world looked on.