The Blue Salon and Other Follies: Amazon.co.uk: Vernon Katz: Books

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5.0 out of 5 stars The Blue Salon and other follies, 14 Dec 2008

By	Dr. E. L. Young (London, England) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I really loved this book. Beautifully written. Dr Katz allows us into his home life in rural Germany before the 2nd World War and gives us insight into what it was like when the Fatherland turned against people who considered themselves to be 'Good Germans.' Like so many Jewish families, they had members who had fought and died for Germany in the First World War. They had worked to build the prosperity of Germany and were quite sure that even Hitler would value their contibution to German life. I loved his descriptions of the good folk of England who took in the 'little heathens' and shuddered as the young Vernon feared for his parents who remained in Germany, in prison. The final chapter is magnificant and humbling in its honesty. I have read that final chapter several times.
I commend this book as a good read and a story which needs to be read.

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5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful book, 19 Nov 2008

By	Vesey Crichton (Twickenham, UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Like most people, I knew about the appalling horrors inflicted on the Jews in Germany before and during the Second World War. But it is chilling in the extreme to see it through the eyes of a small boy growing up as the only son of German / Jewish parents during those days. Vernon Katz does a wonderful job telling you about the taste and smell of life in a rural community, introducing you to his parents and neighbours -- and the formalities and joys of being a much-loved son of dynamic small-town entrepreneurs. But in the background, almost imperceptibly at first, the repugnant realities of the Nazi take-over start to build. I found it a moving story, beautifully written, thoughtful, poignant - every paragraph a gem. Highly recommended!

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5.0 out of 5 stars A Jewish child tastes Nazi Germany, 28 April 2009

By	John Graham Windsor - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Blue Salon and Other Follies (Hardcover)

Dr Vernon Katz writes like a dream. This is a beautifully crafted book drawn from his prodigious memory of life as a Jewish child in rural Germany at the time of the Nazis' rise to power. Vernon was the spoiled only son of the well-to-do owner of a brush factory. His grandfather was a rich cattle dealer who transported his stock in railway trucks - a point which, though not laboured, sends a shudder up the spine. His doting mother indulged his taste for cakes and sausages - Vernon became both gourmand and gourmet of these delicacies while little more than a toddler and can recall their names, as indeed he can recall the words of the popular songs that the family's servants sang and many a colourful quotation from grown-ups about the importance of good manners and the family's loyalty to Germany. The clouds gathered almost imperceptibly. The local butcher took to wearing Nazi uniform in order to curry favour with customers. So did his schoolmaster. It was "Heil Hitler!" before lessons and Vernon was bullied daily on his way to and from school. The doors of the expensive blue salon, installed by his mother as a gesture of permanence and status, were proudly thrown open to neighbours who talked earnestly about quitting the country and dropped ash on the carpet. It was indeed a tragic folly. Vernon and his parents got out by the skin of their teeth, his father having been released from a labour camp where he witnessed atrocities. Other Jews were not so lucky. Returning to his home town in recent years, Vernon was invited by the local archivist to look at a list of names and addresses of Jewish neighbours killed by the Nazis. To make things even more harrowing, he sensed anti-Semitism among the locals. In the seclusion of his hotel room he wept uncontrollably. The book is a compulsive read, not just for its content, but for the author's rare felicity in the use of language - a friendly formality punctuated with pithy colloquialisms that frequently make the words spring form the page. Highly recommended.

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The Blue Salon and Other Follies (Paperback)

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