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Far to Go [Hardcover]

Alison Pick (Author)

4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (57 customer reviews)

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Product details

Hardcover
Publisher: Anansi (2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0887842380
ISBN-13: 978-0887842382
Product Dimensions: 20.6 x 13.5 x 3 cm

Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (57 customer reviews)

Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,531,643 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Far to Go 10 Sep 2011

By S Riaz HALL OF FAME TOP 10 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

This is the heartbreaking story of a Jewish family in 1938 Czechoslavakia. There is Pavel Bauer, his wife Anneliese and their young son, Pepik. Also, there is Marta, Pepik's governess, who has no home or family to speak of, outside of the Bauer's. The story is also told by the narrator, as someone looking for Pepik as an old man; although it is not until the end of the novel that we discover how the narrator and Pepik are connected.

As the war approaches, the Bauer's life begins to change. Pavel can no longer run his factory and Pepik is forced to face the back wall of his classroom, segregated and bullied. The anti semitism is corrosive and seeps into all aspects of the life in the small town the Bauer's live in. Anneliese wants to leave, although Pavel is keen that they stay. You can feel Pavel's disbelief about what is happening, his unwillingness to accept the way his life is changing, his sudden awareness of his Jewishness. His factory, his feeling of confidence in himself, is slowly stripped away, which is hard to read about. Eventually, the decision is made for Pepik to leave on the Kindertransport, with the hope that he will be safe until they can hopefully be reunited.

This was a very moving book. The author takes pains to show what people are capable of in such situations, which bring out the worst and the best of humanity. Ernst, who works with Pavel, and who sees an opportunity for himself. Marta, who both loves the Bauer's and yet feels jealous and abandoned. Pepik, the small and innocent child, so loved and adored. It must have been the hardest decision to send your child alone into a new world, when the unselfish urge to protect your child is stronger than the desperate need to be with them. This was an excellent novel and really thought provoking.... Read more ›

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29 of 31 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A heartbreaking but powerful story. 1 May 2011

By Paula Mc

Format:Hardcover

'Far to Go' is the story of the Bauer family, Pavel, Anneliese and their six year old son Pepik, along with Pepik's governess, Marta, they live a quiet life in Sudetenland, Czechoslovakia. Their lives are changed forever with the arrival of Adolf Hitler and his government in 1939, the Bauer family, who are Jewish but chose not to practice their religion believe they will be safe because of this. Pavel is outraged by the fall of the Sudetenland and the fall of the government but he still believes his family will be safe but as the situation becomes more frightening and Pavel's own views changing, he realises he must flee with this family while he still can but its too late for Pavel and Anneliese but not too late for their beloved Pepik, his parents and governess must be prepared to let him go on the Kindertransport, to go to Great Britain where he will be safe until he can return home.

I was very lucky to be able to read 'Far to Go' before its release on the 12th May 2011 and I recommend it highly.

The story is told from the point of view of Marta, Pepik's beloved governess, who stands by the Bauer family for different reasons but ultimately she stays because she loves the family. Marta's point of view is full of emotion, there is sadness, happiness, strength and love, emotions that are shown so well that you are immersed in the story from the first page. Marta is a well written and realistic character, she is a young girl, who at times is confused and makes wrong decisions.

Pavel and Anneliese are also well written characters, their fear as people and parents are heartbreaking to read, their frustrations and sadness, what they are facing, what they sacrifice to ensure their son's safety.... Read more ›

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Moving and thrilling 25 Aug 2011

By Ripple TOP 50 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

A wealthy Jewish family in late 1930s Czechoslovakia is always going to be an emotional story, but this Booker-nominated story avoids crushing sentimentality by offering a complex and thrilling story of the family's efforts to secure safety, particularly for their six year old son. Alison Pick makes some interesting creative choices that add more layers to this story. Some will surprise the reader but the overall impact is a wonderfully moving story with wholly believable characters.

The first of these creative choices can be a little alienating to begin with. The reader is faced with a series of short chapters that don't immediately gel together. In fact the reader has to wait a long time to work out how the whole literary conceit comes together. The one-page prologue is a first person narrative about a train. Is this the "kindertransport" train we are told about on the cover or a child's toy?

Next comes a letter dated 1939 but which has notes that are clearly more recent, as if part of some modern day academic record of the communication. Then we return to the first person narrative, which seems to be set again in the recent past. Who is talking, we are not told, but someone old is dying in a hospital bed. By now, we are some ten pages in before the real bulk of the third person narrative story begins, but Pick has one more layer of confusion to add. We hear about an attack on a Jewish man in Austria before we learn that this is a story being related by Pavel Bauer, a wealthy secular Jew living in the Sudetenland, part of post Great War Czechoslovakia, to Marta the nanny of his young boy on the eve of German occupation. A warning of things to come.... But the Bauers are not practising Jews and there is an optimism that this will protect them from the worst of Hitler's anti-Semitism.

The letter and first person narrative interludes continue sparsely throughout the book, but they are always brief and while it takes time to realise their importance, they don't interfere greatly with the pathos of the main story and the final pay off is well worth it. For some, this literary device might be distancing, but in looking at the aftermath of these events, I found it added a further level of emotional depth.

The second creative choice concerns the main story where Pick has chosen to focus events, less from the perspective of the Jewish family and their young son, but more from the point of view of their gentile Nanny, Marta. She's a beautifully written character. She's innocent to the point of naivety and complex. She makes bad decisions and is never wholly good nor bad. If the set up is all sounding a bit "Sound of Music", Marta is certainly no Julie Andrews. She's wholly believable, not least for this complexity of character.

We follow the family as they flee from Sudetenland to the short term safety of Prague. But of course, history relates that the annexation of the Sudetenland didn't deter Hitler's progress for long and there is almost a thriller sense to the story as the family seek ways out to safety and in particular for the safety of young Pepik, their six year old son. Should they put him on one of the kindertransport trains to safety or will the whole family escape? Or will none of them get out? It's impossible not to care for their fate in general and for sweet little Pepik in particular.

The book also interestingly explores the impact of the Nazi threat on the Bauer family's attitude to their Jewish heritage. Husband, Pavel, becomes more inspired by his faith while wife, Anneliese, seeks to further distance herself from all things Jewish.

One slight frustration was that, while the use of Czech terms, particularly relating to food here, adds a degree of authenticity to the story, I was longing to know what it was that they were eating. I have an irrational aversion to footnotes in fiction, but an appended glossary of Czech terms would have been interesting here.

This is an original, and sometimes surprising, take on the plight of Jews in the lead up to the Second World War. The lightness of the writing style brings out the personal stories and the pace reads almost like a thriller. Ultimately Pick keeps a few surprises up her sleeve until the later stages of this moving story. Read more ›

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Moving story

A moving story about a Jewish Czeck family during the war.
Narrated by the family's nanny Marta , it tells the tale of the pre war German occupation of Czechoslovakia , the... Read more

Published 1 month ago by BusyReader

4.0 out of 5 stars Thought-provoking and well-written

This beautifully written book follows the story of a wealthy secular Jewish family in Czechoslovakia just as the Germans are about to take over the Sudetenland. Read more

Published 2 months ago by Marand

5.0 out of 5 stars Moving, beautifully written

This is the story of a Jewish family, the Bauers, who live in Czechoslovakia, and the governess who looks after their son Pepik. Read more

Published 3 months ago by BristolMum

4.0 out of 5 stars Finally! A New Book Worth Reading.

This book was very well-written and very readable. For the first time in a very long time, I was reading a book I kept wanting to return to. Read more

Published 3 months ago by I Heart Books

4.0 out of 5 stars Very sad and powerful boom

An interesting account of this period in history, strong characters very powerful and a compelling story. Well worth a read.

Published 4 months ago by Donna Malone

5.0 out of 5 stars Far back in time

This is a book that moved me to tears, even though I knew what might happen. Very well written.To follow a person from small boy to old man moving through a turbulant time in... Read more

Published 4 months ago by Christopher Mears

3.0 out of 5 stars It's OK

I think that the atrocities wrought upon the Jewish people by the Nazis are well known. I don't think that this novel contributes anything to our understanding of what was... Read more

Published 4 months ago by PTM

5.0 out of 5 stars amazing

this is an amazing story, full of emotion and very well written.

the story follows a young family and there struggles through the beginings of WW2 and the difficult... Read more

Published 4 months ago by pennycrayon

4.0 out of 5 stars Good read

I found this book an excellent read. I was transported back to the time and found the characters believable. Recdomended

Published 6 months ago by Mrs. Helen Connor

5.0 out of 5 stars FAR TO GO

This book merges beautifully the personal experiences, social perspectives and historical events that relate to a very painful period of world history. Read more

Published 8 months ago by Minty

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