The List: A Novel Paperback – Bargain Price, October 2, 2012

Anti-semitism, overt, blatant and frightening, did not die when the death camps were liberated towards the end of World War II. Yet, so often, mass market fiction closes the curtain with the arrival of liberating troops and the end of the war. "The List", Martin Fletcher's first novel, bravely attempts to fill this void. Here is the tale of some of the lucky ones, who either escaped to Britain just before the outbreak of the war, or who survived the camps and are regrouping in London. The story unfolds largely through the eyes of Edith and Georg, Austrian Jews eking out an existence in Hampstead, yearning for news of relatives, even if it is bad. Their lives are on hold, even with their first child on the way, until they know the whole truth about the devastation of their families.Even as they try to adapt to their new reality and find roles for themselves in Britain or elsewhere, the struggle continues. Resurgent anti-Semitism and fascism in post-war Britain threatens their chance to rebuild. Many in Britain want to expel refugee Jews, but where are they to go? Immigration limits in the US are tight, sending them back to their former homes is absurd -- Jews still on the continent are looking to escape the devastation of the war and the thought of living in proximity to the very neighbors that participated in murdering them is repulsive. Palestine offers hope, but there too the British are thwarting expansion of Jewish immigration and nation building -- sparking a violent response that serves to exacerbate the anti-Jewish feeling back home. It's a powerful story and one that needs to be better known. Fletcher's journalistic roots come to the fore in laying out the cross-currents of belief efficiently and with a more even hand than you might expect.At moments, Fletcher is able to bring life to his characters' quests for knowledge and reconciliation with the horror of what they know and cannot ever really understand. These moments are sadly surrounded by a book that is by and large woodenly written as well as a creaky plot that too much wind up to get going. Minor characters are introduced for a few meager pages and then whisked offstage by death. It's all too easy to know what one character did to survive in the camps, though much is made of her not being able to tell her cousin and husband. Another character is obviously not what or whom he seems to be. These flaws were annoying and detract from a powerful story that forces the reader to confront a major omission in the fictional version of modern history that has been engraved in the hearts and minds of those of us born well after the tragedies of the first half of the 20th century. Fletcher clearly has it in him to find a great story, he simply needs to practice putting it into the form of a novel.

This book felt almost as if it were two separate books. Fletcher captures the horror of a young couple isolated from their families during the war, waiting for news of survivors. Their harrowing wait is compounded by the mounting realization that the unthinkable has happened. When Fetcher writes George and Ediths's story, he does it with loving detail, stripping away everything but the hopelessness of their lives, the anticipation for the other shoe to drop,as one by one names are eliminated from the list. The list itself become a talisman, the one thing they can hold onto as they try to live in an hostile home. Poor,unable to find work, reviled as interlopers, they meet with the same anti semitism they narrowly escaped. Their despair of not belonging, with no place or friends to turn to is gut wrenching. His description of the English political climate adds to the hopelessness of the Fleisher's situation. It is only when the book goes off to Palestine that it become muddy and indistinct. We never get a clear understanding of the different factions fighting for control. The coincidences cheapened what would have been a terrific story. Anna never really tells her story, yet it is a story that needed to be told. Lastly, without giving away spoilers, Ismael was so obvious, it bordered silly taking away from thefrom a wonderfully developed story of losing everything and then finding the wherewithal to try and find a reason to live again. Ultimately, it's a story about hope, and the message that if you don't give up, life will find you.

There are lots of novels written about Holocaust survivors, and I've read many of them. This one stands out for its memorable characters, interesting plot twists, and for the overall good writing. Also, being set in London, the novel taught me about the immediate post-war period in England and the ambivalent feelings of the society about the Jewish refugees England accepted from Germany, Austria, and Hungary. The story gives much food for thought, with ambiguity about right and wrong, terrorism and nationalism. The novel will also be of interest to those who study the history and origins of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

I too am the son of a Holocaust survivor. My father, who made it to the U.S., didn't have to face nearly the overt anti-Semitic backlash Martin Fletcher's parents did, but he was never able to divorce himself from the continuum of insane hatred he faced in Germany or subtler but no-less-damaging forms he faced his life here. Whatever he felt about not being accepted as fully human in some circles was transmitted to me as I grew up and faced some of it in my own right. The List brought it all back in one great cauldron of remembrance. It's probably a disservice to Fletcher in his role as fiction writer, but I tended to read past what I perceived as filler in order to experience the transfixing multiple insults and ignorance his parents--real or fictional--faced.

I enjoyed this book. So many books deal with the Holocaust but few about the family who got out or were already in safe havens when the war started. It may me think a lot more about my father's parents, who both lost their parents, most of their siblings, aunts/uncles/cousins etc. The experience of the European Jews in Britain was also interesting. I didn't enjoy the Israeli sections as much but there have been other books about this so it wasn't new information for me.

I like this book, it wasn't my favorite ever, but I heard the author speak and he was very very enjoyable to listen to. A kind and very funny man. I appreciated the story much more after hearing him. While the story is not "non fiction" it is loosely based on his parents experience and it really does make you think about immigrants everywhere -- which was exactly his intent! I would recommend reading it. My book group did and found it a good discussion book.

Perhaps I was predisposed to enjoy it as my own in-laws were refugees from Vienna before WWII, so I had heard about their early lives in NW London. The story is very true-to-life, painful but beautifully crafted. We see the characters coping with the hardships of the daily lives of immigrants who, because of their language difficulties and the prejudices they face, are unable to practice their professions and struggle financially and emotionally. Of course, their lives are also blighted by the constant fear for their loved ones left behind and the traumas of what happened to them before reaching the UK. The hope for the future, with anxiety and misgivings, is expressed poignantly by the pregnancy of one of the main characters who has previously experienced a miscarriage. We watch how the adversity faced by the characters eventually leads them to find their positive solutions to finding their way to a successful, peaceful and prosperous future. This book is beautifully written. A wonderful read--possibly my favourite this year! I thank my friend for recommending it and have now bought it as a gift for my daughter, in order for her to understand a bit more about her grandparents, sadly no longer with us.I highly recommend this novel.