Overview

Germany is changing fast and the only route is out, even if you have to leave behind a troublesome mother When Hedda Israel escapes from Germany, her first challenge is to secure her mother’s release from a concentration camp. Still a teenager, Hedda falls for Peter Carter, an English psychiatrist engaged in war-work, and a romantic life awaits. But when awkward Alice joins her daughter in England and starts to make a little extra ‘on the side’, Hedda’s chance of love is almost certainly over. Burying the Ghosts is based on the true story of the author’s mother who escaped Nazi territories. The story spans five decades from her youth to her later years when past ghosts are finally put to rest. It explores themes of prejudice, refugees and identity, mother and daughter relationships, forgiveness and guilt. When the whole world is against you, what can daughters expect of their mothers, mothers of their daughters and lovers of each other?

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9789493322110

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Reviews

With Burying the Ghosts Sonia Case has joined the group of second generation, writing their parents' Holocaust story as a novel. She has ensured her mother's legacy will continue to be remembered and can be used to help teach today's young people about the dangers of racism and hatred through her well-written and engaging book. - Debra Barnes, Association Jewish Refugees Next Generation Manager and author of The Young Survivors The Holocaust is hardly an unknown story. But Sonia Case brings fresh eyes, great clarity and warm personal feelings to her family memoir, making us feel in the grip of something quite new. It is an appealing reminder that nothing is as gripping as the history we thought we knew - but didn't. - Robert Winder, Deputy Editor of Granta, Trustee of The Migration Museum, London and best selling author of Bloody Foreigners: The Story of Immigration to Britain While such accounts as Burying the Ghosts exist, we won't forget the lives and fates of people like Hedda Israel. Sonia Case has based this novel on her own mother's experiences and brings to life not just the sweep of historical events, but the detail of sometimes fraught relationships and the texture of everyday life. She has fashioned her mother's accounts into a gripping and vivid story, whose message is as necessary as ever. - Adele Geras, Author Holocaust memories can be extremely difficult for those of us born after the awful events of WWII. As someone who lost no one of close family, such accounts are to some extent at a distance. But that distance must be crossed if we are to prevent a repetition - a likelihood sadly growing as we see once again the rise of antisemitism and Jew hatred from both left and right. Sonia Case's novel, based on her mother's testimony, is an important reminder that human stories are far more complex and difficult when lives are torn apart by hate. The fact that it is based on fact reinforces the ties that bind and the ties that must be let go. - Jennie Kreser, Solicitor/Administrator and Community Coordinator of Bromley Reform Synagogue

Author Information

Sonia Case is the youngest daughter of German/Austrian refugees who arrived in England shortly before the outbreak of war. Born in the 1950s, the first child of Ruth who married Josef, a new widower and father to two young girls, she grew up knowing little of her parents' harrowing experiences. She developed an early love of theater and pursued acting in her mid-twenties before entering the world of advertising during the heady 1980s. Stories remained central and a long teaching career allowed her to share a love of literature, theater and the rich world of the imagination. Burying the Ghosts is Sonia's first novel.

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