Fiction. Young Adult. THE OLD BROWN SUITCASE, an award winning book that has sold extraordinarily well both around the globe, now appears in a new edition by Ronsdale Press. The novel narrates the absorbing story of a young girl who survived the Holocaust against all odds. Slava, a fourteen-year-old teen, comes to Canada with her parents and sister and a suitcase filled with memories of a lost childhood, memories that now haunt her new life. She cannot forget the hunger, stench and disease in the Warsaw Ghetto, nor the fear and humiliation of being incarcerated behind a high brick wall. She cannot forget her extraordinary escape from the Ghetto, leaving behind her beloved parents and sister. Nor can she forget being swallowed up in a strange and unknown place to survive under a hidden identity. The story juxtaposes heart-wrenching scenes from a child's life in war-torn Poland with the life of a teenager trying to adjust to a new country in time of peace. In Canada, it is not easy for Slava to build a bridge between two cultures; nor is it easy to live with the turmoil of her immediate past. At the same time she must face the new challenges involved in being an immigrant, a Jew and a teenage girl. Historical notes on the Warsaw Ghetto and a bibliography for future reading have been appended for those who wish further insights.
Fiction. Young Adult. THE OLD BROWN SUITCASE, an award winning book that has sold extraordinarily well both around the globe, now appears in a new edition by Ronsdale Press. The novel narrates the absorbing story of a young girl who survived the Holocaust against all odds. Slava, a fourteen-year-old teen, comes to Canada with her parents and sister and a suitcase filled with memories of a lost childhood, memories that now haunt her new life. She cannot forget the hunger, stench and disease in the Warsaw Ghetto, nor the fear and humiliation of being incarcerated behind a high brick wall. She cannot forget her extraordinary escape from the Ghetto, leaving behind her beloved parents and sister. Nor can she forget being swallowed up in a strange and unknown place to survive under a hidden identity. The story juxtaposes heart-wrenching scenes from a child's life in war-torn Poland with the life of a teenager trying to adjust to a new country in time of peace. In Canada, it is not easy for Slava to build a bridge between two cultures; nor is it easy to live with the turmoil of her immediate past. At the same time she must face the new challenges involved in being an immigrant, a Jew and a teenage girl. Historical notes on the Warsaw Ghetto and a bibliography for future reading have been appended for those who wish further insights.