Bearing the Body, by Ehud Havazelet, is an intense look at family dynamics and the after-effects of the Holocaust in relation to the silence of the survivors, survivors trying to quietly assimilate in a new environment. Often times the events of the past are so horrific and traumatic, that they are difficult for one to bear. Havazelet has a deep comprehension of this.

Dysfunction reigns, and rains, heavily, through the clouds of family dynamics. Silence resounds loudly, echoing fragments of the past, of the Holocaust. Assimilation and trying to forget one’s past affects the children of survivors, in more ways than one can imagine.

There are no right answers to the questions that the Havazelet’s writing evokes. He writes with sensitivity, ever aware of the frailty of humans, ever conscious of the Holocaust and of the repercussions and consequences of the survivors’ choices. He is not judgmental, doesn’t force blame on anyone, but at the same time, he writes with clarity, not sugar-coating the situations and scenarios that Sol and Nathan find themselves in.

Grandparents and parents must find a way to tell their grandchildren and children about the Holocaust. Their experiences must be carried down through the generations. Their stories shouldn’t be left in the caves within the mind and soul to fester, causing unhealthy and extreme emotional outlets. In my opinion, that is Ehud Havazelet’s message, and he delivers it through intense word images, and through masterful writing. ( )

Well written but very dark. ( )

I'm 47 and it has begun to occur to me that my time left on earth for reading is limited. I started "Bearing the Body" and put it down around page 100. What made me dubious, at first, was mention that the central character, David, an ER doctor actually treated a man who had spider eggs in his face that hatched in the treatment room. This is a well-known piece of urban lore that has no basis in fact. The novel is populated with characters so uninteresting as to be catatonic. A father and son travel to San Francisco to deal with the murder of the other son. They find, Oh my God, that he had a girlfriend he never mentioned, although he had had little contact with his family for years. The girlfriend, Oh my God, has a child from a previous relationship and, Oh my God, the child appears to have an African-American father. In San Francisco in 2006, this is supposed to pass as shocking. I put the book down, because, "at my back, I always hear, Time's winged chariot hurrying near..." ( )