Review of I Have Calluses on My Hands

[Anthony Caleb]

[Following is a volunteer review of "I Have Calluses on My Hands" by Neil Henry.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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I Have Calluses on My Hands by Neil Henry is a book written about the history of the author's father, Harold Henry.

Harold spoke of his siblings, Philip and Gertrude; their lives as teenagers, their occupations, and their marriage lives. Gertrude was more of a private person and kept her matters private. It happened that the family was not aware of her relationship with her husband until Gertrude announced their engagement; this described how private she was about her life. Philip, also known as Phil, was drafted into the army and studied accounting. Phil married after the war and, because of the need for finance, got another job and did not have the chance to work as an accountant. 

Harold's mother chose the occupations for the children; Harold's mother made Harold study at law school. Harold spoke about the schedules of working at the father's business during the day and going to law school at night. Harold also wrote about his wife and grandparents lives and the impact they made on the family. 

One thing I love about this book is the knowledge I acquired while reading. I never thought that there were different types of Jews; I always thought of them as one. I learned that Sephardic Jews name their children after living relatives, and Ashkenazic Jews name their children after the dead. I also learned that the reason for this act is to hope the child will emulate the great qualities of the person to whom they are named. The inclusion of photos in the book is a great idea. The history of the family was a long time ago, and I would not be able to imagine what something looked like at the time, so the photos helped with my imagination while reading. I have no dislike for this book, and I commend the author for the flawless edit.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves reading family histories. I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars because of the unexplained enthusiastic feeling I had when reading it and the knowledge I gained from it too.

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I Have Calluses on My Hands
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