Official Review: Prague-My Long Journey Home
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Official Review: Prague-My Long Journey Home
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Prague: My Long Journey Home" by Charles Ota Heller.]
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In the memoir “Prague: My Long Journey Home”, Charles Ota Heller attempts the monumental task of painting a picture of his life.
Heller, who has lived through World War II in German occupied Czechoslovakia while in hiding with his Catholic mother; who has seen prominent and beloved members of his extended Jewish family die—one by one— at the hands of the Nazi government; who, as a teenager, lives with his parents in a refugee camp to escape the communist occupation of his country; and then, as a student in an American high school has to learn English after a disturbed and disjointed education; finds himself, now, as an older man reflecting back on his life, and trying to comprehend it—all in under 250 pages.
This book is painstakingly well researched. The author has followed the story of each person that is (even briefly) mentioned, and recorded the eventual fate of the person to the best of his knowledge. History and politics are described, in detail, as well as key places, and it is apparent that the author has made an enormous effort to sift through his life, and make sure not to leave anything important and relevant out of the story.
However, despite the thrills and the pain, and the occasional funny anecdote which has you empathizing and rooting for the main protagonists; this detailed, well-researched narration sometimes detracts from the overall reading experience, because it sounds more like a history lesson, rather than a page-turning story. New people are frequently introduced, but briefly, in one line— their fates detailed in a paragraph— and they are never mentioned again. This gives the impression that the author tried to paint a gigantic landscape filled with detail, but had to fit it all into a tiny, post-stamp sized canvas, so that what we are left with in the end is a very condensed, carefully selected taxonomy of categorical details interfering with the heart of his story.
I read non-fiction books to learn about other people’s lives, and their various perspectives. For this reason, I enjoyed reading this memoir. But I would have enjoyed it more if the memoir read more like a story, and less like a point-by-point commentary on Heller’s life.
Though I found the overall story-telling element of the narration to be lacking, this book is very professionally written, clearly edited and well researched. Once I finished, I was happy that I read it and learned about Heller’s life; but I was not particularly inspired to read it again, or recommend it to anyone I know. (Then again, that doesn’t say much, as sadly very few people I know actually read…)
Having said this, I’ve ascertained that the purpose of the book was to be a document of this man’s life, for future members of his family—rather than an ‘entertaining’ story for other people; and as far as this is concerned, I think the book has served its purpose. I genuinely believe, however, that if this memoir was written just a little bit differently, with a little more focus on the story-telling, it could have been an international best-seller.
Because I’m still rooting for the author, I hope it becomes one, despite it.
I give this book 3 out of 4 stars.
***
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Heller, who has lived through World War II in German occupied Czechoslovakia while in hiding with his Catholic mother; who has seen prominent and beloved members of his extended Jewish family die—one by one— at the hands of the Nazi government; who, as a teenager, lives with his parents in a refugee camp to escape the communist occupation of his country; and then, as a student in an American high school has to learn English after a disturbed and disjointed education; finds himself, now, as an older man reflecting back on his life, and trying to comprehend it—all in under 250 pages.
This book is painstakingly well researched. The author has followed the story of each person that is (even briefly) mentioned, and recorded the eventual fate of the person to the best of his knowledge. History and politics are described, in detail, as well as key places, and it is apparent that the author has made an enormous effort to sift through his life, and make sure not to leave anything important and relevant out of the story.
However, despite the thrills and the pain, and the occasional funny anecdote which has you empathizing and rooting for the main protagonists; this detailed, well-researched narration sometimes detracts from the overall reading experience, because it sounds more like a history lesson, rather than a page-turning story. New people are frequently introduced, but briefly, in one line— their fates detailed in a paragraph— and they are never mentioned again. This gives the impression that the author tried to paint a gigantic landscape filled with detail, but had to fit it all into a tiny, post-stamp sized canvas, so that what we are left with in the end is a very condensed, carefully selected taxonomy of categorical details interfering with the heart of his story.
I read non-fiction books to learn about other people’s lives, and their various perspectives. For this reason, I enjoyed reading this memoir. But I would have enjoyed it more if the memoir read more like a story, and less like a point-by-point commentary on Heller’s life.
Though I found the overall story-telling element of the narration to be lacking, this book is very professionally written, clearly edited and well researched. Once I finished, I was happy that I read it and learned about Heller’s life; but I was not particularly inspired to read it again, or recommend it to anyone I know. (Then again, that doesn’t say much, as sadly very few people I know actually read…)
Having said this, I’ve ascertained that the purpose of the book was to be a document of this man’s life, for future members of his family—rather than an ‘entertaining’ story for other people; and as far as this is concerned, I think the book has served its purpose. I genuinely believe, however, that if this memoir was written just a little bit differently, with a little more focus on the story-telling, it could have been an international best-seller.
Because I’m still rooting for the author, I hope it becomes one, despite it.
I give this book 3 out of 4 stars.
***
Buy "Prague: My Long Journey Home" on Amazon
Buy "Prague: My Long Journey Home" on Barnes and Noble
Latest Review: "Travel Instincts" by James C. Jensen
