The Postcard

The International Bestseller

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The Postcard

By: Anne Berest, Tina Kover - translator

Narrated by: Barrie Kealoha

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"A deeply moving book." —LEILA SLIMANI *** "A work of rare grace and importance."— THE GUARDIAN

In January 2003, the Berest family receive a mysterious, unsigned postcard. On one side was an image of the Opéra Garnier; on the other, the names of their relatives who were killed in Auschwitz: Ephraïm, Emma, Noémie and Jacques.

Years later, Anne sought to find the truth behind this postcard. She journeys 100 years into the past, tracing the lives of her ancestors from their flight from Russia following the revolution, their journey to Latvia, Palestine, and Paris, the war and its aftermath. What emerges is a thrilling and sweeping tale based on true events that shatters her certainties about her family, her country, and herself.

At once a gripping investigation into family secrets, a poignant tale of mothers and daughters, and an enthralling portrait of 20th-century Parisian intellectual and artistic life, The Postcard tells the story of a family devastated by the Holocaust and yet somehow restored by love and the power of storytelling.

READER REVIEWS

"I am rarely moved to tears by books, but the Postcard had me twice. It is so intensely moving, so cleverly structured, and so gripping. This is one of the best books I have read in years." —Tom, Mr B's Emporium bookseller

"One of the best books I've ever read." —Naomi, Netgalley

"This extraordinary 'true novel' is a must-read." —Aoife, Netgalley

"Powerful, painful, important... Highly recommend." —Stephen, Amazon

"This book is more than the blurb, quotes and taglines. It is a feeling to felt, something to be passed on, something to be reflected and something to show the importance in remembering and reading." —Lucy, Waterstones bookseller

"A beautiful masterpiece." —Beth, Amazon

Anne BerestTina Kover - translatorBarrie KealohaEuropa Editions

20th Century

Biographical Fiction

Family Life

Fiction

Genre Fiction

Historical Fiction

Jewish

Jewish Heritage

World Literature

Biography

Tear-jerking

Holocaust

20th Century Biographical Fiction Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Jewish Jewish Heritage World Literature Biography Tear-jerking Holocaust

Critic reviews

"The story overall is poignant, tense, restless, and ultimately pivotal, as Anne not only solves her mystery, but, more importantly, gains her identity. The anguish and horror of genocide arrive with fresh impact in an absorbing personal account."

"Delving into the past allows Anne Berest to recover part of her identity both as an individual and as one of many damaged by the horrors of persecutions that took place before they were born."

"Undeniably compelling."

"An intimate and profound story."

"Anne Berest's The Postcard reads like a detective story, uncovering her Jewish family's experiences during the Second World War."

"This prizewinning novel is a family history and detective story based on a real-life incident…"

"[A] powerful literary work... that contains a single grand-scale act of self-discovery and many moments of historical illumination."

"The names of Ephraïm, Emma, Noémie and Jacques Rabinovitch, along with the millions of other Jews who were murdered by the Nazi regime, need to live on in our history books so that future generations never forget. Anne Berest has written a commanding piece of work, a very personal journey, with The Postcard deserving every award and piece of acclaim that it garners. Noémie Rabinovitch's beautiful face will be forever etched in my mind."

"The Postcard goes on to spin a full and textured rendering of these relatives' lives before they were cruelly killed, rendering the horrors of the Holocaust horrifically fresh. Once the novel has covered this ground, however, it becomes almost a modern-day thriller, circling in on the mysterious mail at its center." ("The Best–and Most Anticipated–Books of 2023", VOGUE)

"Powerful, engrossing… let's hope that a book like this, which encompasses both the monstrosities of the past and the dangers of the present, will guard us from complacency."

"In what feels like a literary magic trick, Berest transforms her own family's complex and heartbreaking Holocaust history into a novel that masterfully blends elements of drama, mystery and philosophy. It's propulsive yet deep—an intimate, exacting contemplation of loss that somehow ends in love."

"In Berest's phenomenal English-language debut novel the author pieces together stories of her ancestors who were lost at Auschwitz... With bracing prose, smoothly translated by Kover, Berest takes an unflinching look at antisemitism past and present... The more Anne learns of her family, the more powerful her story of reclaiming her ancestry becomes. This is brilliant."

"A deeply moving book."

"A powerful exploration of family trauma."

"Impeccably researched, it combines the heft of lived experience with the drive of narrative fiction."

"The Postcard is a vivid indictment of France's betrayal of the Jews. And the truth about the postcard is an absolute heartbreaker."

Most relevant

The narrator's pronounciation of French wasn't always correct unfortunately. Otherwise, a pretty good book, I found the middle part the most engaging.