Reviews

The Incandescent Threads by Richard Zimler

jitcha's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

norassick's review against another edition

4.0

thank you netgalley this was an enlightening read.
i didn't know this was a part of something bigger when i requested to read i just wanted to know more i guess, and know more is exactly what i recieved. i can't say i wasn't lost sometimes while reading but it was a ride I'm so glad i got on.

tjalz's review

challenging hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

chloesbook's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

annabelreadss's review against another edition

4.0

This book was beautiful. The writing was lyrical and breathtaking, and I absolutely loved how all the threads of the story came together and connected the characters and their stories. My only complaint is that it was occasionally confusing with how the story jumped between characters and time periods.

mattgroot1980's review

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

lenny9987's review

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

It’s only as I have just finished Richard Zimler’s recent novel, The Incandescent Threads that I’ve learned that it’s part of his Sephardic Cycle – luckily, it’s not a series that demands to be read in any particular order (it’s also one that’s getting some new English editions released in the coming year which will make it easier for me to find the rest). Given how much I enjoyed The Incandescent Threads – especially the way in which it was written – it’s safe to say I’ll be looking to read the others in this cycle which apparently follows members from different branches of the same family, not just across generations but the centuries as well. Zimler’s ability to delve into how different survivors of the Holocaust (and their families) coped with their trauma over the years and generations was beautiful in its confrontation of the raw grief and pain but also the hope and triumph of simply living life in the face of such loss.

In 2007, Eti Zarco struggles in the face of his father’s grief following the loss of his mother. Memories of Warsaw and the war threaten to consume him. In the 1970s, Julie Zarco helps her husband through a difficult recovery following a stroke – a recovery that forces him to face those he left behind when he escaped Poland for Algiers during the war. In 1944, Ewa Armbruster must decide whether or not to shelter a child brought to her by one of her former piano students. In the 1960s, Tessa Sasportes finds herself captivated by a Holocaust survivor protesting the war in Vietnam. In 1945, George moves to Montreal for a fresh start, eager to put his war service behind him and move past what he saw at Bergen-Belsen. In the 2010s, Eti bridges the gap as his father’s generation reach the ends of their lives and their legacy passes along to a new generation.

For the rest of my review, please visit my blog: https://wp.me/pUEx4-1fh

bli's review

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

onceuponatime's review

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is absolutely brilliant and has touched my soul the way a story hasn't in quite a while. 

While reading, even if nothing specifically tragic was happening, I kept bursting into tears, so that finishing this book took a bit longer than I thought it would. Nevertheless, I finished it in about 3-4 days. 

The way Richard Zimler writes is fabulous in a way that's hard to pinpoint or specify. His text is not made to be a tearjerker, it does not exploit trauma, and it's not graphic at all, and yet it makes you experience the complex histories, thoughts, feelings, and traumas of all the characters we get the POVs of, and all the others they are connected with through Bennie's incandescent threads. 

As an amateur translator, the beautiful way languages are intermingled in the work made it so much more wonderful, and it strongly connected to Jewish identity and history. I also loved the decision of not translating sentences not in English, most of the time. I discovered a small Hebrew and Yiddish dictionary at the end of the book, but even with this addition, it doesn't lessen the impact of having Yiddish, Hebrew, Ladino, English, French, Navajo, Spanish, Portugese, Polish, ingrained in the very core of this book.

This story is complex, rich, made with love, care, and understanding. It is multifaceted and real in an almost painful way. 

rita_loureiro's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.5