Blooms of Darkness: A Novel

Blooms of Darkness: A Novel

**WINNER OF THE 2012 INDEPENDENT FOREIGN FICTION PRIZE**

A new novel from the award-winning, internationally acclaimed Israeli writer (â€œOne of the greatest writers of the ageâ€â€”The Guardian), a haunting, heartbreaking story of love and loss.
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The ghetto in which the Jews have been confined is being liquidated by the Nazis, and eleven-year-old Hugo is brought by his mother to the local brothel, where one of the prostitutes has agreed to hide him. Mariana is a bitterly unhappy woman who hates what she has done to her life, and night after night Hugo sits in her closet and listens uncomprehendingly as she rages at the Nazi soldiers who come and go. When sheâ€™s not mired in self-loathing, Mariana is fiercely protective of the bewildered, painfully polite young boy. And Hugo becomes protective of Mariana, too, trying to make her laugh when she is depressed, soothing her physical and mental agony with cold compresses. As the memories of his family and friends grow dim, Hugo falls in love with Mariana. And as her life spirals downward, Mariana reaches out for consolation to the adoring boy who is on the cusp of manhood.
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The arrival of the Russian army sends the prostitutes fleeing. But Mariana is too well known, and she is arrested as a Nazi collaborator for having slept with the Germans. As the novel moves toward its heartrending conclusion, Aharon Appelfeld once again crafts out of the depths of unfathomable tragedy a renewal of life and a deeper understanding of what it means to be human.
Country USA
Brand Schocken
Manufacturer Schocken
Binding Hardcover
ReleaseDate 2010-03-09
UnitCount 1
EANs 9780805242805

Country	USA
Brand	Schocken
Manufacturer	Schocken
Binding	Hardcover
ReleaseDate	2010-03-09
UnitCount	1
EANs	9780805242805

Blooms of Darkness: A Novel

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