New ebooks From Canadian Indies
Description
Winner of the Helen and Stan Vine Jewish Book Award and finalist for the Man Booker Prize
In Far to Go, one of our most accomplished young writers takes us inside the world of an affluent Jewish family in Prague during the lead-up to Hitler's invasion of Czechoslovakia.
In 1939, Pavel and Anneliese Bauer are secular Jews whose lives are turned upside down by the arrival of Hitler. They are unable to leave the country in time to avoid deportation, but they do manage to get their six-year-old son Pepik a place on a Kindertransport. Meanwhile, a fascinating and compelling present-day strand in the story slowly reveals the unexpected fates of each of the Bauers. Through a series of surprising twists, Pick leads us to ask: What does it mean to cling to identity in the face of persecution? And what are the consequences if you attempt to change your identity?
Inspired by the harrowing five-year journey Alison Pick's own grandparents embarked upon from their native Czechoslovakia to Canada during the Second World War, Far to Go is an epic historical novel that traces one family's journey through these tumultuous and traumatic events. A layered, beautifully written, moving, and suspenseful story by one of our rising literary stars.
Awards
- Winner, Helen and Stan Vine Jewish Book Award
- Short-listed, CBC Bookies: Best Overall Book
- Long-listed, ReLit Awards: Novel
- Short-listed, OLA Evergreen Award
- Long-listed, Man Booker Prize for Fiction
- Winner, Words Worthy Award
Editorial Reviews
. . . authentic . . . Pick's writing is so gripping . . .
— Jewish Chronicle
. . . [a] spare, powerful novel . . . it is bewildered six-year-old Pepik, and his harrowing journey, that encapsulates the loss and hope and heartbreak that is the life-blood of this extraordinary story.
— Daily Mail
Far to Go is a worthwhile and accomplished, if not flawless, novel.
— The Bull Calf
...a page-turner...
— Toronto Star
...the Holocaust persists in the literary imagination and through the refining fire of fiction a new generation confronts its own version of what it means to be human.
— National Post
Pick has a knack for narrative and an ear for the authentic...a beautiful, haunting story.
— Women's Post
A heart-rending story about a decision that shapes the lives of both those on the train to freedom and those left behind.
— Chatelaine
Far to Go is a breath-taking, heart-breaking novel, and Alison Pick is a beautiful writer.
— Fernie Fix
...Alison Pick has crafted a powerful story...Far To Go demonstrates the devastation of war - and the effects it has on the children who grow up through it - without going anywhere near a battlefield.
— Guelph Mercury
Far To Go puts a new spin on moral compromise...shows terrific craft and emotional intelligence. A winner.
— NOW Magazine
