A moving novel from the bestselling author of HOW TO BE PARISIAN WHEREVER YOU ARE

"A deeply moving book." -LEILA SLIMANI *** "A powerful exploration of family trauma." -LAUREN ELKIN

"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 Opera Garnier; on the other, the names of their relatives who were killed in Auschwitz: Ephraim, Emma, Noemie 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

About the Author
The great granddaughter of Spanish-born artist Francis Picabia and French Resistance fighter Gabriele Buffet-Picabia (Marcel Duchamp's lover and muse), Anne Berest is an actor and author. She has been profiled in Vogue (France), Haaretz newspaper, and has also been a Chanel ambassador. With her sister Claire Berest, Berest wrote a biography of her great grandmother entitled Gabriele. She is also the author of a novel based on Francoise Sagan and the best-selling work of nonfiction How to be Parisian Wherever You Are (Doubleday, 2014), which was translated into thirty-five languages. Her novel The Postcard has won numerous awards, was a finalist for the Goncourt Prize, and was a best-seller in France. Tina Kover is a literary translator whose works include The Black City by Georges Sand, Adelaide Bon's The Little Girl on the Ice Floe. For Europa she recently translated Belle Greene by Alexandra Lapierre, and No Touching by Ketty Rouf.

Reviews

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

* The Sunday Times *

"The Postcard provides a vivid portrait of Vichy France as antisemitic laws tightened."

* Financial Times *

"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."

* TLS *

"The names of Ephraim, Emma, Noemie 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. Noemie Rabinovitch's beautiful face will be forever etched in my mind."

* Swirl and Thread *

"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)

* VOGUE *



Book Information
ISBN 9781787704831
Author Anne Berest
Format Hardback
Page Count 480
Imprint Europa Editions (UK) Ltd
Publisher Europa Editions (UK) Ltd