A Castle in Brooklyn, Shirley Russak Wachtel
A Castle in Brooklyn, Shirley Russak Wachtel
List: $35.99 | Sale: $25.20
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A Castle in Brooklyn

Author: Shirley Russak Wachtel

Narrator: P. J. Ochlan

Unabridged: 9 hr 18 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/01/2023

Synopsis

Spanning decades, an unforgettable novel about reckoning with the past, the true nature of friendship, and the dream of finding home.1944, Poland. Jacob Stein and Zalman Mendelson meet as boys under terrifying circumstances. They survive by miraculously escaping, but their shared past haunts and shapes their lives forever.Years later, Zalman plows a future on a Minnesota farm. In Brooklyn, Jacob has a new life with his wife, Esther. When Zalman travels to New York City to reconnect, Jacob’s hopes for the future are becoming a reality. With Zalman’s help, they build a house for Jacob’s family and for Zalman, who decides to stay. Modest and light filled, inviting and warm with acceptance—for all of them, it’s a castle to call home.Then an unforeseeable tragedy—and the grief, betrayals, and revelations in its wake—threatens to destroy what was once an unbreakable bond, and Esther finds herself at a crossroads. A Castle in Brooklyn is a moving and heartfelt immigration story about finding love and building a home and family while being haunted by a traumatic past.

About Shirley Russak Wachtel

Shirley Russak Wachtel is the daughter of Holocaust survivors and was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She holds a doctor of letters degree from Drew University and for the past thirty years has taught English literature at Middlesex College in Edison, New Jersey. The mother of three grown sons and grandmother to two precocious granddaughters, she currently resides in East Brunswick, New Jersey, with her husband, Arthur. For more information visit www.shirleywachtel.com.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Karren

A Castle in Brooklyn is a historical fiction story about two young Polish Holocaust survivors, Jacob Stein and Zalman Mendelson. Jacob is hiding in a barn, one night he’s woken by a noise, and he's worried it's the Germans. Zalman Mendelson is twelve years old, his family live in the nearby town of......more

Goodreads review by Greta

Jacob and Zalman- 2 boys hiding in a barn from the Nazis in Poland make it to America. They are friends but more like brothers. Jacob marries Esther (his star) Zalman helps Jacob design and build their “castle” (house) and lives with them like the family member that he is for many years. Here is thi......more

Goodreads review by Nancy G. Murdoch

Depressing I had high hopes for this book but was very disappointed. Even the characters were not very likable, and flat as well. Parts were a distraction and added little to the story. There are so many good books out there; for me, this wasn't one of them.......more

Goodreads review by Vicki

Jacob was a Dreamer... CASTLE IN BROOKLYN by Shirley Russak Wachtel No spoilers. 3 1/2 stars. In 1944, Poland, Jacob was hiding from the Nazis in the widow Frau Blanc's barn loft... ... with a fellow Jewish boy named Zalman. Frau Blanc sheltered and fed the two young boys until... The Germans finally cau......more

Quotes

“This is a story about immigration, adaptation to new cultures, and…a chance to grapple with the traditional roles that women play…A solid choice for book clubs.” —Library Journal“Wachtel [shows] how surviving the horrors of Nazi-occupied Poland…doesn’t guarantee a ‘happily ever after’ in America but may become a source of pride, strength, and reconciliation for the next generation.” —Historical Novels Review“A Castle in Brooklyn is a story about love and endurance. It follows Jacob and Zalman as they survive 1944 Poland and make their way to America, to a dreamlike life that is shattered too soon. With deep empathy, Wachtel lays bare an incredible resilience and desire to live that will inspire readers and keep them turning the page. Magnificent.” —Rachel Barenbaum, author of A Bend in the Stars and Atomic Anna

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