Growing up . . Despite Stalin
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Imagine a young Jewish boy now an adult, who still utters the word "Jewish" only sotto voce. The subtitle of Emil Draitser's heartwarming and heartbreaking memoir Shush! Growing up Jewish Under Stalin explains why. Multiply the ordinary difficulties of childhood and adolescence exponentially to comprehend what happened to Jewish families (not to mention others) in Russia. Certainly this book will strike a chord with readers who have had similar experiences. And perhaps these readers with direct experience of the atrocities of the Stalinist regime will need as much courage to read it as the author must have had to write it--people are generally inclined to relegate painful memories to the past and avoid resurrecting them.
It has obviously taken the author years to sort through the dire circumstances of his childhood and to reclaim his identity and roots--an affirmation of the strong values that somehow survived and a credit to his parents and extended family. In circumstances that could justifiably bring out the worst in people, what shines through in this family are pride, dignity, and principles.
Draitser's visual and well-paced writing balances the sad with the humorous. His descriptions of his parents' mannerisms made me laugh out loud. But then, the opposite effect occurs; for example, there's a photo of a young couple--the author's aunt and uncle, the parents of three small children--looking bright-eyed, and, one imagines, forward to life--and suddenly you read that the entire family perished!
I am not Russian or Jewish. I was not raised in a repressed society or discriminated against. But this book has a much broader appeal--don't be fooled by the title. It also reminds us how profoundly marked we are by our childhood impressions, and evokes anyone's painful first days as a young school pupil. Jewish, Russian, black, white, Asian, whatever--kids are mean! My mother occasionally packed leftover "ethnic" food in our lunch boxes. This never failed to attract the attention and derision of the kids sitting nearby eating their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. We begged our mother to please stop packing the stuff. It's no fun being the brunt of jokes.
This is a fine memoir, well-written and courageous--an inspiring book for readers of all backgrounds and ages.
Prejudice....and Pride
Customer Rating: Shush is Emil Draister's memoir of growing up a Jew, in Russia , during Stalin's time. It is the story of a boy's search for pride in his Jewish identity. Historical events are seen through the eyes of the author, a member of the "Young Pioneers", indoctrinated in communist propaganda, and through his parents and family, as they try to survive under a Russian regime threatening to Jews.
Draitser, as a child, unquestioningly accepts his inferior status. He looks different, his name is unusual and he is the victim of his classmates' cruelty and, as a voracious reader, finds even his favorite authors portraying Jews as evil. I felt his pain, his parents' fears, and the specter of prejudice-something I never experienced growing up in U.S. as an American-born, Russian, non-religious Jew in the 1950's and 1960's.
This was the first book that ever made me laugh out loud. Draitser mixes humor, poetry, prose and suspense, enveloping the reader in the culture and events of Russia , particularly Odessa in the 1940's and early 1950's. In addition, the stories of the author's grandparents give the reader insight into Jewish life during pre-revolutionary Russia , from where my own father and grandfather fled.
It is a must read for every Jew born in this country, practicing or not, yet it also goes beyond the Jewish experience. It is a story for everyone who has been the victim of prejudice.
