Course Detail: 194ATHEHOUSE - 194A Travel Book Discussions: The House on Endless Waters

The House on Endless Waters is a literary historical novel that follows internationally acclaimed Israeli author Yoel Blum, who has been cajoled into traveling to Amsterdam to celebrate the translation of his latest book into Dutch. Despite having promised his late mother that he would never return to Amsterdam, his birthplace, Yoel reluctantly makes the journey. The story becomes a search for his origins when his visit to Amsterdam triggers an unexpected personal quest to discover his family's hidden past. The novel alternates between present-day Amsterdam and wartime Amsterdam during the German occupation. As Yoel delves deeper into his family history, he uncovers shocking truths about his mother's wartime experiences and his own origins during the Holocaust period. The book is part family mystery, part wartime drama that examines themes of identity, belonging, survival, and the complex relationship between past and present. It has been praised for its sensitive portrayal of Holocaust experiences and Jewish identity and for its meditation on how the past continues to shape the present, even when that past has been deliberately hidden or forgotten. Participants must acquire the book themselves for this book discussion.

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