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442 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2005
WHEN RACIAL HATRED RAGED IN EUROPE,
JEWISH REFUGEES, UNCERTAIN OF THEIR FATE,
COMING FROM DISTANT COUNTRIES
-- AUSTRIA, BELGIUM, GERMANY, POLAND --
FOUND HOSPITALITY AND SAFETY IN THESE VALLEYS.
HIDDEN IN ISOLATED COTTAGES,
PROTECTED BY THE POPULATION,
THEY WAITED WITH TRUST AND HOPE,
THROUGH TWO INTERMINABLE WINTERS,
FOR THE RETURN OF LIBERTY.
IN HOMAGE TO AND IN MEMORY OF THOSE WHO HELPED THEM,
THOSE REFUGEES AND THEIR DESCENDANTS
EMBRACE THE NOBLE INHABITANTS OF THESE VALLEYS
IN BROTHERHOOD.
"There's a saying in Hebrew, 'No matter how dark the tapestry God weaves for us, there's always a thread of grace.'"
1. The Idiot -mockexecution
2. Macbeth - Act 5; Scene 5 - Macbeth's world is crashing around
him when he hears of his wife's death. He remarks, laconically, "She
should have died hereafter," and then delivers what might be the most perfect lines in literature:
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
...Nowhere in literature is despair and futility communicated better.
3. Invisible Man - Liberty Paints Factory or battle royal
4. Flannery O'Connor - too many to list
5. Their Eyes Were Watching God - Janie telling Joe Starks, "When
you pull down yo' britches, you look lak de change uh
life."
"A priest's office is to instruct the faithful!" Schramm shouts. [Osvaldo is disgusted but resigns himself to hearing the confession.:] ...
"Bless me, Father, for I have sinned, he says when he can speak again. "I have murdered 91,867 people."
Osvaldo laughs. You're joking, this laugh says. You can't be serious! "Ninety-one thousand," he repeats. "Eight hundred..."
"And sixty-seven. Yes."
The number is absurd, but Schramm does not laugh. [Schramm tries to makes excuses, to clarify the situation, but Osvaldo cannot comprehend; it is beyond belief.:]
Osvaldo looks at Schramm, at the goat, at the diamond studded-sea in the distance. Mind racing, he tries to imagine what he can possibly say to this...this demon. His mouth opens. No words emerge. He lifts his hands, drops them, and begins to walk over.
"Wait!" Schramm calls. "You must-- What is my penance?"
Osvaldo turns and stares. "Mein Gott, Schramm, what did you expect? Rosaries?" Bending suddenly, leaning hard on hands that clutch his knees, Osvaldo chokes back vomit. Trembling, he lifts his eyes. "Shoot yourself."