Book notes | House on Endless Waters
Yoel Blum, the main character in Emuna Elon’s 2020 novel House on Endless Waters, is a renowned author living in Israel. When his Dutch publisher asks him to come to Amsterdam for a book promotion, he hesitates. He knows he was born in Amsterdam, but he and his mother and sister left there when he was very young, and the city was occupied by the Nazis. His now-deceased mother had told him never to visit Amsterdam.
Yoel and his wife decide to go there anyway and while there, they visit the Jewish Historical Museum where they watch a filmstrip of Jewish life before the war. In one brief scene, he recognizes his mother and sister, who are with a man he assumes is his father although he doesn’t remember him at all. His mother is holding a baby, but the baby isn’t him. Yoel and his wife watch the film over and over trying to determine what is going on.
A new understanding
They return to Israel, but the nagging feeling that he must find out more about the people in the filmstrip pulls him back to Amsterdam. He finds a hotel room to rent in the area of the city where his family lived. He returns many times to the Jewish Museum and walks the city, finding landmarks of Jewish life. His numerous notebooks become filled with stories of his family, their friends, and eventually their outcome. Thus begins his journey of finding out the many things that his mother kept from him, which leads to a new understanding of who he is.
The book goes back and forth from Yoel’s current world and his Jewish life during the German occupation of Amsterdam in World War II. He gathers facts about his own family and the lives of those close to them and spins all of this into a story of turmoil and terror.
Emuna Elon is a female writer, which surprised some in the UMRA Book Club as she writes about a male character. This book was translated from Hebrew. Many in the book group felt the book was confusing at first but most agreed that it was an excellent look at the plight of the Jews during this terrifying period of Dutch history.
—Stephanie Daily, UMRA Book Club I member
Book Club I to meet August 20
Fri, Aug 20 2021, 2pm
Stephanie Daily will lead the discussion of House on Endless Waters by Emuna Elon when the UMRA Book Club I meets via Zoom at 2 p.m. on Friday, August 20.
This book club currently has 16 members, a number that works well for our discussions. Contact Pat Tollefson at [email protected] for more information, including suggestions for starting a new book club.
Upcoming Events
We are fortunate to have UMRA member and former Minnesota Landscape Arboretum director Peter Moe to lead this approximately 3.7-mile hike at the Arboretum on Monday, May 6. Plan to have lunch together after the hike at the Eatery café inside the Oswald Visitor Center.
This session will continue the discussion begun in the May 8, 2023 session. See that article for details.
If you currently live in your own home or apartment, have you looked ahead to when you might want to consider a senior living option? Do you have any idea what those options might be? How much they cost? What they provide? UMRA’s May 14 workshop will provide an overview of the world of senior living and the basic information you need.
You’re invited to join the final Family History Interest Group meeting for 2023–24. This will be an opportunity to ask questions related to family history, share insights, talk about recent projects, and suggest topics for next year.
Stephanie Daily will lead the discussion of Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by best-selling author Mary Roach when the UMRA Book Club meets via Zoom at 2 p.m. on Friday, May 17.
The May 20 hike will start at the Historic Lift Bridge in Stillwater and go along the river to the new bridge, cross over and then back on the Wisconsin side, a total of approximately 5 miles. Most of the route is paved. We will eat lunch after at Brian's Bar and Grill in Stillwater. Car pooling will be available.
Climatologist and meteorologist Mark Seeley joined the U of M faculty in 1978 and has been a weekly commentator on Minnesota Public Radio since 1992. We are honored to welcome him as our guest speaker for UMRA’s May Luncheon Forum and 2024 Annual Meeting. He is always entertaining and informative.
UMRA’s Fourth Friday Book Club welcomes back, for the second time, author Julie Schumacher, U of M Regents professor of creative writing and English, for a conversation about her novel The Shakespeare Requirement.
We are in for a treat on June 3! Lynn Anderson, will lead us on trails at two parks near her Monticello home. Bring a bag lunch and we will gather in Lynn's yard along the Mississippi River for eating and socializing after the hike.
Get out to the ballpark with fellow UMRA members for the annual U of M Day at Target Field as the Minnesota Twins take on the Oakland Athletics on June 14 at 7:10 p.m.
Please join us at 9:30 on June 17, 2024 for a walk around Lake Como in St. Paul before attending the UMRA Summer Social and Picnic starting at 11 at the Como Pavilion. A perfect opportunity to get in a walk before we gather to celebrate summer.
Picnic under the covered, open-air Como pavilion, gaze at the water, spy some birds, catch up with friends and former colleagues, and meet new members. We’ll have lunch with plenty of time for visiting and then compete in teams as we are challenged by our Quiz master(s)!
Healthy aging, mindfulness, fighting ageism, and more will be the focus of the third annual Age-Friendly University Day to be held on the U of M Twin Cities campus.