Authors write on Jewish life

CYNTHIA RAMSAY

Among the many events at the recent Cherie Smith JCCGV Jewish Book Festival was a day full of book launches. Writers Cyril Leonoff, Tali Geva and Irene Watts (with artist Kathryn Shoemaker) introduced their publications to the community on Nov. 23.

Leonoff's The Rise of Jewish Life and Religion in British Columbia, 1858-1948 is a special issue of the Jewish Historical Society of British Columbia's magazine The Scribe. It surveys the origins and development of Jewish religious congregations, educational and social institutions in the province. At the launch event, which preceded the historical society's annual general meeting, society board member Prof. Chris Friedrichs, a University of British Columbia historian, said, "Anyone who ever comes to Victoria or Vancouver to work on the history of the Jewish communities here is going to find that the work done by Cyril Leonoff is an absolutely indispensable starting point for any future research.... I wanted to say that, but I also don't want to give the impression that the only purpose of the book we're celebrating this morning is to make the job easier for future historians. That's true, but that is not why Cyril Leonoff wrote this book. He wrote it in the hope and expectation that today, right now, this morning, people will begin buying and reading this book. Having done so myself this week, I can only say that I hope you will do exactly that."

Friedrichs briefly discussed some of the history of the B.C. Jewish community and the creative way in which Leonoff approached his subject matter. "It's a wonderfully intuitive way to treat the development of a Jewish community," said Friedrichs about the book. "It reflects the fact that the story of institutions and people are always intertwined and the most informative and effective way to write about them is not to disaggregate these topics but to interweave them."

Leonoff himself then gave a brief talk, which included a slide show featuring some of the images in his book.

Later that Sunday, Geva was joined by a group of Hebrew-speakers for the launch of her third book, the title of which would translate as Sudden Love, if it were available in English. Daniella Givon, JCCGV Israel affairs liaison, began the event by noting, among other things, that this was the first-ever Hebrew-only book festival event. She then gave a brief bio of Geva, who was born in Israel and graduated from the University of Haifa, specializing in comparative literature. Geva came to Vancouver in 2002.

Geoffrey Druker interviewed Geva about Sudden Love, a love story that spans some 50 years and takes place in both Israel and Vancouver. The main character, Irit, falls in love with Amos when she is a young girl and her longing for him is the basis of her life and carries the novel's plot. Given the apparent similarity in the settings of the book and those of Geva's life, as well as the detailed descriptions, Druker asked Geva which elements of the story were fiction and which were non-fiction. Geva explained that, when she writes, she incorporates various aspects of the world around her into her work, but invents the overall story.

Geva's interview with Druker included Geva's reading of a passage from Sudden Love and a few audience questions.

Rounding out the book-launch day, Rome Fox, assistant director of the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre, introduced the recently published graphic novel Good-Bye Marianne, written by Watts (based on her book by the same name) and illustrated by Shoemaker. She then turned over the floor to David Rosengarten, a King David High School student, who started volunteering at the VHEC in Grade 6.

Rosengarten explained a bit about the book, which takes place in Germany, in 1938, one week after Kristallnacht. The novel parallels Watts' life.

"Due to her experiences firsthand with the Holocaust and the Kindertransport, Irene Watts has written an accurate, yet simple, story of life for Jewish children prior to the Second World War," said Rosengarten. "It is a story that is perfectly suited towards a younger audience, although I highly recommend it as a good read for both young and old. Its approach is with pictures rather than long chapters. These graphics make the story come alive for all.... Kathryn Shoemaker has certainly enhanced and helped to convey the important story Irene has written.

"Although the Holocaust is an extremely horrific and depressing chapter in human history, the book does a great job of showing the sadness and hardships of the Holocaust without scaring or horrifying its readers, especially its younger ones."

Watts' and Shoemaker's presentation reinforced Rosengarten's words – making the creative process come alive, as they explained how they transformed Watts' book into a graphic novel.

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