What News of the War?

Robert Bober

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0241135087 ISBN 13: 9780241135082

Publisher: Hamish Hamilton, 1998

Paris 1945-46. The war has finished and life has settled back into a semblance of normality, not least in Monsieur Albert's dressmaker's shop. Life appears to go on as normal here, with the everyday grind of work, the banal conversations, jokes and arguments - but underlying the chatter is silence The pressers and machinists are survivors of the camps, so life can never again be 'normal'. Even with so little taste left for the business of living though, there is still a wage to be earned. This is a remarkable chronicle of survival which explores Jewish memory in the immediate post-war years in France.

About the Author:

Robert Bober was born in Berlin in 1931, to Polish parents. He worked at several jobs before embarking on a self-taught career in cinema. He was Truffaut's assistant on the latter's early films, and has made many documentaries, including one with Georges Perec. This is his first novel. Robert Bober lives in Paris.

Synopsis:

Paris 1945-46. The war has finished and life has settled back into a semblance of normality, not least in Monsieur Albert's dressmaker's shop. Life appears to go on as normal here, but the pressers and machinists are survivors of the camps and for them life can never again be "normal".