Long Summer Nights

"Appelfeld (1932-2018) was a master storyteller, and his approach here resembles that of Isaac Bashevis Singer. But there is also a kind of naivete-Yanek does not quite understand what has happened to his parents and grandfather-that is reminiscent of Morris Gleitzman's Once trilogy. While Grandpa Sergei instructs Yanek to wear a cross to protect himself against anti-Semitic harm, the danger they both face is prejudice against wanderers. The illustrations are strong yet stark and add to representation of the wanderers' existence. This book adds a simple yet unexpected depth to the cadre of Holocaust refugee narratives. It offers memorable characters and little-known experiences. It could become a new favorite." -Barbara Krasner, Association of Jewish Libraries newsletter

"[A] poignant tale of loss and survival."-Publishers Weekly

"This haunt-ing account of a young Jew-ish boy in World War II Ukraine embod-ies both myth and his-to-ry. . . . The sub-tle-ty with which Appelfeld avoids com-fort-ing con-clu-sions about human inde-struc-tibil-i-ty in the face of evil is one of the most pro-found achieve-ments of this novel. . . . .Although Long Sum-mer Nights is not a pic-ture book, Vali Mintzi's illus-tra-tions?-?inter-spersed through-out the text?-?are an essen-tial com-ple-ment to Appelfeld's text. Drawn in the style of char-coal sketch-es, they cap-ture the link between human beings and nature which reflects Yanek and Grand-pa Sergei's life in the coun-try-side. Peo-ple are dark sil-hou-ettes or have min-i-mal-ly defined fea-tures, lend-ing a folk-loric qual-i-ty to this tale of the lost world pre-served in Appelfeld's poet-ry of anguish and love. Long Sum-mer Nights is high-ly rec-om-mend-ed for both chil-dren and adults." -Jewish Book Council