The Missing Peace of a Heritage Puzzle: A Memoir Uniquely Set in a Vanished Sudetenland by Frank Koerner
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(Paperback)
- Pub. Date: March 2005
- 220pp
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Product Details
- Pub. Date: March 2005
- Publisher: iUniverse, Incorporated
- Format: Paperback, 220pp
- ISBN-13: 9780595333448
- ISBN: 0595333443
Synopsis
Frank Koerner sought to demystify the homeland of his parents, which "vanished" when he was a child. He journeyed there and what he found was magically fascinating. This book recounts his discoveries, flavored by their intriguing happenstances. The vignettes are written with a commendable command of language and style. Mr. Koerner smartly balances personal emotions and reactions with historical information, while presenting a clear depiction of his trip overseas. Each recounted tale occurred during less than a week's stay in that faraway land which no longer "exists." Why is he drawn to a region from which people of his heritage are vengefully banned in perpetuity? His marvelous ability to depict a personal anecdote or memory to highlight its timelessness and universality is remarkable. Most of this book's chapters have been separately published in seventeen separate publications in Canada, Germany, and the United States. The articles have appeared in English and German.
More Reviews and RecommendationsCustomer Reviews
A Visit to The Old Countryby Anonymous
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November 06, 2006: Frank Koerner has written a well-researched compilation of stories about his vacation to Sudetenland. This statement in itself does not sound like much fun, but there is more to the story. The author is the son of a somewhat Germanic couple who had been summarily kicked out of their home country, along with more than three million others, after World War II. The story is considerably less well known than that of The Holocaust, as chronicled in Schindler's List. Frank Koerner goes a long way to explain the tragedy in a delightful manner. Mr. Koerner grew up in New Jersey, along with two older sisters. These three Americans had never directly experienced the displacement of their parents from their home in Moravia by the Czech government. As he matured toward adulthood, Frank became more interested in learning about his true heritage. He had never really been a German, but in the Jersey schoolyards, there was nothing more appropriate for him to be, although he had always questioned the source of his real heritage. The country of Czechoslovakia was formed after WWII from several regions that could have been called Moravia or Sudetenland. All the residents were ordered to leave, and most emigrated to Germany, but Frank's parents left Europe forever for a new life in the U.S. Frank and his wife took a special vacation to the area in 1992 to discover whatever they could of what once had been Sudetenland. The book includes many b&w photos from the old days and the new that enliven the journey. The author's delicate phrasing doesn't hurt, either.
The Heritage Fireside Puzzleby Anonymous
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July 26, 2005: In 'The Missing Peace of a Heritage Puzzle', Frank Koerner brought alive, via chronological stories, his parents' heritage and homeland, which had vanished in 1946. To recapture his parents' homeland, these spellbinding stories include history and emotion from a trip that was made fifty years after the Sudetenland's extinction. No one before has taken on this task in such great detail and with such insight and storytelling ability. 'A Flight of Fancy, The Talk of the Town, A Sampler of Ethnic Cleansing, and The Plot of the Mystery' are only a few of the many unique stories where the reader can appreciate the author's unique writing ability. This is a deeply human story of bravery and love, and lost heritage to be sure, but also of the struggle to carry on and function despite the anguish of despair. If you are tempted to read this book, you will certainly love it and will want to curl up by a cozy fire, not putting it down until 'the very end'. By, Marshia Osterhus
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