Book Log 2016 #1: Alex's Wake by Martin Goldsmith

The recent debate over whether or not the US should admit refugees from Syria saw a brief revival of interest in the SS St. Louis, a ship carrying Jewish refugees that was refused entry in a number of Western Hemisphere ports before returning to Germany, dooming many of its passengers to dying in a concentration camp. This book traces the journey of two of the passengers - the author's grandfather and uncle - as they left home in Germany, saw refuges slip through their fingers, and eventually wind up in Auschwitz, where they both perished.

Goldsmith makes this trip for a number of reasons, from honoring his family to confronting his own feelings about the Holocaust and the way average Germans did nothing while genocide unfolded around them. Most notably, he makes the trip as a way to make up for his parents' apparent lack of effort to get their family out of Germany before it was too late. It makes for a highly emotional tale, but one that pays off as the author and the many people he encounters along the way make some amount of peace with history.

That being said, I had a hard time connecting with the book until I got fairly deep into it. Not sure why; it could have been having to reconcile the travelogue/historical aspects of the book with the deeply personal tragedy, or just not having enough of a personal connection to get into it right away. I am happy that I stuck with it, though.

(2016 Popsugar Reading Challenge: a book about a road trip)