Kaddish For An Unborn Child

Kaddish is a Jewish prayer of mourning. This short novel is a declamatory introspection and meditation of a concentration camp survivor on his feeling of loss, longing, regret, pain and despair between one "No" as the answer to his acquaintance who asked him if he has has a child and another "No" as the answer he gave to his wife years earlier when she told him she wanted a child. This reminds me of a stanza from one of my favorite songs, The Night I Heard Caruso Sing by Everything But The Girl, which reads:

I've thought of having children, but I've gone and changed my mind.

It's hard enough to watch the news, let alone explain it to child,

To cast your eyes cross nature, over fields of rape and corn,

And tell him without flinching not to fear where he's been born.

Written by Imre Kertesz, winner of 2002 Nobel Prize in Literature, the novel is not an easy read. It, however, is impressive once you get through it.

Note: This book was given to me by a former student as a "pasalubong."