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Title details for The Memory Book by Linda Fischer - Available

The Memory Book

One Woman's Self-Discovery in the Mist of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy

by Linda Fischer
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Found in an antique store while the author was on a short vacation to Budapest, the small leather book—filled with watercolors, drawings, and messages—turned out to be a memory book. At the turn of the twentieth century, many Eastern European girls kept memory books as keepsake albums, in which to record advice and remember special events. This particular one contained evergreen truisms and aphorisms written to the the book's owner, Amálka, when she visited places that few Americans know. Driven by curiosity and concern, the author undertook a multi-year journey into the heart of Old Europe and deep into centuries of art, history, and war. The result is a personal exploration of Austria-Hungary and the countries divided up by the Peace Treaty of Trianon at the end of World War I. Here she spreads a message of love in our time and helps Amálka's story live on.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    December 8, 2014

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9780990572152

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9780990572152
      • File size: 5568 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Booklist

      September 15, 2014
      On vacation in Budapest, global traveler Fischer visited an antique shop and found a small leather book filled with delicate drawings, beautiful watercolors, and encouraging poems and messages. It was a memory book, a keepsake album kept by a young girl at the turn of the century. Back at home in New York, she could not let go of the mystery of the girl's identity and undertook nine years of investigation and travel, poring over old maps and history books, and enlisting other researchers and translators. She learned the book was owned by Amalka, a young girl who came of age during the tumult within the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. The book begins about 1906 and includes endearments from friends and family, with sparse entries during WWI, then ends in 1919. The book offers a portrait of life at that time and place, what Fischer calls the ultimate travel story. Fischer intersperses entries from the memory book with her own impressions of Hungary as she retraces Amalka's life and offers her own very engaging look at modern Hungary, its food, culture, and folklore.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

Formats

  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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