Тяжелый песок/Tjazhelyj pesok (Heavy Sand)

Image Source: Photographed from hard copy 

Student: Nadia Norman

Country: Russia/Ukraine

Language:  Russian/Ukrainian

Book Title: Тяжелый песок/Tjazhelyj pesok (Heavy Sand)

Author: Anatoli Rybakov

Year Published: 1979

Summary

The novel Heavy Sand is a tragic story about a Jewish family living in Communist Ukraine, the part of Russia.  In addition, the grandparents of the family were married in the early 1900s and they lived in Ukraine. The time period of the story is set from the early 20^th century to the time of the Nazi occupation of World War II.

The author tells the story of Boris Ivanovsky’s parents.  The father Yacov  Ivanovsky was  half Jewish and half German, and his mother Rachel was Jewish Ukrainian. They had two children, as  Boris and a beautiful daughter Dina. The author talks about how they fell in love and made a good family. But that was very difficult because Yacov and Rachel had different cultures and social classes.

The family lived happily in a village in Ukraine. Then the Nazis came and occupied Ukraine and turned their town into a ghetto, like the Warsaw ghetto.

The author describes the extreme life in Hitler’s holocaust; and about the people who died and those who survived the Nazi occupation of Ukraine. The whole family was sadly killed.

Recommendation

This is a great book. The author Anatoly Naumovich Rybakov was born in Chermijov, Ukraine on January 14 191. He died on December 23, 1988.  He was a laureate of the USSR and RSFSR State awards. He received an Honorary Doctorate from Tel Aviv University. Rybakov was a famous Soviet and Russian writer. He wrote Heavy Sand, Anti-Stalinist and Children of the Arbat trilogy. He had also written many children’s books.

I recommend that you read this book. Many people were killed during World War II. When you read it, you will understand about the terrifying life that the town and ghetto had during the Nazi occupation. The Nazis killed the Jewish people, including the sick, the old, little children and even babies. The Nazis had the idea to kill all Jewish people. The story tells how this family struggled to live and to keep their dignity and humanity during this terrible time. In the end, it is their humanity that you will remember.

Anyone who reads Heavy Sand will be moved in their hearts by the experiences of the people in Ukraine during World War II.