In this novel, fictional Israeli author Yoel Blum was born in Amsterdam during World War II, but has never gone there because his mother made him promise he would never go. But when his publisher makes him attend an event there, he goes to the Jewish museum and sees something with his mother in it which makes him question everything, and he decides to stay in Amsterdam and write his next book there. What was disappointing to me about this book is that I felt like there was a kernel of something really good here, but it was totally lost in the format the author chose. The WWII story was interesting, but was maybe 1/3 of the book, while 2/3 was of the present day Yoel (though sometimes confusingly skipping around), most of which was really slow and just not that interesting. And the parts of the WWII story that we did see were only told in the form of bits of a novel within the novel that Yoel is writing, generally only a page or two at a time, along with his thoughts about what he wants to write. Even the reveal towards the end is not only something I guessed long before, but also is kind of muffed in its execution, though there was another moment towards the end that actually got some emotion out of me. I think had the book been told as a more conventional dual time period historical fiction I would have liked it more. I feel a little guilty giving this book a bad rating because I do think it is so important to keep remembering and telling stories about the Jewish experience in the WWII era, but unfortunately this book just didn't work for me. 2.5 stars.

I enjoyed the book, but not as much as other historical novels I have read. I did not understand some of the Jewish terminology. Some of them were explained and defined, but most were not. There were times I was confused in the story, so much going back and forth. There were also so many sentences that were repeated. That were repeated. The overall idea and story was good. I learned more about that fascinating time period.

I’ve been reading a lot of novels lately where the line gets blurred between the reader and the story (The Ten Thousand Doors of January, The Starless Sea…). In Emuna Elon’s House on Endless Waters (recently released in English), it’s the writing process where the line blurs, in part, because the main character is attempting to tell an autobiographical story. Confronting the secrets of his early years as a Jew in Amsterdam during World War II and the occupation, the reader watches as research and being in the city help him to develop and shape the novel he is going to write.

Despite traveling the world for his book tours, Israeli writer Yoel Blum has always honored his late mother’s wishes that he never visits Amsterdam — despite the fact that he was born there. But when a publisher pushes and he yields, a visit to the Jewish Museum begins to reveal the secrets behind his mother’s request. Turning to his older sister for what she knows, Yoel ultimately decides to write his next book about his mother, her experiences in Amsterdam during the occupation, and how those tied back to who he became.

The secret behind Yoel Blum and his identity are laid out pretty early in the novel, even if it isn’t done explicitly. The how is also pretty easy to guess. What made House on Endless Waters so compelling to me, is seeing Yoel’s journey as he processes this very real and personal history through by working with it as a novel he will write. Because he’s telling the story from his mother’s perspective, it forces him to examine the events from her point of view in a critical way.

Seeing the actions of her friends and fellow Jews as the Germans’ grip on the Netherlands tightened was emotional in unexpected ways. So many novels about World War II and the Jewish experience focus on the roles of non-Jews — plenty of stories about those who risked everything to hide their Jewish friends or stand up to the evil of the Nazi regime. I’ve never read a novel that stayed so firmly within the Jewish community.

There is so much in this book that focuses on the scars borne by those who survived the Holocaust as well as by the Jewish people collectively. Because the book shows Yoel exploring Amsterdam decades later, it allows for a piercing critique of what’s transpired since and the commercialization of sites like the Anne Frank house. Through people he meets while in Amsterdam, Yoel learns about the psychological trauma of those children who were hidden — raised by Christian families as though they were their own — and then were ripped from the familiar once again, were turned over to orphanages when no one claimed them, or only learned as adults who they really were. Where so many novels about World War II end with the end of the war, this novel focuses on everything around it. It focuses on the slow grinding down of during and the fact that some things never go away in the after.

The coexistence of such contradictory and sometimes conflicting emotional reactions, the dissonance between reason and emotion, the ethical and the practical, make House on Endless Waters a complex tapestry with infinite thematic threads to trace and explore. I can’t speak too closely to the quality of the translation itself, but I felt like it ready rather poetically. Now that I know Emuna Elon has other works that have been translated into English, I might have to check those out too.

This is my own opinion.I did not enjoy reading this book I felt like a ping pong, it is translated from Hebrew to English. Don"t know if that is the cause but the story did not have a flow.
I likded the base of the story about family secrets and the discovry of one"s past and who they are. Liked the cover of the book too.
I want to thank Netgalley,Simon & Schuster Canada, Atria Books and Emuna Elon for this advance e-copy in exchage of an honest review.

A beautiful story, with an incredible journey.
We meet Yoel, a famous author who travels to Amsterdam to promote his novel, even after his mother made him promise he would never go back before her passing. Although Yoel felt guilty about this trip, he felt he needed to for his career, his novel.
But during his visit, he sees his mother, in a video? Of a wedding? With a baby?
He looks for the answers he needs to know about his family. What he doesn’t realize, is what he is about to find out about himself along the way… A heart wrenching story that I was not ready for but loved so much.
The novel is written in way we have both the perspective of Yoel in present time, and his mothers in the 40’s during WWII. Personally as a reader I feel I connect with the characters so much better through this type of writing. The way this book was written though, with no clear sign of jumping from the past to present or vise versa, it created a bit of a disconnect for me.
It’s a deep, heartfelt read, that dives deep into self discovery, and the importance of family. It deals with some delicate topics from WWII that normally we don’t hear about or enough of.

I truly recommend it, and I’m soo glad I read it.

Shocks from the past!

I must admit that I was not as hooked on this book as I thought I would be from the publishers blurb. Whether it was the pace of the story or just Yoel Blum himself I am unsure.
A successful Israeli author, Yoel's publisher wants him to go to Amsterdam for the launch of his latest book which has been translated into Dutch. Conflicted, Yoel does, despite having promised his mother to never return to the place of his birth, Amsterdam.
Of course the first question is why did Yoel's mother demand such a commitment.
An unplanned visit to Jewish Historical Museum has Yoel and his wife chancing upon a grainy movie of a wedding. To Yoel's amazment and concern in the frames he sees his mother as part of a family, holding an unknown baby boy.
Such a discovery haunts Yoel. Some few days after, he returns once again from Israel to Amsterdan determined to find answers.
Make no mistake this is complex novel on various levels.
Elon's use of language, the images she creates are marvelous.
Despite all this I was not as committed to Yoel's story as I'd hoped.

An Atria Books ARC via NetGalley

A moving look at Amsterdam during WWII and the effect it had on the lives of young Jewish children taken from their families and hid in underground networks to protect them. Highly recommend for anyone that likes historical fiction set during WWII.

Yoel Blum has never understood why his mother Sonia made him promise never to return to Amsterdam where he was born but now he's on a press tour there. And he's determined to uncover her story, especially once he stumbles upon a photo of her. This is a sorta kinda dual time line novel; Yoel's story in the present is merged with Sonia's during WWII, occasionally in the same page or paragraph. Once you know what's happening, it's less confusing than it is initially. This is less about Sonia's life and her secrets than it is about Yoel, who spends much time reflecting on his own life in Israel. It's well written and thoughtful. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For fans of literary fiction.

Such a wonderful read! Absolutely enjoyed 'House on Endless Waters' and one that i didn't want to end. I am not usually fond of stories that switch from past to present, but it did work well on this occasion. I've been to Amsterdam on several occasions, but my knowledge of life there during WW11 is limited. A well written book that i can highly recommend. Loved the cover, which would have caught my attention if i was to have purchased on line or a book store.

My thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers (Atria books) for my copy. This is my honest review which i have voluntarily given.

I received a free electronic copy of this historical novel from Netgalley, Emuna Elon, and Washington Square Press. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read 'House of Endless Waters' of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. This is an excellent mystery and a moving family saga, but in the ARC edition, the transitions between 1940s wartime and the 21 century are not always cleanly accomplished. I am hopeful that in the finished version of this novel that is better addressed.

I am excited to see more novels from the World War II-era that take place in the lesser-known areas of combat - this is perhaps the third I have encountered in the last couple of years that involve the Netherlands, though that country too was inhaled by the Germans fairly early on in that war. Portions of Amsterdam are built on deep pilings over running water, which is what the title refers to, though perhaps only partially. This was a very explosive time in all of Europe and Jews were nowhere immune to the annihilation perpetrated by the German military on races and religions they considered impure.

The House on Endless Waters follows two distinct time frames - during the war, we see through the Jewish eyes of Sonia, a nurse and now a full-time mother. Sonia is married to Dr. Edouard Blum - Eddy, who is a medical doctor. They have two children, Hetty is about 4, and Leo is a toddler when Eddie is called up to report to Germany. Despite Sonia's pleas that he simply disappears, Eddy goes when he is called, leaving his little family in Amsterdam, a community where the remaining rights of the Jewish community are curtailed more tightly every day. Sonia must decide how best to protect her children - and daily it becomes more evident that they must be sent through the underground to be raised as one of their own by Christian families. The decision now is how long she can postpone giving her children away. And the fine line between 'achievement' and 'too late' is a very thin one.

In more modern times we are along for the ride with respected Isreali author Yoel Blum and his wife, Bat-Ami. Yoel and Bat-Ami are the parents of three adult daughters, a tightly knit family in this modern world. The last promise Yoel made to his recently deceased mother was to never return to his birthplace, to not try to unravel the past of their family. Yoel's publisher is trying to talk him into adding Amsterdam to his European book circuit. It is, both publisher and Bat-Ami remind him, very important that he include Amsterdam, as the latest novel was also published in Holland. And Bat-Ami will gladly accompany him.

And that lecture, that book signing went very well. The problem is while there Yoel feels compelled to write about Holland. To research his family's actions and reactions during the war. A week after returning to Isreal with Bat-Ami, Yoel sets off again alone, intent on doing background for his Holland novel. There are so many things he knows he needs to know about Amsterdam and the life there during WWII - and the many things that he doesn't know that he needs to know about this place, those days, begins to color his world.

3.5 stars rounded up

This is one of those books that I thought I would love more than I did. I am a fervent reader of holocaust stories because I believe in my heart and soul that it’s something we need to never forget, as horrific as it was. We need to continually remind ourselves and each other, and continue to honor those who were killed and those who survived. It pains me not to give this book a higher rating because like all Holocaust stories, it is just so important.

It just took me a long while to connect emotionally with Yoel Blum, a famous Israeli writer who in spite of his dying mother’s wish that he never go back to Amsterdam, goes back. At first it’s to promote a book, but then he returns to find his past, one that has been kept from him. I found him devoid of emotional connection to others around him and from them to him, except he did have a wonderful relationship with one of his grandsons as a young child and that relationship is important in these later years. It’s an introspective story which I always enjoy, but it moved somewhat slowly.

It’s skillfully written, a within a story, a novel within a novel, the present and the past blended perfectly in chapters, in paragraphs. The author has done a wonderful job of presenting another facet of the Holocaust, how Jewish children were hidden and saved from the roundup of Jews in Amsterdam to the camps, some of them returned to their families and some not. In the end I did feel Yoel’s emotion about what he discovers about himself and perhaps that lack of it in the earlier parts of the novel are because he doesn’t really know who he is. I spite of my misgivings about the pace, I have to round this up to 4 stars. I surmised early on what we aren’t told until close to the end, but it was nonetheless moving.


I received an advanced copy of this book from Atria through NetGalley.

Yoel is a famous Israeli author and he makes a trip to Amsterdam with his wife and at a museum there, they see something pertaining to his past that becomes a real mystery.
This story flashes back and forth from present day to World War ll Amsterdam.
This was very hard for me to read because it was very disjointed and confusing. I wanted to just give up on it a few times.

This ARC was provided by Atria via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Yoel Blum, a world-wild acclaimed author, was born in Amsterdam and emigrated to Israel as an infant with his mother and older sister, Ettie. His mother made him promise before her death that he would never go back to Amsterdam, and he kept that promise until his publisher insists that he must appear there to receive yet another award.

On a visit to the Jewish Historical Museum, he sees a newsreel which contains a picture of his family - his father, mother, Ettie and a young son, but the boy isn't him. After watching the reel hundreds of times, he decides he must stay in Amsterdam and seek out the story behind the picture. For if he is not the boy in the picture, who is? And who is he, himself?

Yoel rents a room, visits the museum daily, walks the streets of Amsterdam, researching, digging, writing his story, and the story of his mother as he imagines things might have happened. It is a slow-paced reflection on his life, his identity, a look back at the slow insidious way that Jews lost their social standing, their jobs, their rights, and worse as Nazism gains ground in Holland.

Through his research and reflection, Yoel becomes a changed man, a better man, a man who now wants to be more fully a part of the family that is his. A slow paced read, but a worthwhile one. This rates a 3.5 stars rounded to 4 stars from me.

My thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for allowing me to read a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

Beautifully written historical fiction.A story in two time frames a book that kept me engrossed from first page to last#netgalley#atriabooks

Amazing story of finding out about your past and how it has shaped you into the person you are today.

Jumping between the present and Yoel's past allowed the author to weave together the story of his life before Israel. Readers are presented with a vision of Amsterdam during Nazi occupation and the struggles of the Jews who had previously lived in harmony with their neighbors.

It did take me a while to read through the novel. First, the English is at times a bit disjointed in grammar. Secondly, this is not a novel to speed read. Rather, you need to allow the author's words to wash over you and paint the images intended. And to digest what is being shared during the process.

The premise of this novel sounded great to me, as I love WWII novels, especially set in Amsterdam and I was interested that the main character was from Israel. However, I could could just not connect with narrator. I am not sure if it was because of the formatting of the book, crossing over timelines in a way that felt abrupt to me and made it a bit hard to follow. Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for the ARC.

I was excited to read this book, as I enjoy WWII-era novels, and this seemed different from many I've read in the past. However, things felt distant, disjointed, and confusing to follow. Perhaps some of that is due to the translation. There's a mystery angle, but it just wasn't enough to maintain my interest.

Yoel Blum is a writer who grew up in Israel. However, he was born in Amsterdam. His mother had told Yoel that he must never go back to Amsterdam. She also never mentioned why or anything about her life while living there. After she died, Yoel had to go there for publicity for the release of one of his books.

The trip opened up a Pandora’s box for Yoel. He ends up staying for an extended time, determined to dig up the past and write his mother’s story. What he doesn’t realize is that his mother’s story will reveal things about his own past that he would have never imagined.

The story was astonishing and one that needed to be told. During World War II, many residents risked everything to save Jewish children from the Nazi’s by taking them in and passing them off as their own or by hiding them in different places. After the war, many children never found out who they really were.

I almost did not finish this book. In the beginning it just didn’t flow well and I had trouble following the transitions in the story. I really wanted to add it to my DNF shelf, but instead, I did something I almost never do—I turned to the end of the story to see what was going on. That is the only thing that kept me committed to finishing, because I had to find out how the story unfolded. Once I got into the rhythm of the author’s writing, it was easier to follow.
I’m glad I finished the story and hope other readers will find it an easier read than I did.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for allowing me to read an advance copy and give my honest review.

The writing is lovely and lyrical - - and confusing. It was hard to know sometimes what time period we were in and whether it was a memory, the present, or fiction. The pace is very slow and it wasn't an easy read. I wanted to like it more than I did.

This book has a brilliance about it. There is a moment where you just can’t help but go “AHA”. The author lives his plot through all the murk, confusion, and hatred that is nazism in WW II Holland. I started out being totally disconnected from this story and where it was going and in a thunderclap I became so connected I totally got it and knew where it was going and that was the brilliance.

Yoel Blum is a writer, born in Holland, who lives in “the Israeli reality” and because of this all his characters “are connected with that reality as well.” But the stories he tells are “about Man wherever he breathes....wherever he loves...wherever he yearns.” Although his stories may be precise in their detail and exploration of the human condition Blum is a fuzzy man. He is a man who can sit cross legged on a carpet in a hotel room immediately aware of his ignorance and his inability to really “see” people. He doesn’t relate in detail to his wife and family, doesn’t remember their names, doesn’t remember their physical touch. He wanders, looking into windows spying on his characters as they develop his story. Never doubt it is always his story. Despite a long ago promise to his Mother to never return, his story takes him back to his birthplace, Amsterdam. Trying to ascertain anything about his past he begs his sister for background. She warns that the Dutch “don’t talk about waters that have flowed onward...being Dutch is no simple matter.”

Researching, digging deeper until his characters take on their own reality Blum challenges you to imagine being kept out of a park because of your religion, to not even be allowed to stand on the outskirts and peek in. Each day to be deprived of another necessity of life, liberty, transportation, food, shelter, and finally your bicycle. And this is the brightest of the horror, the rest is so much darker. This book inspires such unbelievable heartbreak, tragedy yet also fierce determination to protect and survive. This book doesn’t overlook humor even while it is steeped in reflection. Baum’s one truth is that he doesn’t “know how to separate his life in his imagination from reality, which to him was imaginary as well.” Brilliant.

“Realistic writing - to describe things exactly as they look. Surrealistic writing - to describe things not the way they look but they way they actually are.” What? So brilliant.

I loved this book. Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for a copy.