Book Blurb:
Uriel “Uri” Katz, World War Two veteran, concentration camp liberator, devout atheist, contrarian, cynic and lifelong bachelor, places an ad in a newspaper seeking a “typist” to assist him in writing his memoir and receives only one reply, from a woman, named Eleanor, who negotiates a deal with him that includes room and board.
Within days of her arrival, Eleanor begins inserting herself into Uri’s story. So much so that she eventually becomes one of its main characters. And while Uri is dismayed and, at times, exasperated by this turn of events, he’s also grown accustomed to Eleanor’s company and cooking, and, as such, begrudgingly puts up with the semi-appropriation of his memoir.
Though what remains imperceptible to Uri—until the novel’s final, thrilling pages—is that Eleanor's appearance in his life wasn't coincidental; it was manufactured by her. And that the two have been intricately linked since the day he marched into the concentration camp.
Brian Prousky’s dazzling new book is memoir-writing turned on its head. It’s a story about storytelling itself. About the power of language to shape and misshape history. And about the equal perils of sharing and not sharing deep-held secrets.
Book Buy Link: https://geni.us/Izdo
Author Bio:
Brian Prousky spent most of his life as two distinct people. The first held a day job and raised a family and was public and sociable. The second ruminated over sentences and wrote books in secret and dreamed of a living a literary life. They shared little in common, mostly their obsessions: Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Mozart, Saul Bellow, Roberto Bolano, tennis and hockey.
Somehow, summoning up a kind of courage or resolve he’d assumed was absent from his DNA, the first Brian Prousky left his day job, revealed his secret and dedicated himself full-time to writing. And the two Brian Prouskys became one. Now the author of five novels, a collection of short stories and two books of poetry, he lives and works in Toronto, where most of his characters, who struggle with secret and often conflicted lives of their own, and who never quite fit in, do as well.
EXCERPT - INTERVIEW - JANUARY 2023
Do you have hobbies? How did you get started in them?
From a young age I played tennis and was quite good at it. My parents were tennis players and while they played doubles with friends, I endlessly hit a ball against a wall and, in that way, facing the most consistent opponent at the tennis club, became good enough to win far more matches than I lost. Come to think of it, the wall, without saying a word or offering a single piece of advice, was easily the best teacher in any subject or field I’ve ever had. I suspect this is an indictment of the quality of my other teachers. Though I also suspect there’s a more interesting Buddhist interpretation of all this that’s beyond my grasp.
If you are a writer, are you an avid reader?
Yes. Especially when I was younger. I read for hours every night. Well past midnight. In other words, my social life was legendary.
What is your ultimate writing goal as you see it today?
I’m not sure I have an ultimate writing goal. I usually can’t see beyond my current project, which is a novel about a WWII veteran, Uriel Katz, who’s writing a memoire while the women transcribing it for him, to his growing annoyance, is altering his words and inserting herself into the narrative. If I did have to choose an ultimate writing goal, I guess it would be to write sentences that breathe like anxious people.
What inspired you to write your first book?
In my thirties, I realized I irrationally considered myself a writer without having written anything of significance. I became hyper-aware of my ambitions fading to oblivion. It was all very sobering and motivating.
How do you decide on the title of a book?
I begin with a working title. By the time I finish the first draft, the definitive title becomes self-evident to me. Of course, it has to be attention-grabbing in some way. And convey at least a bit of the mood of the writing. And linked, symbolically or actually, to a fundamental aspect of the book. I’m quite proud of the titles I’ve come up with.
Have you developed a specific writing style and why?
This is going to sound a bit mechanical and might bore people to tears. Here goes anyway. I first decide whether the idea I have in mind would best be written as a poem, short story or novel. Though sometimes I make the wrong decision and what began as a novel ends up as a poem. Or what began as a short story ends up as a novel. If I do decide to write a novel, I always begin by writing the last few paragraphs or last chapter. Then I begin at the beginning. This way I always know where I’m ultimately headed, regardless of what occurs organically or instinctively along the way. I also pay very close attention to the narrator’s voice. I want it to sound equal parts literary and colloquial. I want it just as comfortable in the gutter as it is in the penthouse. And I want it fearless and unforgiving when it comes to describing, in detail, what’s transpiring in its mind and body, whether before, during and after a sexual encounter or any other encounter for that matter.
How much of your books is realistic and experiences based on someone you know, or events in your life?
The first book I wrote, Auden Triller (Is A Killer), borrowed a lot from my life. And I poured a lot of what I liked and disliked about myself into the main character. After that, it was all imagination with a few real-life details, usually exaggerated or distorted to the point of non-resemblance, sprinkled in.
Who is your favorite writer, and what is it about their work that really strikes you?
Saul Bellow. Always and forever. Besides possessing an encyclopedic mind and diabolically provocative temperament, he managed to take everything that was sublime in the lyrical writing of William Faulkner and Virginia Woolf and make it more so. It’s a beautiful, fascinating, endlessly deepening mystery to me how he was able to write such thrilling sentences that in lesser hands would have turned into a mess and flown off the page like uncontrollable fierce currents but in his expert hands perfectly flowed along whatever brilliantly imagined ever-bending-but-never-breaking course he plotted out for the reader.
Do you remember the first book you read?
I “heard” my first book. My mother read The Black Stallion to me when I was very young. At the time I was sure nothing could be better than watching television. I was wrong.
When you see new authors struggling, what single piece of advice could you give them on a moment’s notice?
Keep writing. Even if you know it’s rubbish. Keep writing. Produce something, anything, every day. By doing so, you’ll eventually produce something you’re proud of. Something worth keeping. Expecting to write something cohesive, beautiful and meaningful as a new writer is like expecting to pick up a tennis racquet for the first time and immediately becoming a Wimbledon champion.
How do you want others to see you or remember you? Is it important to you?
Not that important. I’d like a few sentences I’ve written to linger in a few minds after I’m gone.
Editorial Review:
“Although they left the concentration camps, the concentration camps never left them.”
Uriel (“Uri”) is writing a memoir, and Eleanor is helping him. But Uri is not writing just any memoir, and Eleanor is not just any typist. This reviewer cannot mention spoilers, so will confine herself to the comment that “Uriel Through Eleanor” by Brian Prousky is a completely absorbing must-read novel. It’s a difficult read, too, it’s graphic and heartbreaking and there is death and injustice and blunt language. The descriptive scenes of the post-liberation concentration camps (and, of course, pre-liberation) are realistic, horrific and not for the faint of heart. There are on-the-page descriptions of murder, and of sexual assault and its aftermath.
“Eleanor interrupted me. “If I’m guilty of anything, it’s of making your memoir better.”
“I never wanted better. I wanted accurate.”
“The important events are accurate.”
She had a point. Though it was beside the point I was making. We were seated at the kitchen table. It’s where we always sat when I dictated to her. Since hiring her as my typist, she’d been living in my house. Our progress was slow. This morning, however, when I came downstairs and joined her at the table, her fingers were already rapidly at work on the keyboard. “What are you typing?”
“The beginning.”
“The beginning of what?”
“What do you think? The memoir.”
“We finished that during your first week here.”
“I’m writing a new beginning.””
Like many who served and suffered in the war, Uri has secrets. So does Eleanor. This narrative has several layers – their reminisces about World War Two and/or the camps, and the interactions between Uri and Eleanor. While it is the memoir that binds them together, the content of the memoir is elastic. Memory (and people) are never perfect. Of course there are secondary characters, but the focus of the book is very much Uri and Eleanor. Because of the memoir-type content and recollections, the narrative is written in first person. This results in a completely immersive experience. The plot of “Uriel Through Eleanor” is intricate with several different strands. This is not a casual read and will stay with the reader long after the first page. The text switches viewpoints at regular intervals, and while this is not jarring to the overall storyline, the reader will need to keep their wits about them.
“I know I’m going to regret saying this —”
“Then don’t say it.”
“I know I’m going to regret saying this because I’m eager for you to get to —”
“Then, please, don’t say it.”
“You must have had conversations with lots of survivors. Don’t you think you should include one of them?”
“You said it.”
“Answer my question.”
“I’m going to dedicate an entire section to my interactions… no, my relationship with a former prisoner.”
“I know that, but —”
“How do you know that?”
“How do you not know how I know that?”
“Stop it.”
“You’ve hinted at the relationship at least four times. Unlike you, I get hints.”
“So, then, I’ve answered your question? The first one, before you hurled us down another rabbit hole?”
The book contains a relatively large amount of dialogue, which does mean the pacing is quite swift. This is balanced with descriptive passages, particularly in relation to the camps and the immediate post-war period. Ruthless choices are made, but only in the context of ruthless events and times. The author’s ability to describe the thought processes of people who have lost everything, both material and spiritual, is utterly compelling, and the reference to not being able to kill someone who is already dead [because they have lost so much] resonates deeply. The ending of “Uriel Through Eleanor” is shocking and a twist, at least for this reviewer. But it is very much in keeping with the overall theme of this novel, and the disclosure of secrets.
“My father always grew out of Uri’s words first. And then my mother and sister grew out of my father’s words. Here’s an example of how it worked: that evening, my second in the hospital tent, when Uri returned and told me about his afternoon—his afternoon of fire-setting—it wasn’t long before I willed myself into semi-consciousness and heard another voice and then two other voices and then felt their presence to the point of seeing them materialize. I was lying next to my sister in her bed and my father and mother were lying on either side of us and we were singing nursery rhymes and as I drifted off, in both the past and present, I felt my father lift me in his arms and carry me to my bed and pull the blankets over me and I was certain I would feel safe and loved for the remainder of my days on earth.”
“Uriel Through Eleanor” by Brian Prousky is a stark, incredibly well-written story set around one of history’s darkest times. It is not for the faint of heart, and contains several graphic scenes and themes. The layering of the storyline, between the horrors of the concentration camps and the characters’ personal dynamic, is a particular standout. The plot is not straightforward, with surprising twists and a thought-provoking ending. A graphic but haunting read!
*****
"Uriel Through Eleanor” by Brian Prousky receives 5 stars and the “Highly Recommended” award of excellence from The Historical Fiction Company
Award:
To have your historical novel editorially reviewed and/or enter the HFC Book of the Year contest, please visit www.thehistoricalfictioncompany.com/book-awards/award-submission
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