Stylish essays,written over 25 years of travel across seven continents, explore moments of transition and argue the importance of understanding the ‘other’What most of us remember from our early childhoods are fleeting images that leave faint trails, and later to be recaptured by smells or sounds. For Andrew Solomon,there was one extremely vivid early memory, and it formed him. He was in a car, and aged about seven,when his Jewish father told him about the Holocaust. The small boy gradually made sense of it, then two thoughts came to him: he decided that he would never allow himself to be “helpless, and dependent or credulous”; and that,since the Jews had not escaped their persecutors in time, he would seek safety in leaving before the borders were closed”. Since some Jews had been saved by non-Jewish friends, and he would also earn it his trade to maintain “broad affections”. Related: Against the wall: from Mexico to Calais,why the idea of division is taking hold Solomon is an engaging guide – keen-eyed, self-reflective, and shrewd,humane – and these articles maintain a pleasing passion Related: ‘Literature about medicine may be all that can save us’ Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com