House on Endless Waters by Emuna Elon is a lyrical and exquisitely moving novel about a writer who embarks on a transformative journey in Amsterdam, where he discovers the shocking truth about his mother’s wartime experience.
Read on to see what our Preview readers thought:
I loved this novel. Once I started I could not put it down. I found myself being invested in the storyline and feeling all kinds of emotions through the chapters. It is a must read. – Aleisha, QLD, 5 stars
House on Endless Waters by Emuna Elon is a beautifully written piece of literature. It centres largely on an introspection by main protagonist Yoel Blum as he attempts to uncover his past. Skilfully composed with seamless transitions between differing time periods coupled with stunning imagery make this a harrowing yet mesmerising read. Thank you Better Reading Preview for the advanced copy. – Sarah, VIC, 5 stars
Yoel’s discovery on a trip to Amsterdam, the place of his birth, of old picture of his parents, his sister Nettie and a baby boy too young to be himself, sets off a crisis; of who am I? Suddenly he feels he doesn’t know his mother. The woman he was so close to had secrets from him that went to the grave with her. With this new revelation he starts to question their close relationship. Piecing together scraps of information from older sister, Nettie, Yoel returns to Amsterdam to write his greatest book ever and in the process discover his past. Through her haunting prose Elon delivers a story of a displaced Yoel Blum, a man who is sensitive and deep feeling however finds he is unable to give of himself to others. Elon describes the beauty of present day Amsterdam whilst not denying the underlying horror of the past that still lingers. Through Yoel’s story we learn how slowly every freedom was taken from the Jewish citizens, first their rights, their passage and then their possessions. I enjoyed the unique way Elon tied the two timelines together. They are not expressed in separate chapters however blend into each other blurring past and present, fact and fiction. House on Endless Waters is a fascinating tale of one man’s journey to unlock his past and discover his true self. Elon, in her unique writing style, brings to the fore stories that must never be forgotten. – Veronica, NSW, 5 stars
This book was unlike anything I had ever read. Readers that love historical fiction novels will really enjoy the fast pace and colourful history detailed throughout the story. Yoel Blum, who is an author, is such an interesting character and I really enjoying seeing his story unfold as he travels through Amsterdam. House on Endless Waters was an emotional story full of mystery and I recommend it to anyone looking to learn more about cultures and history other than our own. – Tamara, QLD, 4 stars
A unique book within a book, I quite enjoyed this story- even though I don’t necessarily love Holocaust stories. – Erin, QLD, 3 stars
“House on Endless Waters” is a literary historical novel in which the main character, Jewish author Yoel Blum, tries uncovering his own history in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam. As Yoel discovers more and more about his past, his story and the novel he’s writing become entwined. The reader is privy to Yoel’s scribblings in the notebooks he keeps while researching his story. Very often the two storylines overlap and change midway a sentence, meaning they start in the present and end in the past or the other way around. Throughout the whole process, Yoel undergoes an emotional process which transforms him and takes over his life. Emuna Elon very cleverly shows Yoel’s confusion, emotional turmoil and grieving process by using repetition, shifting storylines back-and-forth all the time and changing perspective abruptly. – Gwen, VIC, 2 stars
House on Endless Waters is in many ways a mystery as Yoel the main character sets out to make sense of his childhood and attempt to piece his history together after unexpectedly finding out his past may not be as he has always thought. I have always been interested in stories based around the Holocaust and Elon has presented a different perspective from the Dutch Jewish families point of view. By writing a novel within a novel we get to experience the meshing of two different eras and how one is affected by the other years later. Elon has superimposed the different eras over the top of each other through her use of highly descriptive text so at numerous times throughout the novel, it felt as if Yoel was wandering the streets of the past as a passing bystander watching his childhood unfold. – Mel, NSW, 4 stars
House on Endless Waters by Emuna Elon follows the story of Yoel Blum as he seeks the truth about his mother’s wartime experience in Amsterdam. I found this book to have a slow start. Right from the beginning I was struggling to get into it. I struggled to follow and understand Yoel. I usually love historical fiction however this just did not reach the mark for me. I was wanting to put it down more than once and had to persevere to finish it from cover to cover. The chapters are quite short which usually makes a book easy to read however in this instance it is just not the case. It is hard to follow as it cuts between the present and past too often. Whilst I have little knowledge on what happened in the Netherlands during WWII, I found House on Endless Waters gave me some insight into that however, unfortunately it fell short for me. 2 stars. – Hannah, ACT, 2 stars
Beautifully written, but slow at the beginning and difficult to get into. Very interesting subject matter however I found it difficult to connect with the main character for a good portion of the book. – Abi, NSW, 2 stars
House on Endless Waters is a historical fiction family mystery novel. It’s a story of Yoel Blum a famous Israeli novelist and is a story within a story. While on a book tour in Amsterdam although promising his mother (now deceased) he would never return to his birthplace, Yoel and his wife come across a looping reel of photos in a Jewish museum in which he sees his then young mother posing with her husband, his sister and an infant in pre-war times. His sister Netty has few memories of the story of their past but Yoel is compelled to return to Amsterdam to write a novel as he becomes consumed by his past and the search for the truth that has been hidden from him all these years. The story alternates frequently between the past and Yoel’s present and the chapters are short. This is a uniquely told holocaust story unlike others I have read. The story gives an eye opening and moving view of Jewish mothers trying to keep their children safe at all costs during WWII and sadly after the war many children growing up not knowing who they really were. A beautiful cover and well translated from Hebrew to English. – Gloria, SA, 3 stars
Simply beautiful! One of those books that will stay with you long after the final page is finished. A stunning tapestry of love, loss and family, set beneath the backdrop of WW2 Amsterdam. With a time period and setting that many authors choose to adopt, this wonderful novel stands apart from the rest. You can’t help but fall in love with the characters, and just as Yoel is walking in the footsteps of Sonia, so too do you as the reader. An enchanting piece of art! 5 stars!! – Angie, NSW, 5 stars
The premise of this book really intrigued me. I found it a little hard to read and the story jumped around a lot making it slightly hard to follow at times. I slowly but surely got through it and overall enjoyed it. – Brielle, NSW, 3 stars
This was a beautifully written and at times heartbreaking book that takes the reader through the choices parents make for their children and the impact these decisions have throughout their lives. I throughly enjoyed this book and will read it again to soak in the language and also find again all the small details that didn’t hold as much meaning the first time I read it, knowing what I do now having finished the book. – Belinda, NSW, 4 stars
Reading this book transported me to Amsterdam – the bikes, the canals and the uncurtained windows of the houses and apartments. When well known Israeli author Yoel Blum visits Amsterdam he becomes immersed in solving a family mystery. He knew he’d been born there before his family emigrated to Israel but why had his mother demanded that he never go back. Emuna Elon paints a vivid picture of Amsterdam, both today and during WW2. The periods merge as Yoel discovers his family secret and we learn about the drastic steps some people took to try to protect their children. As a reader quite unfamiliar with Jewish traditions and customs, I learnt a lot. An evocative and satisfying read. – Penny, VIC, 5 stars
Belonging, identity and family are the main themes of this very honest, heart-warming and transforming journey that author Emuna Elon takes us on. The book is centred on a famous writer Yoel Blum, who reluctantly returns to his birth country Amsterdam for a book tour, (after he promises his Mother that he will never go there). It is here that he uncovers the truth about his family, his identity and his mother’s shocking wartime experiences as a Jew. This really is a book with a book, we are learning Yoel’s story as he is uncovering his past and writing his future. A beautifully written story that has the reader wanting to find out what happens in the end. – Amy, NSW, 4 stars
This was a thinking book. You couldn’t skim read. You need to focus on what is being said. Once you get into it, it is a good story. I can’t say great because of the subject matter. It is raw and uncomfortable to read. But worth it. – Kay, QLD, 4 stars
Yoel Blum is a successful author, raised in Israel by his mother Sonia. About his birth city of Amsterdam she is tight lipped, asserting emphatically that those waters have already flowed. She discourages him from visiting, so it is with disquiet that he travels to the Netherlands for a PR jaunt. While at the Jewish Historical Museum he and his wife recognise his mother and sister Nettie on a pre-war film reel screening. Sonia is holding a baby boy, with no resemblance to Yoel. This encounter with the past leads to his quest to find the fragments of his broken heart. He returns to Amsterdam alone, determined to research the novel he feels he was born to write. By longhand in notebooks Yoel provides meticulous descriptions as ‘he wanders the streets, wanders the museums, wanders through his soul’. Along with Yoel we learn and embrace who he really is. It is the novel of his life. ‘House on Endless Waters’ is written as a story within a story, with characters in Nazi occupied Holland and the present day travelling beside the same canals, in the same cafes, same stormy weather, same endless waters but separated by time and circumstance. Water is the linking theme, memories seep in like water through holes in dykes, the Jan Toorop painting of the sea a fateful reiteration. Importantly, ‘go underwater’ was the phrase to refer to the hiding of Jewish children within Christian families. Emuna Elon’s book is touching and heart-wrenching, not a conventional Holocaust torment, more the emotional burden of survivors. – Anita, QLD, 4 stars
While I enjoyed the mystery that is the basis of ‘House on Endless Waters’, I found the way Elon alternated the different story lines – not only in the same chapter but sometimes even within the same paragraph – jarring, so that it became a book hampered by needless, excessive complexity. Elon may have wanted to use this technique to illustrate Yoel Blum’s fears and confusion, but instead it resulted in an authorial self-conscious cleverness that distracts the reader. In spite of this, Elon writes beautifully, and in this book effectively explores the meaning of identity, family, survival and remembrance. – Dominique, SA, 3 stars
I always love a good story that brings other perspectives to a story of true events from the past. Although this is a work of fiction you can imagine what the Jewish people went through in these tough times when they never knew from day to day what was going to happen to them and their families. And for those who lived, wat did happen to their loved ones. Yoel Blum, writer and once a young Jewish boy living in Amsterdam starts investigating his past and what really did happen all those years ago. What he learns is somewhat heartbreaking but he also learns more about himself as a person and why both he and his mum Sonia (who has passed away) are the way they are, stand-offish and keeping people and places at arms length. I enjoyed the story but didn’t really enjoy the way it was written (style). At first it was confusing knowing what was real and what was his work for the new novel he was writing but in the end it did come together. A good book and one I would recommend. – Donna, TAS, 4 stars
A chance sighting of a family photo in a Dutch museum for the persecuted, and snippets of a family wartime secret spark an identity crisis for acclaimed Israeli author, Yoel Blum. He feels compelled to return to Amsterdam to write what he is certain will be his finest work yet. This is a story within a story. With her luminous prose, Elon conveys the plight of these Amsterdam Jews in their occupied city wonderfully well, perhaps enough to forgive the absence of quote marks for speech. A moving, illuminating and thought-provoking read. – Marianne, NSW, 5 stars
I tried, I really really tried but I could not connect with this novel. I found it very disjointed and hard to read. In particular I could not get over speech written without speech marks. I am an avid reader of Jewish history, I have a yearning to learn about Jewish life in Europe and the resilience of the families but this book sadly failed. – Dianne, SA, 1 star
This is a moving and powerful book. I loved the gentle, observant prose and found the details of everything from people to places interesting. I had no knowledge of the practice in the Netherlands of giving up Jewish children to Christian families in the hope of them escaping the horrors of the German Occupation. Although the story is confronting, it is told in such a way to reflect on the impact on the survivors. What is also interesting is the many varied reactions of people to the threats posed by the war. As I moved through the book, I understood why Yoel Blum was introverted and more of an observer than a participant. This is indeed what made him such a great author. It is also the wartime experiences of his mother that were influential on future events. I enjoyed the character of Yoel’s wife, Bat-Ami. She is so pragmatic and a wonderful contrast to the sensitive Yoel. I highly recommend the ‘House on Endless Waters’. – Sandra, ACT, 5 stars
“House on Endless Waters” by Emma Elon. Wow what a powerful book. Loved every page of this wonderful story. Found it hard to put this book down just wanted to keep reading and not put it down. The depth of each character was developed throughout the story with extraordinary depth. I found it fascinating to learn about the War and what part Amsterdam played in protecting and helping the Jewish children. I highly recommend this book, loved every part of it. Wow great story! Thank you. – Christine, QLD, 5 stars
I found this book a bit hard going. The story was enjoyable however haltingly written and very easy to put down, and i yearned for the end – Rachel, QLD, 2 stars
“House on Endless Waters” is an incredibly moving novel, bitter and brutal, hopeful and optimistic. Any reader with a shred of empathy will appreciate this novel. This doesn’t set out to tug at your heartstrings, but it takes such a clear eyed look at the cost of survival and the choices people can be forced into, that I can’t see how anyone could read this and remain unmoved. Elon’s worldbuilding is primarily about engaging us in less known parts of history around World War II: how people in Holland, and particularly Amsterdam, reacted to occupation; how Jewish people sought to protect their children; and the choices people faced. The subject matter is challenging, but the writing is clear and evocative. It’s hard to say that this is an enjoyable novel when it’s soaked in emotional devastation. In terms of the writing style, though, it is a positive experience. Although hardly light entertainment, I really appreciated this novel. It’s well written, emotionally moving, and made me think about some things I hadn’t given much attention before. It has also made me understand a little better the complexity of the deep trauma that many Jewish people still carry. I highly recommend it. – Lorraine, ACT, 5 stars
A journey of self discovery. Yoel Blum stumbles across the greatest mystery; his life. Trying to piece together his formative years, Yoel launches himself into a search to find out who he is amidst the ghosts of yesteryear. A beautifully written story of love, loss and sometimes confronting experiences; this book takes you on a journey from start to finish. This is Emuna Elon’s fourth novel and I absolutely loved it. – Wendy, VIC, 5 stars
So sad, had me on every word, I kept hoping that things would end differently. Well written – Lynette, NSW, 4 stars
I felt like I was walking with Yoel and Sonia as they experienced the best and worst of humanity in beautiful Amsterdam. House On Endless Waters struck a chord with me like no other wartime story has before. Whilst reading I found myself pausing and reflecting on the horrors that war inflicts on ordinary people. A quote in the story, when Yoel was outside Anne Frank House, particularly resonated with me – “A day will come and we will again be people, and not just Jews”. – Kelly, QLD, 5 stars
I love a story which already created a question from the first chapter. Yoel’s mother told him to never go back to Amsterdam, but as one of his books is translated to Dutch, he ends up going to Amsterdam for his book tour. And the story starts when Yoel and his wife, Bat-Ami visited the Jewish museum in Amsterdam, saw a photo of Yoel’s mum carrying a little boy, but that little boy was not Yoel. This is intriguing for Yoel to start digging what happened in the past. A truly beautiful heart breaking story of how far you’ll protect and save your child. – Vivi, NSW, 4 stars
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