Some books are very hard to read, as they convene so many emotional histories. The imagination is challenged to imagine the unimaginable. Unless this unimaginable already happened, in the heart of our civilized Europe.
Le Bureau d'Eclaircissement des Destins by Gaëlle Nohant is a story about a French archivist, living in Germany, is trying to recover the destinies of people who died during Shoah, by returning to their relatives objects that assumely belonged to them. She is working at the Arolsen Archives where many documents related to disappeared persons are stored.
The story follows various micro-stories personal stories, of people whose lives are fictionally reconstructed. The archives are becoming alive through the researches, in an imaginative effort aimed to bring them back to life. There is so much tragedy and humanity in the stories that the weight is unbearable. What if...those little child killed because too weak to resist would have live his beautiful child life?
Set in the contemporary recent times, the stories are inserted into the reality, as a reminder that there are so many destinies that were broken and distorted by the events of WWII.
It is a thoughtful read, that reminds the weight of emotions that trauma brings to an individual destiny. No life story can avoid trauma, and their traces are transmitted from a generation to another.
It is a work of fiction, of course, but powerful enough to convene a strong message. It is a work of fiction, of course, but it has so many elements of reality, as so many destinies were broken exactly this way. And they remain broken for the time being.
This book is an extraordinary effort of fiction, an important French contribution to the literary bibliography inspired by the events that took place during Shoah.
Rating: 5 stars
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