Book Information
- Publisher
- Farrar Straus & Giroux
- Published
- 2018-03-13
- Pages
- 276 pages
- Language
- 英語
- Size
- 15.72 x 2.51 x 21.44 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9780374206376
- ISBN-10
- 0374206376
- Price
- 5653 JPY
- Category
- 洋書/Mystery & Thrillers/Thrillers/Psychological & Suspense
Winner of the 2019 Association of Jewish Libraries Jewish Fiction Award, short-listed for the 2019 JQ Wingate Literary Prize, and a Finalist for the 2019 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature One of Entertainment Weekly ’s 20 Books to Read in March and one of TimeOut ’ s 11 Books You ’ ll Want to Binge-Read This Month A son learns more about his father than he ever could have imagined when a mysterious piece of art is unexpectedly restored to him After receiving an unexpected call from the Australian consulate, Matt Santos becomes aware of a painting that he believes was looted from his family in Hungary during the Second World War. To recover the painting, he must repair his strained relationship with his harshly judgmental father, uncover his family history, and restore his connection to his own Judaism. Along the way to illuminating the mysteries of his past, Matt is torn between his doting girlfriend, Tracy, and his alluring attorney, Rachel, with whom he travels to Budapest to unearth the truth about the painting and, in turn, his family. As his journey progresses, Matt’s revelations are accompanied by equally consuming and imaginative meditations on the painting and the painter at the center of his personal drama, Budapest Street Scene by Ervin Kálmán. By the time Memento Park reaches its conclusion, Matt’s narrative is as much about family history and father-son dynamics as it is about the nature of art itself, and the infinite ways we come to understand ourselves through it. Of all the questions asked by Mark Sarvas’s Memento Park —about family and identity, about art and history—a central, unanswerable predicament lingers: How do we move forward when the past looms unreasonably large?
Mark Sarvas is the author of the novel Harry, Revised , which was published in more than a dozen countries around the world. His book reviews and criticism have appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The Threepenny Review, Bookforum , and many others. He is a member of the National Book Critics Circle, PEN/America, and PEN Center USA, and teaches novel writing at the UCLA Extension Writers Program. A reformed blogger, he lives in Santa Monica, California.
Reviews
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A terrific page turner mystery, actually many mysteries woven into one. Sarvas shows he is a master storyteller, the entire story a flashback that builds the supporting storylines into a thrilling and surprising climax. I found Sarvas’ exploration of the main character’s relationship with his father a compelling and thick mystery of its own, aside from and combined with the mystery surrounding the painting. It led me to see my parents in a new light. Now that I’ve discovered his writing I’m eager to read his earlier work, and I can’t wait to see what Sarvas has in store for us next.
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In the first chapter, when Matt Santos stands and stares at the Kalmans painting which has been returned to him after a search for the holocaust family from whom it was stolen during the war, this is in fact the end of the story and not the beginning. In this wonderfully written account of one of the many Hungarian Jewish families to relocate to the United States after the end of the war, we learn that a painting by a renown artist has been recently discovered and a court is deciding to whom it belongs. Matt Santos' grandfather may have used the painting as a bribe to receive exit papers to escape Hungary just before the Nazi occupation. The grandfather and his son, Matt's father, fled to England and then later made for the United States. When Matt's father, turns down the offer of the painting worth millions, it is offered to Matt. This begins his discovery of Hungary, what happened to his Hungarian family, how the painting came to be in their household and most importantly, his lost and unpractised Jewish religion. The artistry of author Mark Sarvas's prose and his compelling story make me recommend this book for anyone who enjoys reading. I loved the ending of this story and suggest that you read Part One again after you finish the last page in the book. You may see something you didn't the first time around.
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Could not get into at first, but really liked the story afterward. Like true stories.
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An interesting story told from an unusual perspective focusing on roles, realities, and regret. What is true and what is fake keep making dizzying sweeps in this tale of a father and his son.
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This book found me exactly the right time — as books often do — just when my dad’s memory was starting to fade, which was starting to trigger all my anger and misunderstandings toward him. As I read, though, I felt myself feeling less anger and more love toward my dad for things he DID teach me and for all the things he continues to teach me in our old age. On top of that, I was also thinking a lot about God and all the cultural interpretations of who “He” is. My family is extremely Christian and believes God belongs to them; and yet as I read this book, I thought about all the places I traveled, including a Jewish temple in Prague, where God made His presence known. God does not belong to one culture, as far as I can tell…my prayer is that those who are currently fighting wars over this ownership will someday zoom out and consider things from God’s perspective.