During his virtual book tour, Avrom will be awarding a $10 Amazon
or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card to a lucky randomly drawn
winner. To be entered for a chance to win, use
the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit his
other tour stops and enter there, too!
Avrom Bendavid-Val was
working as an environmental consultant in Poland in 1997 when he decided to
cross the Ukrainian border and visit the place his father came from, the town
of Trochenbrod. Finding nothing there, he was determined to uncover the history
and spirit of the vanished town. Avrom continues to this day to research, write
and make films about the town, and serve as the anchor for the American
community of Trochenbrod descendants. Avrom Bendavid-Val lives in Washington,
D.C.
A little
bit about the book:
Trochenbrod
was a bustling commercial center of more than 5,000 people, all Jews, that was
hidden deep in the forest in northwest Ukraine. It thrived as a tiny Jewish
kingdom unnoticed and unknown to most people, even though it was “the big city”
for surrounding Ukrainian and Polish villages. The people of Trochenbrod
vanished in the Holocaust, and soon nothing remained of this vibrant 130
year-old town but a mysterious double row of trees and bushes in a clearing in
the forest.
Excerpt from The Lost Town: Bringing Back
Trochenbrod:
A
wedding was a joyous event in Trochenbrod; everyone participated. Two fathers
would meet in the field. “If I’m not mistaken,” one says, “you have a girl
sixteen years old and my boy’s seventeen. I think they would be alright.” After
deciding on a dowry, which could be money or food and board at the bride’s
parents’ house for a certain amount of time, the fathers shook hands and this
way decided their children’s fate. At the wedding, everyone danced, men with
men and women with women. Meanwhile, the nervous bride and groom sat at the
ends of the long table and looked at each other wondering what would be.
Despite what each one thought, the match was accepted.
5 comments:
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