Managing Bubbie: A Review

I expected a book ridden with shock and sorrow, but which which elicits practiced gasps and tears. While stories of WWII and the Holocaust will never be overplayed or overrated, it does not change the fact that there are far too many, which is a tragedy. That being said, I firmly believe that each story is individual and important and all should be documented and carried in the memories of future generations. I began reading Managing Bubbie eager to sympathize with yet another poor family that was forced to bare an undeserved fate of discrimination and brutality and war.

While this book does remind us of the tragedies of the Holocaust, it also does something very different. It juxtaposes the modern life of a Holocaust survivor in America with her time spent evading the Nazi's in Germany. The reader witnesses how these strong souls have aged in a new country ridden with opportunities. The reader also realizes that while survivors may have endured Hell to live to a ripe old age, the current world we live in may not be so far advanced from the world that they escaped. The author comments on how it seems his grandmother still longs for the older days, when times were simple and at least people knew why they were killing other people.

The author achieves this remarkable comparison by interrupting his Grandmother's story of survival with snapshots of her current life as a retired woman in Florida. These snapshots reveal Bubbie as a "stereotypical Jewish grandmother" who is stubborn, constantly playing match-maker, and full of stories. It is during these tidbits of modern life that the author reflects on the type of woman his grandmother is, and this is what makes the reader appreciate the woman. We can all admire a woman who trekked through Europe to save her three children, but it is the woman who would rather hang pictures of her grandchildren in her living room instead of an authentic Picasso that we fall in love with.

The mixture of her fantastic true-life tale and relate-able family stories ties together a complete picture of how victims of the Holocaust assimilate with new countries and new generations. The author uses this to make the point that the greater courage is not seen in surviving the war, but continuing to fight even when the war is over. To move to a new country and secure a job and raise a family without ever looking back. To build a new life, starting from zero. To create a foundation for your children and grandchildren to succeed.

Some of the diction was "corny", for lack of a better word, and some conversations felt made-up and forced, but the author did an excellent job of relaying his grandmother's story in a way that felt light and optimistic and hopeful. He told a serious story covered with a thin film of humor, and I believe it did his Bubbie justice.

Following the novel is a series of pictures of the author's family which I found incredibly interesting and appropriate, especially considering one of the more striking thoughts by the author: "They say, 'a picture is worth a thousand words.' Maybe when you've lived such a horrible and wonderful life it's worth a lot more- like the marvel of knowing that one glimpse can make you cry when you need to remember or make you smile while you need to forget.". Much like pictures, this book causes the reader to both cry while remembering the past and smile during the moments in which the past is forgotten.

Managing Bubbie is written by Russel Lazega.