Maggie Kast, "Side by Side but Never Face to Face" (Orison Books, 2020)

New Books in Literature · Jul 1, 2020 · 29m

During the first few stories, we think the book centers on Manfred, an Austrian Holocaust survivor whose parents converted out of Judaism to save him from centuries of oppression. He and his third wife, Greta, are forced to mourn the accidental death of their youngest child, a trauma that affects them deeply but differently. Only after several stories focused on Manfred’s upbringing and young adulthood do we realize that the protagonist is his wife and then widow, Greta. Starting in Mexico, the stories shift back and forth in time and place, from Europe to Chicago to Door County, Wisconsin…