The Lightness of Air

Author: Angela Miller-Rothbart
Publisher: Texture 
Reviewer: Beryl Eichenbergers
​To decide to start writing a novel at 70 is quite something . but for Angela Miller-Rothbart her love of writing led her to recount a story that she had been told by a friend. From novella to full length book “The Lightness of Air’ evolved as she consulted publishers and colleagues, who  encouraged her to  write more.
The result is a novel that will grasp you tightly by the hand and not let you go until the last 

page as you take this journey with a Bergen-Belsen survivor. The beautiful writing will sweep you along in the waves of loss, survival and happiness – a memorable reminder that happiness is of one’s own making.
There are many Holocaust novels, some better than others, but each one is a reminder of the resilience of the human spirit and the will to live. Each has their place in keeping memory alive and passing on a legacy to future generations as the last of the survivors pass on. Lest we forget…
It is a writer’s skill to hook us on the first page and so it was when I picked up this up book. As the book opens we meet Bergen- Belsen survivor Helena Jablonski in 1990. It is afternoon and Helena  is at her desk, contemplating what has arrived that day.  
‘It has been there all day. The long white envelope is weathered with age, the familiar script on the front faded but still legible. That, and the foreign stamp, indicate to her what it is certain to contain.”
And so we are enticed into this story of love and courage.
 ‘She is aware that the contents could alter her life, and she knows how swiftly the world can tumble and change.’ As she muses: ‘This is my connection with past and present, but will it deepen old wounds?’
There is such empathy and tenderness in this story that will resonate with families across the world.  Many survivors were unable to speak of their experiences and so it is with gratitude that we are able to journey with this courageous young woman. Navigating a life post camp, post war and across continents to find some peace from her horrific losses, the winding path through the decades is rich and engaging, textured and heartrending . How survivors of the worst horrors that humans had to endure, face a future so bereft is hard to understand, But Miller - Rothbart articulates the basic tenets of loss, love and happiness with a rhythmic prose that is mesmerising.
As the world shifts in 1939, Helena, from a privileged Polish Jewish family, is incarcerated in Bergen – Belsen. As liberation dawns she is reunited with her closest friend Sofia. The two young girls struggle to the American Zone in their attempt to get to Palestine. Both their futures are shaped by the kindness of those trying to help the displaced, hollow survivors. Helena is billeted with the warm and homely Rachel who becomes her lifelong friend. Max Harris, the young American volunteer plays a pivotal role in her life and we meet new characters who shape Helena’s future. We travel from Poland to Paris, New York and the Middle East and the winelands of Paarl, South Africa where each stop brings arichness to Helena’s shattered life. It is a testament to resilience, to grasping opportunity, to opening one’s arms to friends who become family.  
Miller-Rothbart is adept at creating the back stories of the main characters, shifting effortlessly from present to past to create families, heirlooms and an ineffable atmosphere that brings you into their homes. Above all the novel is a story of hope and forgiveness while never sidestepping the horrors of the war and the painful blocks on which a survivor rebuilds their shattered life.
Listen to this review on FMR 101.3 Book Choice on June 6 2022
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