Circumference Of Silence by Jacquie Herz

Release: July 8th 2021
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Source: Suzyapproved Book Tours
Find it at: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, B&N

It’s been a week since the funeral, and Mali is at her mother’s Manhattan apartment, ready to pack it up. At least that’s what she thinks, until she discovers a manila envelope, propped up against the back of her mother’s desk. And it is full of a mass of unsent letters. Her mother’s handwriting on the lined note paper is very familiar. And the slight German accent Mali hears ticking through her words, so haunting.

Mali reads the memories of her mother’s Jewish childhood in 1930s Berlin, then her life in war-torn London. But then she comes to her mother’s account of her too-early marriage. This includes the divorce that forced her to leave her young daughter in London and go to New York. Now Mali is thrust back into her own unhappy childhood. And where that relentless ache for her absent mother, lodged like a stony pit inside her, must now be reconciled.

About the Author:

Jacquie Herz doesn’t remember a time in her life-even as a young child growing up in London-when writing was not part of it. She has been published in the Metropolitan Diary and Connecticut Section of the New York Times. And is a member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association and the Women’s National Book Association.

Splitting her time with her husband between Connecticut and Florida, she is currently working on her second novel.

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Circumference Of Silence Review:

“Circumference of Silence” is a haunting emotional journey that showcases the beautiful bond between a mother and her daughter, and the story moved me.

The author has a beautiful way of telling the story. Right from the beginning, you feel like you are connected with Mali and her mother as Mali starts reading the letters. Reading this story made me reminisce about my parent’s lives as well. We sometimes don’t realize how much our parents have struggled and have so much more life experience than us as we grow up. The author beautifully captures Mali’s emotions by reading her mother’s various experiences as a Jewish girl during WWII. There are also moments where you want to hug the character, especially when she says that she is so lonely and that her writing has become her only solace.

Similarly, the author toggled between the present and the past, where you see how Mali forms a connection with Eva through just the letters. The author also inserts beautiful passages into the conversations, like how she mentioned the past has a way of altering itself to suit us, which made me ponder some of my own experiences. The author also adds exciting moments like when Mali thinks of Julia’s involvement with the Russian Jewry to march for their freedom and participating in protests. Similarly, I also liked how David’s role had a ripple effect on Eva’s life and how he impacted her decisions. On a side note, I also adore the recommendations the author made to other books like Vikram Seth’s Two Lives.

Overall, “Circumference of Silence” is a beautiful novel that makes you appreciate your family values and heritage, and I loved reading it.