Alexis Landau

From the author of the WWII novel Those Who Are Saved (“sweeping and lyrical”–People), comes an electrifying page-turner about how female rage, grief, and creativity collide when a woman reconnects with her essential self during a family summer journey. Kept busy by her life as a wife and mother, art history professor Ava Zaretsky has little time to devote to her research and writing. But while enduring the burden of solo parenting on her hus­band’s summer film shoot in Bulgaria, she has a chance encounter with her fierce feminist mentor from college, which changes everything. Ava is swept up into a circle of women who reenact Greco-Roman female rites of initiation, bringing her research to life and illuminating where it intersects with her own story. By exploring the eternal stages of woman-hood across time, The Mother of All Things delivers a revelatory tale of a woman coming to terms with her evolving sense of responsibility to herself and her family, as she achieves a new appreciation of the gifts of female wisdom and self-belief.

A Novel

The Mother of All Things

"The sweeping story of the Perlmutter family opens with the moment when Lev, the assimilated, cultured German Jewish father at the center of this saga, enlists to fight in World War I, leaving behind his beautiful gentile wife Josephine and their children Franz and Vicki. Moving between Lev's and Josephine's viewpoints, Part I focuses on Lev's life-changing experiences on the Eastern Front, where he becomes involved with a local Jewish woman in the poor village where he is stationed ... Part II, which takes place in 1927-1928, picks up in Berlin when the Perlmutter children are young adults grappling with their own set of questions"--

The empire of the senses

In the spirit of We Were the Lucky Ones and We Must Be Brave, a heartbreaking World War II novel of one mother's impossible choice, and her search for her daughter against the odds. Vera's wealth cannot protect her or her four-year-old-daughter, Lucie, once the Nazis occupy France. Ordered to report to an internment camp, Russian Jewish Vera must make an impossible choice: bring Lucie with her, or put her into hiding? Believing the war will end soon, Vera chooses to leave Lucie in safety. She cannot know that she and her husband will have an opportunity to escape, to flee to America. She cannot know that Lucie will be too far to reach in time. And so begins a heartbreaking separation and journey, a war and a continent apart. Vera's marriage will falter under the surreal sun of California. But her determination to return to France and find Lucie will only grow. Then she meets Sasha, a man on his own search for meaning. Together, they will travel to France in search of Lucie, discovering her fate.

Those Who Are Saved

'Such subtle and skilful writing, so evocative of the Second World War ...Absolutely haunting' Frances Liardet, New York Times bestselling author of We Must Be Brave On the cusp of World War II, a young mother is faced with an impossible choice. Vera is a Russian Jewish émigré to France, newly wed - but her marriage cannot protect her or her four-year-old-daughter, Lucie, once the Nazis occupy the country. After receiving notice that all foreigners must report to an internment camp, Vera must decide: does she subject Lucie to the horrid conditions of the camp, or put Lucie into hiding with her beloved and trusted governess, safe until Vera can retrieve her? Surely the war will end soon... And so begins a heartbreaking journey and separation . . . and an unpredictable fate for a mother and her daughter. A sweeping, heart-rending story about a mother's love for her child that will take you through a world war and across a continent. ---------------------- Praise for Those Who Are Saved: 'A profound and engaging story... I loved it' Paulette Jiles, author of National Book Award finalist News of the World 'With poetic, mesmerizing prose, Alexis Landau creates a heartrending story of the unbreakable bond of maternal love...This gripping and compassionate novel continues to haunt me' Lauren Belfer, New York Times bestselling author of And After the Fire, recipient of the National Jewish Book Award 'Those Who Are Saved is an achingly beautiful epic about love's endurance... Alexis Landau is an amazing storyteller and her novel will whisper to you long after you finish' Devin Murphy, author of The Boat Runner 'Those Who Are Saved is a gorgeously written, emotional novel about the unshakable bonds of mothers and daughters, even in the darkest times... An unforgettable story of heartbreak, but ultimately of hope, resilience, and love - I could not put this book down!' Jillian Cantor, USA Today bestselling author of In Another Time and Half Life 'A stunning tale of indestructible love, of sacrifice and faith, and of one woman's fierce determination... this gem of a novel has everything that I love in historical fiction, and it is one of the best I've read this year.' Roxanne Veletzos, bestselling author of The Girl They Left Behind *** Praise for Alexis Landau's first novel, Empire of the Senses: 'A fresh and moving perspective on a piece of history we thought we already knew.' Christina Baker Kline, author of Orphan Train 'Stunning... Elegantly crafted and psychologically astute.' San Francisco Chronicle 'A sweeping family epic. . . Internal dramas mirror the turbulent cultural landscape of 1920s Germany.' Los Angeles Magazine

A gripping and heartbreaking World War II story

In the spirit of We Were the Lucky Ones and We Must Be Brave, a heartbreaking World War II novel of one mother's impossible choice, and her search for her daughter against the odds. As a Russian Jewish émigré to France, Vera's wealth cannot protect her or her four-year-old-daughter, Lucie, once the Nazis occupy the country. After receiving notice that all foreigners must report to an internment camp, Vera has just a few hours to make an impossible choice: Does she subject Lucie to the horrid conditions of the camp, or does she put her into hiding with her beloved and trusted governess, safe until Vera can retrieve her? Believing the war will end soon, Vera chooses to leave Lucie in safety. She cannot know that she and her husband will have an opportunity to escape, to flee to America. She cannot know that Lucie's governess will have fled with Lucie to family in rural France, too far to reach in time. And so begins a heartbreaking journey and separation, a war and a continent apart. Vera's marriage will falter under the surreal sun of California. Her ability to write--once her passion--will disappear. But Vera's love for Lucie, her faith that her daughter lives, will only grow. As Vera's determination to return to France and find Lucie crystalizes, she meets Sasha, a man on his own search for meaning. She is stronger with Sasha than she is alone. Together they will journey to Lucie. They will find her fate.

A San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year The Empire of the Senses is an enthralling tale of love and war, duty and self-discovery. It begins in 1914 when Lev Perlmutter, an assimilated German Jew fighting in World War I, finds unexpected companionship on the Eastern Front; back at home, his wife Josephine embarks on a clandestine affair of her own. A decade later, during the heady, politically charged interwar years in Berlin, their children--one, a nascent Fascist struggling with his sexuality, the other a young woman entranced by the glitz and glamour of the Jazz Age--experience their own romantic awakenings. With a painter's sensibility for the layered images that comprise our lives, this exquisite novel by Alexis Landau marks the emergence of a writer uniquely talented in bringing the past to the present.

Alexis Landau

About

Books

Join the club