“Themes of guilt, Jewish identity, and the complex relationships among daughters, mothers, and grandmothers . . . expanded upon with humor and honesty.” —School Library Journal
A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of the Year and a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice
In this illustrated memoir, Amy Kurzweil weaves her own coming-of-age as a young Jewish artist into the narrative of her mother, a psychologist, as well as Bubbe, her grandmother, a World War II survivor who escaped from the Warsaw Ghetto by disguising herself as a gentile. Captivated by Bubbe’s story, Amy turns to her sketchbooks, teaching herself to draw as a way to cope with what she discovers. Entwining the voices and histories of these three wise, hilarious, and very different women, Amy creates a portrait not only of what it means to be part of a family, but also of how each generation bears the imprint of the past.
A retelling of the inherited Holocaust narrative now two generations removed, Flying Couch uses Bubbe’s real testimony to investigate the legacy of trauma, the magic of family stories, and the meaning of home.
“I read Flying Couch in one sitting, without moving, literally laughed and literally cried.” —Rachel Fershleiser, New York Times–bestselling co-editor of Not Quite What I Was Planning
