Rembrandt’s Shadow
Sylvie Beckman is the privileged, spoiled child of famous art collector Josef Rosenberg. Sylvie prides herself on her fine, attractive clothing and the status wealth brings. But now, with Hitler’s troops approaching Sylvie’s home in Holland, an ugly transformation looms large as Jews find their rights stripped away. Sylvie’s family is temporarily made safe by her father’s use of the famous art works he still possesses to entice the Germans to bypass the family’s home. Over time, they realize they must leave the Netherlands, but this novel is really about the years afterward, in which the scars of the war linger and affect Sylvie’s every thought and action. She is so demanding that forty years later her son, Michael, escapes by joining the military, fighting in Vietnam, and writing about his experiences and background as part of a healing process. Sylvie totally disapproves of his girlfriend, Angela Martino, because she isn’t Jewish, but after Michael and Angela marry, Sylvie finally shares her past with Angela.
As with all Holocaust survivors, a painful connection exists. Berg illustrates how Sylvie was shamed by her Jewishness during those horrific years, and is unable to cast it aside even after escaping the life-threatening conditions of the war. Sylvie’s survivor’s pride insists on holding on to her Jewish identity, with Berg emphasizing to the reader that the threat of extinction still looms in the minds and hearts of these wounded individuals. This dichotomy pervades a story in which artistic beauty is used to both save and destroy lives. Rembrandt’s Shadow is a remarkable work of recommended historical fiction!
