"an absolute treasure...an amazing accomplishment..."

One for the Books: Recent Jewish Nonfiction

Mary Louise Ruehr

October 10, 2008 recordpub.com
http://www.recordpub.com/news/article/4442 453

"They Called Me Mayer July: Painted Memories of a Jewish Childhood in Poland Before the Holocaust" by Mayer Kirshenblatt and his daughter, Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, is an absolute treasure. Kirshenblatt's paintings are simplistic but colorful. "I consider myself a storehouse of memories," he says. His pictures bring to life the people in a small Jewish town in Poland before World War II. (His family left Poland in 1934.) This is a remarkable view of a lost world. "The places I remember exist no more," he says. "They are only in my head, and if I die they will disappear with me." He shows everyday life at home, in the town square, inside the synagogue, in school, at worship, at play, in celebration. And he brings us the people -- the fire brigade, the water-carrier, the chimney sweep, gypsies. Plus, he tells wonderful stories: "After an animal had been butchered, it had to be sold quickly because there was no refrigeration. Even if a housewife were short of money, the butcher would give her credit so that he could get rid of the meat. (But he) could not read or write. To keep track of his transactions, he would mark the name and the sum on his boots with chalk, in his own signs, and he would know who owed him what. But on Friday, since he had to clean his boots before going to the synagogue, he would go around collecting his debts. Once they were settled, he could clean his boots and erase the whole bookkeeping." This is an amazing accomplishment and makes an absorbing read. His pictures and stories just took me right into another world.