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Paperback Book Details
  • 02/2015
  • 9781742844534
  • 372 pages
  • $26.99
A Doubtful Inheritance
A Doubtful Inheritance A novel by Dr. Ted Todd (Tibor Weisz) A brief synopsis Author Ted Todd (Tibor Weisz) approaches his story under the heading of a new genre – autobiofiction – a blending of true reminisces from his own fascinating life, overlaid with a heavy dollop of imaginary plotline. We first meet the narrator Tim in the 1970s where he attends the Esalen Institute, a quintessential 70s Californian organization designed to help participants on the path to self-awareness. There, Tim comes traumatically face to face with the biggest issue in his life – the disappearance of his beloved father Lajos during WW2. From there the story flashes back to Russia, where, near the war’s end Lajos and brother Andor are the Jewish members of a retreating Hungarian army unit. What follows is a sweeping tale, taking in many settings across the globe - from a Siberian POW camp, through to Vienna, Argentina and Australia. The plot is certainly multi layered and plays out at different time lines between 1945 and the present day. The varied plot threads and characters are interwoven in a way that keeps the reader hanging on, eager to see how and whether the pieces will fall into place. Will the inheritance of much money happen? What else does a person inherit? The richness of family remembered in Hungary by the young Tibor is beautifully written. But among all the narrator’s reminiscences is the interesting question of memory, and whether what we remember is in fact true, or a product of what our parents have told us, or the way in which we have interpreted our lives. Are we anything more or less, than such memories? Are all the memories of his mother, grandmother and Aunt the real deal? The reader is kept guessing, considering who in this book is part of the author’s actual history, and who created for the story’s purposes? Also, who is narrating or telling this story? Tim perhaps or a narrator, or perhaps the delightful detective Garibaldi? These fully rounded and wonderful characters are all part of the intriguing plot-lines that carries us along for the read, and each has a strong sense of his own voice. Todd-Weisz, or is it Tim (?) briefly takes time out from his story-telling to speculate on the ad hoc nature of life and other philosophical ponderings. They never hinder the story but seem to complement it. Even fit the tension. He also intersperses the story with Jewish jokes perhaps to give an insight into the idiosyncratic Jewish mindset, and to serve as stunning counterpoints, or maybe to lighten up an otherwise tense and moving story. As for the eponymous ‘inheritance’ itself, that interplays with an unlikely friendship struck up during the war between a Jew and an ex-Nazi officer. But this novel is really about other 'inheritances’ or the lack of such, beyond mere money – the inheritance of love, friendship, shared history and a family you never knew you had. This book is a thoughtful, fabulous and exciting read from a new author, with an old soul, a deep philosophical insight into life and history, and a greatly readable tale of life and its complex dramas and joys.
Formats
Paperback Book Details
  • 02/2015
  • 9781742844534
  • 372 pages
  • $26.99
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