Le Getto intérieur - Santiago H. Amigorena

"Le Getto intérieur" written by Santiago H. Amigorena was one of the candidates for the Gouncourt Prize this year. Maybe the way of writing the book is not the best, but story is worth to read because of topic.
"Le Getto intérieur" is a war and biographical novel. The author describes the story of his grandfather - Wincenty Rosenberg, who is the main hero of the novel. As we had the opportunity to read in many descriptions, this novel Amigoren breaks the silence regarding the traumatic events of World War II.

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The main character is Wincenty Rosenberg, a young Pole, a Jew who emigrated to Argentina before the war, leaving his mother and siblings in Poland. In Buenos Aires, she met her future wife - Rosita, also a Jew and an immigrant. Regarding Vicente's pre-war life, we don't know much, although the narrator sometimes shows us events from the life of a man, such as the fight against the Bolsheviks led by Piłsudski or starting legal studies in Warsaw.

The novel takes place mainly in Buenos Aires, although the narrator often describes situations in the Warsaw Ghetto, Lublin or Germany. Contrary to appearances, the main topic is neither World War II nor even life in the ghetto as the title would suggest. The problem that Amigorena presents to us is quite extensive. First of all, it is anxiety and uncertainty about the fate of loved ones, thousands of kilometers away, locked up in the ghetto and practically waiting for death. Vicente eagerly awaits letters from his family, even though each one is more depressing and overwhelming. On the one hand, the man wants to know what's going on, and on the other hand, he doesn't want to think about it. Uncertainty and helplessness is tiring for him. This, in turn, cannot be understood by Rosita, whose parents live in Argentina, just like his siblings. However, despite this, the woman tries to be support for her husband, who is increasingly moving away from the family and closes in on himself.
Another problem is searching for your own identity. Vicente first felt Polish, then Argentine, but never a Jew. He felt Jewish only when he read about the critical situation of his family in the ghetto. At some point, he creates his private ghetto, surrounds himself, encloses himself and remains silent, does not say a word to his wife or children. An interesting procedure is also the construction of the epilogue, in which the author writes about himself, such a small autobiographical element. Amigorena shows how history comes full circle. Vicente and Rosita emigrated and thus avoided the dictatorship, a few years later the author emigrated to France, fleeing the political situation in South America. He also admits that it makes his grandparents easier to understand.