Notes from the Other Side of Night : From Communism to a Fragile Freedom

A lyrical memoir ofliving under, and escaping from, anti-Semitism and the tyranny of communism.“There are scenes in this book that thereader will never forget.”—Mircea EliadeWith a new Afterwordby the author and a new Introduction by bestselling historian Wilfred M. McClayIn Notes from theOther Side of Night, Juliana Geran Pilon provides a beautiful memoir of areturn to her native Romania in 1975, which she left with her family when shewas just fourteen. Poetically weaving together hard-won adult insights with herchildhood perceptions, Pilon tells the haunting stories of her parents,grandparents, neighbors, and friends. She recounts the chilling realities of anti-Semitism,political imprisonment, and judicial execution under Romania’s ruthlesscommunist authorities. And she remembers those few who managed to retain theirhumanity despite the horrors that surrounded them. Told with detachedmelancholy, the result is a book full of political and spiritual wisdom. At atime when the totalitarian crimes of the last century are being minimized, ifnot entirely ignored, Pilon’s meditation on evil, hope, and love is profoundly moving.