“Stella, cold, cold, the coldness of hell.” These seven words begin Cynthia Ozick’s compelling story, The Shawl. Although the book’s title is The Shawl, that title also applies to an eight-page story in the beginning of the book. The next 63-pages are a novella entitled “Rosa”. In combination they both are an intense read, that make up the book, The Shawl.

The story revolves around fifteen-month old Magda, and how her mother, Rosa, copes and tries to keep her from death by the Nazis, as they march to a concentration camp. Along with Magda, Rosa’s niece, Stella is marching with them. Stella is constantly physically cold, and eventually steals the shawl. The book details Rosa’s recollections of that dreadful day when she marched to the concentration camp, and her horrifying memories of later times she spent in the camp.

Rosa wrapped Magda in her shawl, and Magda somehow had the almost innate sense to remain quiet when hidden inside the shawl. She learns to suck on a corner of the shawl for comfort, and it somehow satisfies her hunger, when Rosa’s milk runs dry. Magda’s life is lived within the threads of the shawl, while she is nestled against Rosa’s breasts.

The march to the concentration camp demonstrates choices that Rosa must make. Should she give her child over to one of the onlookers, possibly ensuring the survival of Magda? After quick thought, Rosa decides against it, because it wouldn’t necessarily ensure Magda’s survival (she could end up in unwilling hands, or could be shot as she is transferred by Rosa), and would more than likely mean definite death to her (Rosa).

The shawl is a metaphor for Magda, and she is kept alive through that shawl, and through Rosa’s obsessiveness and delusions. After liberation, Rosa opens an antique shop, and events occur which bring her to move to Florida, where she lives in a less than desirable hotel. Stella retains the shawl and also pays Rosa’s rent. Rosa becomes a scavenger, living hand to mouth, with her past constantly haunting her daily life. Her every thought is of Magda and the shawl.

The Shawl is written in a third person perspective. We are witness to a woman who is delusional and on the verge of emotional collapse, if not already moving within a breakdown state of mind and existence. Rosa often acts frenzied, and when confronted by others acts unfeeling, and speaks with sarcastic undertones.

Survival is a theme in The Shawl. The book details what one does to protect, not only themselves, but a loved one, during the Holocaust. The reader is shown how one survives their pain and stress, as best they can after the devastation ends. The pages are filled with extreme imagery, and Rosa’s character endures incredible and dramatic scenarios. The Shawl also goes on to demonstrate how the past affects the lives of those who have survived extreme adversity. But, have they really survived, other than in the physical aspect? Guilt and remorse are strong components of the book.

One thing that somewhat disturbed me, aside from the horrific situations that are depicted, is Rosa’s perspective of others. Her attitude bothered me. Having come from a well-to-do family, she seems to look down on those who are less fortunate than what her former position in life was, life before Holocaust. She is extremely judgmental of all those she comes in contact with, and everyone she sees. This could be due to her horrendous experiences during the Holocaust, but I didn’t receive her judgmental attitude stemming from those experiences.

Ozick is brilliant in her vivid details, and the reader feels they are right there with the narrator, living the horrific events, and feeling the madness and despair within Rosa’s mind. The book is haunting on many levels, disturbing, and filled with intensity. She demonstrates the loss of a child in a dramatic and masterful manner. The novella and short story are not pretty, nothing is sugar-coated, and the book is extremely compelling. Ozick is often poetic, even within the brutality and harshness she depicts.

The questions asked of the reader are sobering, such as how is it possible that a nostalgic and meaningful article can represent not only life, but death? And how can that same item also represent a new beginning and fresh start? Articles often bring us comfort, and at the same time, bring us pain, pain that is unbearable and seemingly insurmountable, and keeps us imprisoned within the past, unable to move forward. Is this a positive thing or a negative thing? Does it depend on time and place?

Cynthia Ozick has given us a powerful book, and one that intensifies as the reader moves through the pages. Her writing is a talent, and it is a gift to her readers. The Shawl is an excellent psychological study of love and yearning, loss, remorse and guilt. I recommend it to all those who wish to have a greater understanding of the effects and traumas that the Holocaust has on individuals, decades after the fact. The Shawl belongs in high school, college and university libraries.

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Monday April 13, 2009 – 19th of Nisan, 5769