Andrew Sanders (2) (1934–)

I was eager to read this book, as a Jewish woman of Hungarian descent. Unfortunately, this book did not meet my expectations. For one, the author repeatedly stated that he discovered something, but that he'd tell us about it later. Later, later, later. One time there were three instances of this on a single page. I found this frustrating and annoying and almost stopped reading because of it.

I also was not a fan of the author's style. He interweaves conversations he is supposedly having with his deceased ancestors. I presume he uses this as a vehicle to convey what he has learned about their lives, and while novel, I found the whole concept strange, perhaps because I'm just not one for the paranormal. In at least one instance, the first half of the page is spent with him explaining to the deceased relative that they're dead and that he's in the future having the conversation with them in his mind. I got tired of reading fluff like this.

In the end, I did like the parts where he mentioned the history of Hungary, which was my main reason for reading this book. However, unless you're a relative of the author, I'm not sure how much you'd really get from this book.

I received a copy of this book from Librarything Early Reviewers in exchange for my honest review.… (más)

Through a wealth of documents, researchers and luck, Andrew Sanders has managed to trace his Jewish ancestors to the mid eighteenth-century. The book alternates between his "conversations" with the deceased and his detailed research rail. Although I have an interest in genealogy, I found this book extremely dull. It jumped around so much that it was difficult to understand his family dynamics and piece together what actually happened. Overall, I believe that this book is more appropriate for a family reunion than wide-spread publication.… (más)