Patricia Schonstein

This story is set against the turbulent backdrop of Grahamstown South Africa. It spans from Germany's Kristallnacht, when Gershon Cohen's father dies in his arms through to 1990's South Africa when his grandson, Reuben is battling his demons. Their is much brutal reality of those years of apartheid in South Africa and it was with some relief, that their was respite from the many traumas experienced by the characters, at the conclusion of this book.
Despite the content, this was an easy read and gave a different perspective of life in South Africa i.e. that of a German Jewish refugee and his standing and struggle for acceptance in a racially segregated society.… (más)

This is not a new release, it's from 2005. I got it from my library's ebook section so I could try out my new nook in a hurry. The nook was awesome, the book, however, was not.

A Time of Angels starts out in post-World War II, about a group of friends and family, Italian Jews whose parents had migrated to South Africa. Ms. Schonstein starts describing the characters and all the little details of their lives. For my taste, she went into way too much detail, spending pages and pages about the Italian food one of her main characters, Pasquale prepares in his restaurant/deli.

The book is very disconnected. She jumped from character to character, back and forth in time until I was thoroughly confused as to who she was talking about and where they fit into the story. Part of the problem is there wasn't much of a story at all. A man loses his wife to his best friend while he is away on business, so he holes up alone in his house. Then the Devil comes to live with him.

Ms. Schonstein had some interesting ideas with the different vignettes she wrote about and how all the characters coincidentally entertwined in each other's lives throughout the years. That was really the only thing I enjoyed about the book. Maybe it was just too deep for such a shallow mind as mine!… (más)

I found this book was a real disappointment! This story was supposed to be based around two characters:

Primo, a soothsayer and magician raised on a rich diet of astronomy, philosophy and storytelling.

Pasquale, an exquisite Italian chef, making fruited breads and salamis. He owns a bar and delicatessen.

Both characters are Italian, but moved to Capetown, South Africa, after the Holocaust.

Disjointed chapters, and far too many 'main' characters thoroughly spoiled what could have been a nice little novel.… (más)