Four Scraps of Bread

"The brevity of Magda Hollander-Lafon's Four Scraps of Bread only magnifies its power. Part prose, part poetry, it takes us into the gates of Auschwitz, where her sensitive observations and intense self-examination open up the inner world of the Lager. One must appreciate the power of her words; more importantly the integrity of her example. I was moved, touched, frightened, and horrified. One must be grateful for such a distinct act of witness." --Michael Berenbaum, director, Sigi Ziering Institute "Magda Hollander-Lafon's experience of the Holocaust may parallel that of the Romanian-born Elie Wiesel, but her approach is even more abstracted and poetic. Instantly recognizable details of dehumanization, complicity, and endurance are all present, but with the goal of developing a spiritual and therapeutic vision of survival beyond the amassing of evidence. The enormous recent growth in publication of both saved firsthand accounts and post-memory analyses forms an additional appreciative context for Hollander-Laffon's singular work, not least as it is written by a woman, when most original accounts were produced by men." --Sean Hand, University of Warwick "Magda Hollander-Lafon's book shines with an unquenchable yearning for life despite the appalling suffering and brutality it portrays. Through the eyes of her memory we see the whole gamut of human reactions to unspeakable suffering and cruelty. We connect with them at extraordinary depth through the heart of a tortured child whose hope never died. This is a heartbreaking, compassionate, triumphant book filled with a rare insight into human evil and suffering." --Gemma Simmonds, CJ, Heythrop College, University of London