A review by jlkenneth
Dora Bruder by Patrick Modiano

3.0

Read the whole thing in one sitting, completely transfixed. A highly original novel/memoir/historiography/detective story exploring the lost memories of those who disappeared from Paris during the Occupation. By tracking the life of teenager Dora Bruder in 1941-1942, Modiono creates a moving portrait of occupied Paris and compellingly reminds us of the lives which were lost in the horrors of WWII, but takes a fresh perspective by blending these stories with tales of his own life and family, and the coincidental ways his own life intersected with Dora's without him knowing it. I had a bit of a shock when he finally reveals that Dora was eventually deported to Auschwitz/Birkenau, as I suddenly realized that, like Modiano, I've also walked in the same places she once did. The text just has a peculiar way of leaping off the page. After reading this, it's easy to see why he won the Nobel prize in 2014.