I Kiss Your Hands Many Times: Hearts, Souls, and Wars in Hungary
*Starred Review* This family memoir is everything you could wish for in the genre: the story of a fascinating family that illuminates the historical time it lived through. The author’s father, Aladár, was a diplomat for the Hungarian government, and her mother, Hanna, was part of a wealthy Jewish family. After seeing the madness of Hitler in Berlin, Aladár returns to Budapest to oppose Nazism and is introduced to the lovely Hanna. When the Germans finally invade their cowed ally in 1944, both to seize their industrial resources and correct their insufficiently enthusiastic persecution of Jews, Hanna’s family goes into hiding and eventually escapes to Portugal, while Aladár is arrested and almost dies in Dachau. The author’s close relation to her subjects results in an occasionally hagiographic tone but also affords unique insights into their experiences. We see the society lady who spits out a bitter “Now it’s our turn” to Hanna’s mother after the German invasion, as well as the Nazi officer who, during an interrogation, screams questions at the captured Aladár—and then leans in and whispers acceptable replies in his ear. Informative and fascinating in every way, this memoir is a great introduction to WWII Hungary and a moving tale of personal relationships in a time of great duress. --Lynn Weber