Eva and Eve

December 1, 2020
Eva became Eve after the Jewish girl escaped WWII Vienna for a new life in New York. After Eve's death, her daughter set out to discover the truth about her family's harrowing history. Piecing together what happened from family stories, keepsakes, and determined research, Metz uncovers how her grandfather's negotiation skills--and perhaps his love of mountaineering--led him to gain passage for his family to America in the spring of 1940. After setting the context of her family's situation--including the terrifying speed of the Anschluss, Germany's annexation of Austria, as well as the extensive paperwork that provided faux legitimization of the Nazi takeover of Jewish-owned businesses and assets--Metz focuses on the perseverance it took for her family to make it through. Even as her grandfather finally seemed about to secure their escape, he paid extra for ship tickets to help others in need. The story of this moving passion project resonates today, especially in light of the newest wave of American anti-immigrant sentiment and the COVID-19 pandemic. At its heart is a daughter seeking to understand her mother, forever shaped by those terrible years.

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February 26, 2021

In her second book, graphic artist Metz dives into her complicated relationship with her mother--or rather, how she came to know more about her mother after her death. This territory is as personal as her New York Times-best-selling first book (Perfection: A Memoir of Betrayal and Renewal), which dealt with her discovery of her husband's infidelity after his death. Metz doesn't shy away from difficult topics, including her Jewish mother and grandparents barely escaping from Nazi Vienna. The author digs into her mother's difficult past, piecing together her family's prewar history and journey to the United States over the course of more than a decade, so that the author's own story is told alongside her mother's. Where historical records don't exist, Metz imagines scenes that might have happened, including her Viennese family's holiday celebrations and vacations, and even her grandparents' honeymoon. VERDICT Well-researched and engagingly written, this book offers up an interesting mix of memoir and family history. Recommended for readers who enjoy any of those topics, it should also appeal to those with an interest in World War II, Jewish history, and narrative nonfiction.--Crystal Goldman, Univ. of California, San Diego Lib.

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