[MGSA-L] New book: Talking Until Nightfall Remembering Jewish Salonica, 1941–44 Isaac Matarasso

Roland Moore rolandmo at pacbell.net
Thu Aug 27 21:49:35 PDT 2020


 New book announcement:Talking Until NightfallRemembering Jewish Salonica, 1941–44Isaac Matarasso

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MEDIA ALERT: Holocaust memoir 'Talking Until Nightfall' shines much-needed light on WWII tragedy of epic scale

Talking Until Nightfall
Remembering Jewish Salonica, 1941–44
Isaac Matarasso

***NOW ON SALE!!!

This week is the US on-sale for Talking Until Nightfall, a stunning multi-generational account of the Nazi occupation of Greek Salonica that shines a much-needed personal light on a Holocaust tragedy of epic scale. This deeply evocative and powerful memoir tells the little-known story of the Holocaust in Northern Greece, told from the viewpoints of both father and son. In the city of Salonica (Thessaloniki), almost 50,000 Jews were sent to Nazi concentration camps during the war, and only 2,000 returned. Author Isaac Matarasso was a Jewish doctor in Salonica who escaped, along with his son, imprisonment and torture at the hands of the Nazis and joined the resistance. A witness to his Jewish community’s devastation, and the tangled aftermath of grief, guilt and grace as survivors returned home, Matarasso presents his account of the tragedy and his moving tribute to the living and the dead. Talking Until Nightfall is his story, woven together with his son Robert’s memories of being a frightened teenager spared by a twist of fate.

The heart-wrenching Holocaust memoir has received tremendous praise from trade publications, including a **starred** review from Library Journal, which called Talking Until Nightfall “a poignant, gripping, and beautiful multigenerational look at life before and during the Holocaust, as well as the process of rebuilding after the war.” The full review can be read here. Kirkus also gave the new book a rave review, which can be found here, calling it “a triumph” and “a unique Holocaust memoir.” Publishers Weekly has also covered the Continuum title in various feature articles, and in their review—which can be read here—touted: “This poignant eyewitness account articulates the human cost of the Holocaust.“ And in their recent feature article, The Tablet: The International Catholic News Weekly said that “Dr Matarasso’s calm and humane narrative tells a story too little known.” 

Please let me know if you’d like a finished copy of Talking Until Nightfall or anything else for possible coverage. Many thanks once again for all of your consideration!

All my best,

Emily Willette
Publicity Manager, Special Interest 
Bloomsbury Publishing Inc.
Emily.Willette at bloomsbury.com 
www.bloomsbury.com
 

“A poignant, gripping, and beautiful multigenerational look at life before and during the Holocaust…” —Library Journal, STARRED review

“This poignant eyewitness account articulates the human cost of the Holocaust.” —Publishers Weekly

“A unique Holocaust memoir.” —Kirkus Reviews

Good evening!

In less than a month, Talking Until Nightfall: Remembering Jewish Salonica, 1941-44 (Bloomsbury Continuum; 9781472975881; On-sale: 8/25/20) will be released and there’s still time to arrange coverage of this deeply evocative and powerful Holocaust memoir by Dr. Isaac Matarasso. It’s a stunning, multi-generational account of the Nazi occupation of Greek Salonica that shines a much-needed personal light on a Holocaust tragedy of epic scale. Dr. Matarasso was a doctor in Salonika and a leading member of the Jewish Community who escaped with his son Robert, evading imprisonment and torture at the hands of the Nazis, and joined the resistance.

In their recent review, The Tablet International Catholic Weekly praised the forthcoming book, touting: “…the Holocaust memoir records the stories of Salonica’s Jewish community with calm precision…Dr Matarasso’s calm and humane narrative tells a story too little known…This poignant eyewitness account articulates the human cost of the Holocaust.” 

Please let me know if you’re interested in review and/or feature coverage for Talking Until Nightfall, which goes on sale Tuesday, August 25th, and I’ll be more than happy to send you a finished copy of the book for consideration. Many thanks once again for your time and consideration, I look forward to hearing back soon!

PS—Publishers Weekly recently featured Talking Until Nightfall in both their Fall 2020 Religion & Spirituality Announcements and Religion and Spirituality Books Preview for the month of August. 

All my best,

Emily Willette
Publicity Manager, Special Interest 
Bloomsbury Publishing Inc.
Emily.Willette at bloomsbury.com 
www.bloomsbury.com
 

U.S. on-sale: August 25, 2020
Bloomsbury Continuum
ISBN-10: 147297588X
ISBN-13: 9781472975881
Hardcover $28.00 US/$38.00 CA
Talking Until Nightfall
Remembering Jewish Salonica, 1941–44

Talking Until Nightfall carries a hugely important message for an era in which anti-Semitism and far-right populism are once again on the rise. This deeply evocative and powerful memoir by Isaac Matarasso is a stunning, multi-generational account of the Nazi occupation of Greek Salonica, shedding light on the little-known story of the Holocaust in Northern Greece, told from the viewpoints of both father and son.

When Nazi occupiers arrived in Greece in 1941, it was the beginning of a horror that would reverberate through generations. In the city of Salonica, or Thessaloniki, almost 50,000 Jews were sent to Nazi concentration camps during the war, and only 2,000 returned. A Jewish doctor named Isaac Matarasso and his son escaped imprisonment and torture at the hands of the Nazis and joined the resistance. After the city’s liberation they returned to rebuild Salonica and, along with the other survivors, to grapple with the near-total destruction of their community. 

Isaac was a witness to his Jewish community’s devastation, and the tangled aftermath of grief, guilt, and grace as survivors returned home. Talking Until Nightfall presents his account of the tragedy and his moving tribute to the living and the dead. His story is woven together with his son Robert’s memories of being a frightened teenager spared by a twist of fate, and an afterword by his grandson Francois that looks back on the survivors’ stories and his family’s place in history. The book’s introduction was also written by Matarasso’s daughter-in-law, Pauline, a writer and scholar in her own right.

Similar to Irene Nemirovsky’s Suite Française and Viktor E. Frankl’s A Man’s Search for Meaning, this wrenching account of loss, survival and the strength of the human spirit will captivate readers and ensure that the Jews of Salonica are never forgotten.

Dr Isaac Matarasso was born in Salonica in 1892, when the city was part of the Ottoman Empire. He studied medicine at the University of Toulouse, and published his thesis in 1917. He practiced in Salonica until his arrest in 1943, and organized health services for the Jewish survivors after the German withdrawal. He moved to Athens in 1947, with his wife Andrée and son Robert, where he resumed medical practice until his death in 1958.

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|  Name *  |   Emily Willette   |
|  Email *  |  emily.willette at bloomsbury.com  |
|  Affiliation *  |  Bloomsbury Publishers  |

   
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