Avrom's Sons

"Prix Goncourt 1955 for "Les Eaux Mêlées", the second volume of his diptych "Les Fils d'Avrom", Roger Ikor tells us the story of a Jewish family that will emigrate to France. Roger Ikor's style is powerful; he draws us into the world of his characters and makes us feel all their hopes, their emotions, their doubts, and all of this through the history of France, the two world wars and a violently antisemitic period. To follow this epic and grasp its full depth, it is necessary to read both narratives. "La Greffe de Printemps" evokes Yankel fleeing his native Russia and the pogroms, then his arrival on French soil. We share with him all the difficulties of integration and all the determination it takes to live in a country whose codes, customs, and religion one does not share, even if this country upholds all democratic values and enjoys a globally positive aura. In "Les Eaux Mêlées", the second and third generations, through marriages, the assimilated children, having become definitively French and having embraced the national narrative, will be able to participate in the adventure of republican meritocracy. It is truly a beautiful story presented in novel form and very well written."

ORIGINAL EDITION on publishing paper.