The Lost - A Search for Six of Six Million (Daniel Mendelsohn, 2006)

Wasn't really looking for *another* Holocaust book.  But PJ was recommending this pretty strongly, so I thought I'd be a good sport and take it up.

Very glad that I did - some perspectives that I found quite unique.

The author is a professional writer - NY Review of Books, NYT magazine, that sort of thing - and became deeply interested in history even as a child, he thinks due to influence of his grandfather.  Family origins in Bolechow, Poland; many emigrate as things get tough; six stay behind and disappear as Germany takes over following Hitler turning on Stalin in 1941.  Limited and not always consistent information is available about how the six were liquidated, but author decides to search for more.

Travels to Bolechow; then Australia, Israel, Scandinavia.  Reconnects (or connects) with photographer brother who seems to do very nice work (wish the photos had been given more prominence in the book).

Author uses a meandering storytelling style - takes some patience - 503 pages - but well worth it.  Interactions with survivors; some pretty amazing coincidences enable information to be discovered; very powerful as author descends into the kestl.

Particularly useful to me - he pulls together threads I'm pursuing - family history research; weaves Old Testament stories (particularly Cain & Abel, Noah, Abraham), along with interpretations from two Torah commentators, into his narrative; Jewish history in eastern Europe; stories of the Polish borderlands (Galicia), last flickering remnants of the old Habsburg days; plenty of tension among Poles, Ukrainians and Jews but at least they could live together and function for the most part (other than the occasional outbursts, which were awful enough).  Jews now all gone.

The awful episodes during the several Aktions, including at Dom Katolick. Hidden in a teacher's house.  Polish boy makes the mistake(?) of falling for a Jewish girl.  Uncle Shmiel loses his permit to run his truck.  Stuff that happened with Jews under 1930s German diktats (with plenty of local collaboration) - wow.  Ukrainians take advantage.

Searching for the personal detail that prevents - ok, only delays - a person (pretty much every person, ultimately) from being entirely, utterly forgotten.  Searching for how it might have felt (not just how it happened).

Author states that his grandfather was renowned for his storytelling ability, and he tries to describe his grandfather's method; then describes his dilemma about how to shape the story he is learning about in his researches . . . of course he's signalling that he will be using his grandfather's method to tell this tale.  Which he does, very effectively.