Book details
Ten Green Bottles
The True Story of One Family's Journey from War-torn Austria to the Ghettos of Shanghai
Author: Vivian Jeanette Kaplan
Ten Green Bottles
$11.99
About This Book
Book Details
Survival Against All Odds: A Family's Journey from Vienna to Shanghai
Delve into the deeply moving story of Ten Green Bottles, a testament to the fierce human spirit to survive against all odds. Based on the raw and riveting life-stories shared by Nini Karpel to her daughter Vivian Jeanette Kaplan, the narrative explores the grim times when ordinary people became heroes.
Born amidst the romantic charm of Vienna in the 1920s, Nini cherished her idyllic life. However, as the 1930s saw Hitler rise to power, an undercurrent of hate swept the city, and antisemitism, an unimaginable horror in the socially advanced world of Vienna, became a reality.
In search of refuge, the Karpel family found themselves in Shanghai, China, about seven thousand miles away from home. The city was a bewildering mix of dramatic contrasts, with rampant diseases and poverty for many, and unbelievable wealth for a few.
For Nini's family, this incongruent place became their new home and sanctuary amidst the raging war. Immerse yourself in this heroic tale of survival that travels from the grandeur of Vienna to the chaos of Shanghai, resonating with the strength of human endurance.
Imprint Publisher
St. Martin's Press
ISBN
9781466829206
Reading Guide
In The News
“Spellbinding . . .evocative . . . remarkable achievement. China experience.....sets this book apart” —Publishers Weekly
“Riveting . . . moving and memorable” —Kirkus Reviews
“Kaplan's prose is simply stunning . . . Kaplan's descriptions bring wartime Shanghai, its people and smells, to life . . . Although nonfiction, Ten Green Bottles reads like a novel. Kaplan captures the mood and feelings of her mother experiences as if they were her own.” —Canadian Jewish News
“Kaplan writes in the first-person voice of her mother . . . a decision that gives her book an emotional power and vivid immediacy.” —Maclean's
“Her powerful, harrowing story grips the reader. In an odyssey of horrors that takes place over a decade . . . what shines through is the family's indomitable will to survive.” —Ottawa Citizen