Mara W. Cohen Ioannides

We Are in Exile, Estamos En Galut: A Novel

Hadassa Word Press, 2016, ISBN: 978-3-639-79487-8

Reviewed by Annette B. Fromm^*

We Are in Exile, Mara W. Cohen Ioannides’ second novel for young readers, is set in the Jewish community of Rhodes during the fragile period between World War I and World War II. The beautifully written story follows the daily life and holiday cycle of a traditional, multigenerational family as they face a time of irrevocable change. The delightfully engaging and multilayered story draws readers into the world of the family and by extension the community.

This is a family which has already been divided because of economic pressures. Their two elder sons have immigrated to America, joining other rodesli immigrants in Atlanta. Remaining at home with the parents and the paternal grandmother are three younger children, two girls and a boy. The children, Hannah, Dora, and Alejandro, are immersed in daily activities, such as going to school, studying, helping in the home, and playing, that are filled with the traditions of their grandparents and the innovations of the mid-twentieth century. All are faced with daily struggles as the economy of Rhodes deteriorates in the face of the encroaching war. Tradition is interwoven throughout the narrative in the form of Judeo-Spanish dialog, the reader being informed that the paternal grandmother, Hannah, who lives with her son’s family, never learned Greek or French. A glossary at the end of the book translates this vocabulary.

Readers follow the family as they celebrate much of the holiday cycle, starting with the Sabbath. The Hanukah season brings together the extended family. As the year progresses, celebrations of Purim and Pesach in the family, from the point of view of the children as well as the adults, enrich the story. For the latter, everyone pitches in to prepare the home for the week-long holiday.

The wealth of traditional culture in the home is included. The ‘Spanish’ ballads sung in the home by their grandmother punctuate some of the story. As the girls sit with her preparing for the Sabbath, she recalls how her own mother prepared her for her wedding day, ensuring that her dowry reflected the family status. The local traditional healer, who uses words and prescriptions, is called upon to treat the grandmother when she falls ill. The Jewish community of Rhodes, like other Mediterranean Sephardic communities, was rich in proverbs; several appear in appropriate places throughout the story in Judeo-Spanish translated into English. The framework of the holidays also provides a structure to introduce local food traditions, such as distinctive Sephardic huevos haminados, fish on the Sabbath, fullares at Purim, a wide variety of Pesach specialities, and the ever-present café brewed in the ibrik.

Change shows itself in many ways throughout the book. This family in Rhodes is not the only one to have lost members to America. Older siblings of many of the children’s friends have left in search of more prosperous lives. The impact is felt when it’s learned that a friend’s brother is living in the boarding house of an unexpectedly blue-eyed German-Jewish lady. One of the girl’s friends shares the hopes of an arranged marriage with a young man already in America. The children study English and are discouraged from speaking the traditional Judeo-Spanish which is maintained in their home. Change also appears in socialization of the family’s children. How will the family react to the growing friendship between their young son and his Italian, Christian classmate which includes an invitation to Christmas celebrations? Change comes in part in the economic hardship which faced the community before and during the Italian occupation.

The book is closed with a short epilogue which addresses the fate of the extended family and the Jews of Rhodes, in general, during the inevitable German occupation. Readers learn that a precious few community members were able to leave their centuries-old island sanctuary for refuge elsewhere. Yet, so many more perished in the Holocaust.

The only issues I have with We Are in Exile are technical. Numerous typographical errors pepper the text almost to the point of being distracting to an adult reader. The book is rich in Judeo-Spanish vocabulary. Throughout the story, the specific, individual pieces of the traditional dress of the women of Rhodes are named in great detail. An illustration of the clothing would benefit the book, to bring the traditional dress to readers unfamiliar with it. A wealth of historic photographs or drawings from the period is available from which to draw.

As already mentioned, a glossary is included in the book to help understand the Judeo-Spanish and some other non-English words appearing throughout the text. Hebrew words are translated to English within the flow of the story. Several of the entries in the glossary are incorrect, either because of oversights in editing or poor translation. Ioannides writes about practices associated with life cycle events, including the inevitable death in the story. She refers to the Bikor Holim in the text and in the glossary as “burial society” (116). In the text, the Bikor Holim is described as “in the house preparing Nana Hannah and at the house for a funeral.” (100). Unless there is a distinct custom in Rhodes, the Bikor Holim is generally the communal group that visits the ill; the Hevra Kadisha is traditionally the burial society which helps to prepare the body for interment.

Bourekas are not “a dessert made of fried dough and topped with honey or sugar syrup” (ibid). They are, in fact, baked turnovers filled with a variety of savory and sweet fillings. Another reference to traditional foods is “tilia,” defined as an “herb” (120). Actually, the author gives the botanical name, while tilio is the more common name of specifically linden flower tea. Ioannides provides a good description of the multi-strand Havdalah candle used in the weekly ceremony to bid farewell to the sweetness of the Sabbath. These candles, however, are not always made with four strands. In addition, there are as many interpretations of the meaning of the number of strands as there are strands. Her interpretation, “Each strand represents different kinds of Jews,” (117) is only one of them; a reference should be provided. Finally, the children whose story is told in the book attend the schools of the Alliance Israélite Universelle or AIU which were established in Rhodes in 1901 and 1902. This French philanthropic and educational organization is most frequently referred to by its original French name, Alliance Israélite Universelle; it does not translate to “the Universal Israeli Alliance” (118). In the text, Alliance Israélite Universelle refers to the school in the Italian, “La Allianza” (7).

One may ask if We Are in Exile fits in the genre of young people’s literature? Can it be included in the category of Holocaust children’s books? Spoiler alert: the family leaves their generations-old home in Rhodes for a life in the United States shortly before the total destruction of the community at the hands of the Nazis. A review essay of children’s books about the Holocaust appeared in the July 23, 2018, issue of The New Yorker.¹ Ruth Franklin outlines the development of this genre starting with Jane Yolen’s novels for young adults, The Devil’s Arithmetic (1988)² and Briar Rose (1992)³. Each of these books frames a frightening story in worlds of imagination and fantasy with scenes more palatable to young readers rather than the stark realism of the time. Franklin writes that one of the benefits of this approach is that while the graphic stories of horror of the Holocaust are not directly represented, readers nevertheless “learned how to listen to them” (69). We Are in Exile bridges the historic novel and Holocaust literature by painting an evocative image of a significant and lively community just as the impending destruction struck. This slim volume provides a vivid, realistic picture of the joys and sorrows of a Sephardic community through the activities of an extended family.