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Harry Bernstein published his first book, the memoir The Invisible Wall, in 2007, at the age of 96. He had begun it at 93, after the death of Ruby, his wife of 67 years.

Harry Bernstein

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Bernstein was born in 1910 in Stockport, a cotton-mill town near Manchester, and the memoir recalls a street split between Jewish and Christian families. It tells of his mother, Ada, struggling to feed six children, his father's drinking, the antisemitism around them and his sister Lily's forbidden romance with a Christian boy. The family emigrated to the United States in 1922, where Bernstein later worked as a script reader and magazine editor until retiring at 62. Three more memoirs followed: The Dream (2008), The Golden Willow (2009) and What Happened to Rose, published after his death in 2011 at 101.

Türkçe oku
Harry Bernstein ilk kitabını, The Invisible Wall (Görünmez Duvar) adlı anılarını 2007'de, 96 yaşında yayımladı. Kitaba 67 yıllık eşi Ruby'yi kaybettikten sonra, 93 yaşında başlamıştı.

Bernstein 1910'da Manchester yakınlarındaki pamuk fabrikaları kenti Stockport'ta doğdu. Anıları, bir yanında Yahudilerin, öbür yanında Hristiyanların oturduğu bir sokakta geçer: altı çocuğu doyurmaya çalışan annesi Ada'yı, babasının içkiye düşkünlüğünü, çevrelerindeki Yahudi düşmanlığını ve kız kardeşi Lily'nin bir Hristiyan gençle yaşadığı yasak aşkı anlatır. Aile 1922'de Amerika'ya göç etti; Bernstein orada 62 yaşında emekli olana kadar senaryo okuru ve dergi editörü olarak çalıştı. Ardından üç anı kitabı daha geldi: The Dream (2008), The Golden Willow (2009) ve 2011'de, 101 yaşında ölümünden sonra yayımlanan What Happened to Rose.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Harry Bernstein
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