The Postcard : The International Bestseller

A remarkable work of family history that has become a global bestseller, Berest's profoundly moving book traces the fortunes of her ancestors from the Russian Revolution onwards – all inspired by the receipt of a mysterious postcard.

In January 2003, the Berest family receive a mysterious, unsigned postcard. On one side was an image of the Opéra Garnier; on the other, the names of their relatives who were killed in Auschwitz: Ephraïm, Emma, Noémie and Jacques.

Years later, Anne sought to find the truth behind this postcard. She journeys 100 years into the past, tracing the lives of her ancestors from their flight from Russia following the revolution, their journey to Latvia, Palestine, and Paris, the war and its aftermath. What emerges is a thrilling and sweeping tale based on true events that shatters her certainties about her family, her country, and herself.

At once a gripping investigation into family secrets, a poignant tale of mothers and daughters, and an enthralling portrait of 20th-century Parisian intellectual and artistic life, The Postcard tells the story of a family devastated by the Holocaust and yet somehow restored by love and the power of storytelling.

MEDIA REVIEWS

“The Postcard is a vivid indictment of France’s betrayal of the Jews. And the truth about the postcard is an absolute heartbreaker.” - The Sunday Times

“The Postcard provides a vivid portrait of Vichy France as antisemitic laws tightened.” - Financial Times

"Delving into the past allows Anne Berest to recover part of her identity both as an individual and as one of many damaged by the horrors of persecutions that took place before they were born." - TLS

"The names of Ephraïm, Emma, Noémie and Jacques Rabinovitch, along with the millions of other Jews who were murdered by the Nazi regime, need to live on in our history books so that future generations never forget. Anne Berest has written a commanding piece of work, a very personal journey, with The Postcard deserving every award and piece of acclaim that it garners. Noémie Rabinovitch’s beautiful face will be forever etched in my mind." - Swirl and Thread

"The Postcard goes on to spin a full and textured rendering of these relatives’ lives before they were cruelly killed, rendering the horrors of the Holocaust horrifically fresh. Once the novel has covered this ground, however, it becomes almost a modern-day thriller, circling in on the mysterious mail at its center." ("The Best–and Most Anticipated–Books of 2023", VOGUE) - VOGUE