Between Sky and Sea

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Between Sea and Sky
Between Sky and Sea.jpg
First English edition
Author Herz Bergner
Original titleZwishn Himl un Waser
Translator Judah Waten
LanguageEnglish
GenreNovel
PublisherDolphin Publications
Publication date
1946
Publication placeAustralia
Media typePrint
Pages169 pp.

Between Sky and Sea is a novel by Polish-born Australian writer Herz Bergner. [1]

Contents

The novel was originally published in serial form in Jewish Youth magazine between August and October 1946. It was then published in 1946 by Dolphin Publications, translated from Yiddish to English by Judah Waten. This Dolphin Publications edition contained a foreword by Vance Palmer and illustrations by V. G. O'Connor. [2]

Synopsis

The novel concerns a group of Jewish refugees sailing for Australia on a dilapidated Greek tramp steamer just before World War II. Conditions on board the ship are terrible and are made even worse when a tyhpus outbreak occurs.

Publication history

After the novel's initial serialisation in Yiddish, and then translation for the Dolphin Publication's edition in 1946 [1] it was later republished as follows:

Critical reception

Writing about the 2010 edition in Australian Book review reviewer Richard Freadman hailed "Bergner’s mastery of narrative point of view" which enabled him to bring "his characters so vividly to life while at the same time tracking the group’s fragile dynamics, its oscillating moods and shifting patterns of conflict and alignment." [5]

In his review of the same edition in The Weekend Australian Alan Gold found it to be "Beautifully written with extraordinary insight into the frailties of humanity". [6]

Award

The novel received the Australian Literature Society Gold Medal in 1948. [7]

Notes

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References

  1. 1 2 "Between Sky and Sea by Herz Bergner (Dolphin)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  2. "Between Sea and Sky by Herz Bergner". Austlit. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  3. "Between Sky and Sea by Herz Bergner (Text 2010)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  4. "Between Sky and Sea by Herz Bergner (Text 2016)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  5. ""Between Sky and Sea by Herz Bergner"". Australian Book Review, November 2010. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  6. "Hope and survival by Alan Gold"". Weekend Australian, 26 June 2010, p28. ProQuest   519653824 . Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  7. "Wins medal for book". The News . Vol. 51, no. 7, 912. South Australia. 13 December 1948. p. 4. Retrieved 17 February 2019 via National Library of Australia.
  8. ""Between hope and damnation: ASYLUM by Arnold Zable"". The Age, 29 May 2010, p19. ProQuest   346965656 . Retrieved 23 November 2024.