Summary

At the outset of The Postcard, in the Prologue, a postcard arrived at Lélia’s home. She was disquieted to see the names of her grandparents, aunt, and uncle who were murdered during the Holocaust. Years later, when Anne was on bedrest, she asked her mother to tell her about the lives of their ancestors. In Book I, Chapter 1, Lélia explained that her grandfather, Ephraïm was in love with his cousin, but the family disapproved of the match and arranged his marriage to Emma. In Chapter 2, the newlyweds visited Ephraïm’s parents’ dacha. On the evening of Pesach, Nachman warned his children to leave Russia. He averred that anti-Semitism was growing and seeping into the legislation. When his sons scoffed at the warning, he told them, “You must understand something. One day, they’ll want us...