05/30/2022
Frank (The Mighty Franks) revisits the life of nonagenarian and Holocaust survivor Stella Levi in his incandescent latest. The two struck up a friendship after meeting in New York City in 2015, and, over six years, Frank writes that Levi became to him “a time traveler who would invite me to travel with her.” Born in 1923, Levi grew up on the Grecian island of Rhodes, in an enclave of “Judeo-Spanish-speaking Sephardic Italian Jews,” who, in 1944, were rounded up by German soldiers and sent to Auschwitz. Distilled through Frank’s intelligent prose and enlivened with eye-catching illustrations from Kalman, Levi’s recollections bring to vivid life the unique culture of the Juderia, its complicated colonial history, and her colorful, multilingual family as she describes how, under Italian Fascist rule in the 1920s and ’30s, all traces of Judaism vanished from the public eye. One of few Rhodeslis to survive the horrors of Auschwitz, Levi fashioned a new life in America but would eventually return to Rhodes to find its once vibrant Jewish culture decimated by years of war. Even with its sobering revelations, Frank’s narrative shines with an ebullience, thanks to the “unusually rich, textured, and evolving” life of his utterly enchanting muse. The result provides an essential, humanist look into a dark chapter of 20th-century history. (Sept.)
"Never underestimate the power of friendship at any stage in life. That’s one of the lessons from Michael Frank’s beautiful portrait of the wise and charming nonagenarian, Stella Levi, one of the last remaining Holocaust survivors from the vanished Sephardic community of the Juderia on the Greek island of Rhodes. In relaying her life story, Mr. Frank has pulled off something special: One Hundred Saturdays is a sobering yet heartening book about how friendship, remembrance, and being heard can help assuage profound dislocation and loss. It is also a reminder that the ability to listen thoughtfully is a rare and significant gift.” —Heller McAlpin, The Wall Street Journal
"Incandescent... Distilled through Frank’s intelligent prose and enlivened with eye-catching illustrations from [Maira] Kalman, Levi’s recollections bring to vivid life the unique culture of the Juderia, its complicated colonial history, and her colorful, multilingual family as she describes how, under Italian Fascist rule in the 1920s and ’30s, all traces of Judaism vanished from the public eye... Frank’s narrative shines with an ebullience, thanks to the 'unusually rich, textured, and evolving' life of his utterly enchanting muse. The result provides an essential, humanist look into a dark chapter of 20th-century history." —Publishers Weekly
"Reading [One Hundred Saturdays] is like watching an artist piece together a mosaic. A splash of blue sea here. A mother’s song over there. The smell of Purim pastries. The flash of first love... Maira Kalman’s illustrations, heavily influenced by Matisse with their deceptive simplicity, rich colors and delicate textures, are perfect complements to Levi’s story, portraying vanished scenes from life on Rhodes before the Holocaust. Together with the text of Frank’s beautiful book, they create a sensitive portrait of an extraordinary woman." —BookPage
"Gifted... Told from the author's point of view over the course of 100 meetings, each with its own short chapter, this story is a unique glimpse at a forgotten history that we all must learn." —Good Morning America (Most Anticipated September 2022)
"Frank (The Mighty Franks) provides a compelling and unique story of genocide and loss. The central figure, Stella Levi, is intensely captivating and a woman with remarkable insight... While memory is fallible after so long, the author always includes relevant historical context and research to fill in and fact-check Stella’s stories, but it’s done in a way that still honors her version. Illustrations by Kalman also bring this world to life. An essential read for Jewish history and memoir fans." —Library Journal (starred review)
"Accompanied by illustrations from Maira Kalman, Frank writes Stella’s harrowing journey with care, and the result is this beautifully crafted true story of friendship, love, survival, and redemption." —Booklist (starred review)
“A poignant and absolutely necessary addition to the canon of Holocaust literature. Through Michael’s questions, which showcase trust and friendship that grows between interviewer and interviewee, and gorgeous illustrations from artist Maira Kalman, One Hundred Saturdays paints remarkable dual portraits. The first is of a vibrant Sephardic community which was decimated by the Nazis and is still often omitted from Holocaust histories. And the second is, of course, of Stella Levi and the chapters of her life: child, prisoner, survivor, wanderer, wife and mother and, now, storyteller.” —Hey Alma
“One Hundred Saturdays is, quite simply, essential reading.” —BookTrib
“This intimate story of one remarkable woman is also the history of a people. One Hundred Saturdays is an important book, brilliantly told and illustrated, and profoundly moving.” —Hilma Wolitzer, author of Today a Woman Went Mad in the Supermarket
“Stella Levi, now in her late nineties, is a reluctant Scheherazade. Michael Frank, her interlocutor, has a storyteller’s genius for listening. Theirs is a bond that transcends generations, languages, and lived experience. Together they have collaborated on a riveting portrait of a singular young woman who grew up in the old Jewish quarter of Rhodes, dreamed of a vibrant life in Europe, suffered deportation to a series of Nazi death camps, lost her family and her bearings, and made it to the other side. But Scheherazade told stories to survive. Stella Levi’s story illuminates the mysteries of survival.” —Judith Thurman, author of Cleopatra’s Nose
“Through the polyphonic story of Stella Levi, a woman severed from her origin but deeply connected to it through memory, Michael Frank conjures up not only the eradication of the Jewish community in Rhodes, but also what preceded it: the life. His book—beautiful, sober, and affecting—is a testament to remembrance and friendship.” —Dalia Sofer, author of The Septembers of Shiraz
“Like his subject, Stella Levi, Michael Frank is a master storyteller. He knows how to dole out information in a way that is nothing short of brilliant, and in One Hundred Saturdays he even manages to infuse the ghostly past with an air of lively, sympathetic suspense.” —Wendy Lesser, author of Why I Read
“In One Hundred Saturdays Michael Frank entices readers to fall in love with Jewish Rhodes and its perspicacious bard, Stella Levi, a nonagenarian for whom he, too, seems to have fallen in the course of one hundred Saturdays of intimate, evocative, sometimes painful conversation. Maira Kalman's dreamy illustrations are the perfect companion to this moving book.” —Sarah Abrevaya Stein, author of Family Papers
"Michael Frank has beautifully preserved the lost world of the Jews of Rhodes. He manages to give us—deftly and with great economy—both Stella’s moving personal story and a vivid sense of the society that shaped her: a unique blend of Judeo-Spanish, Italian, French, Turkish, and Greek languages and cultures, an insular and yet cosmopolitan world that the Nazis effectively extinguished." —Alexander Stille, author of Excellent Cadavers: the Mafia and the Death of the First Italian Republic
"A stunning achievement—both as a momentous historic retrieval and a work of literary art. I was gripped throughout by this thoughtful, psychologically rich conversation." —Phillip Lopate, film critic and editor of The Art of the Personal Essay
12/01/2022
Stella Levi and author Frank (What Is Missing) collaborated on this book via a series of Saturday conversations that took place over six years. Levi grew up on Rhodes, a Greek island in the eastern Aegean that was taken over by Italian troops in 1912. The neighborhood where she lived—the Juderia—had been home to Jews from the 1600s until July 1944, when the Nazis deported 1,700 Jewish residents, murdering 1,200 at Auschwitz. Levi was liberated in 1945 and spent years trying to find her place in the world, before finally ending up in New York City, where she still lives. Frank's narration creates a sense of intimacy, where listeners can be part of the discussion and hear about Levi's childhood, deportation, life in the concentration camps, and beyond that. How does a person start again after barely escaping the horror of so much death? Levi's life as a survivor, wanderer, wife, and mother proves her toughness and determination. She's a woman who refuses to be defined by the events of her life and instead lives life as she sees fit. VERDICT Marvelous narration by the author and interludes of Stella Levi singing make this an excellent addition to public library collections.—Christa Van Herreweghe
★ 07/01/2022
Frank (The Mighty Franks) provides a compelling and unique story of genocide and loss. The central figure, Stella Levi, is intensely captivating and a woman with remarkable insight. In her 90s when Frank encounters her, she is cautious about sharing her story. Over the course of 100 Saturdays and several years, however, she unspools a remarkable life, starting in a vanished Old World enclave of Jews on the island of Rhodes, a time in Auschwitz, and a chapter in New York City. While her story includes the Holocaust, for Stella it is about the overwhelming force of modernity and push to discover oneself. Stella and Frank's conversations evoke a remarkable relationship, and Stella herself is a model for constant reinvention, even at her age. While memory is fallible after so long, the author always includes relevant historical context and research to fill in and fact-check Stella's stories, but it's done in a way that still honors her version. Illustrations by Kalman also bring this world to life. VERDICT An essential read for Jewish history and memoir fans. Stella is a compelling character for anyone to meet.—Margaret Heller
A recipient of the Jewish Book Council’s Natan Notable Book Award, author/narrator Michael Frank brings a friendly, professorial tone to this biography of Stella Levi, a 99-year-old Holocaust survivor. Levi grew up on the island of Rhodes, part of a group of “Judeo-Spanish-speaking Sephardic Italian Jews.” Frank spent six years and 100 Saturdays visiting with and listening to Levi’s remembrances of her family life. She spoke reluctantly of her horrific WWII experiences under the fascist regime, of the unbearable transport conditions to the concentration camps, and of the loss of loved ones. Occasional recordings of Stella’s voice make this even more an audiobook treasure. Frank remains an objective storyteller offering a clear-eyed look at one woman whose strong will helped her to survive. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
A recipient of the Jewish Book Council’s Natan Notable Book Award, author/narrator Michael Frank brings a friendly, professorial tone to this biography of Stella Levi, a 99-year-old Holocaust survivor. Levi grew up on the island of Rhodes, part of a group of “Judeo-Spanish-speaking Sephardic Italian Jews.” Frank spent six years and 100 Saturdays visiting with and listening to Levi’s remembrances of her family life. She spoke reluctantly of her horrific WWII experiences under the fascist regime, of the unbearable transport conditions to the concentration camps, and of the loss of loved ones. Occasional recordings of Stella’s voice make this even more an audiobook treasure. Frank remains an objective storyteller offering a clear-eyed look at one woman whose strong will helped her to survive. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
2022-06-16
At 99, a Holocaust survivor describes her harrowing experience.
In 2015, Frank met Stella Levi when they attended a lecture on Nazi Fascism at NYU’s Department of Italian Studies. Levi grew up in the Juderia (Jewish quarter) of the island of Rhodes among “Judeo-Spanish-speaking Sephardic Italian Jews.” The day after the lecture, the director of the Centro Primo Levi called Frank to ask if he wanted to help Levi (no relation to Primo) with the English in her upcoming talk. He went to her Greenwich Village apartment shortly thereafter for their first meeting. The next week, he told her he wanted to write about her life. Thus began 100 Saturday conversations spanning six years, during which Levi described her upbringing and wartime experience. At first, she refused to discuss the camps to which she and 1,650 other Rhodeslis, wedged onto “three dilapidated cargo boats,” were sent. In Frank’s elegant rendering, Levi restricts herself to family stories—her father’s successful coal and wood business, the sibling who was the first among her sisters to be educated at the Italian high school for girls—before discussing the Fascists who introduced racial laws, disinterred Jewish cemeteries, and “set in motion a series of events that would in time lead to the destruction of this same community, which had lived in relative peace in Rhodes for nearly half a millennium.” The narrative, interspersed with Kalman’s color paintings of scenes from Levi’s life, is an evocative and heartbreaking work. Readers only intermittently get a sense of the connection between Levi and Frank, and based on the evidence presented here, it doesn’t transcend far beyond that of reporter and subject. The story Levi tells, however, is gut-wrenching in its horrifying familiarity, and Frank presents it well—even if the concept of 100 Saturdays comes across as a storytelling gimmick.
A brutal yet ultimately hopeful account from one of history’s darkest episodes.
