In 1941Β YefimΒ Shulman, a seventeen-year-old Ukrainian Jew, was in the army.Β He was more than willing to fight for the Soviet Union in order to stop Hitler.Β The aftermath of just one battle led to a series of eventsΒ that heΒ decided to keep secret.Β At first, it was for his own survival and later for the benefit of his family.
YOUR PRESENCE IS MANDATORY, by Sasha Vasilyuk, is based onΒ actualΒ events and spans seven decades.Β Brought alive in vivid detail is what life was like for Yefim from WWII to the present war between Ukraine and Russia.
Yefim may not have been perfect, but he loved his wife, children and grandchildren.Β He was considered a war veteran and a hero.Β After all, he had made it to Berlin.Β Β He knewΒ what the consequences would beΒ for himself and his family if he ever told the truth about the years he was gone.Β However, concealing the truth from the KGBΒ was not easy. It was not until after Yefim had diedΒ did hisΒ family discovered the secret he had harbored for so many decades.Β Did this affect his legacy?
YOUR PRESENCE IS MANDATORY is a debut novelΒ andΒ I found itΒ to beΒ profound and informative.Β I learned a great deal by reading this bookΒ andΒ I consider this to be a good thing. Well written andΒ engrossing, this book is well worth reading.
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No excerpt available.
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