Compartments by Tova Clark
This is the record of the author’s journey from her birth in Germany to life in Shanghai, Israel, and beyond. Each place of residence represents a different compartment in a tumultuous life. As the wife of a Canadian diplomat, Tova Clark travelled from Ottawa to Africa, Italy, Washington, Argentina, Spain, and back to Ottawa. Exposure to such a variety of cultures has had a profound effect, making her stronger than ever.
After the break-up of her marriage, Tova Clark felt a need to search for roots. No longer “wife-of,” she undertook a process of self-discovery, including recognition of a warm, traditional Jewish family background, with caring, loving parents who nurtured their only child under the most difficult of circumstances.
“Compartments” represents Tova Clark’s search for identity — a quest conducted in several contexts, including religion, culture, and gender. As events unfold, a familiar pattern develops: exile, dispersion, marginality, dependence, subservience, assertion, and independence. The Jewish people and a Jewish woman; where does one end and the other begin?
ISBN 1 894131 800
Softcover | 128 pages | 5.5" x 8.5"
30 B&W photographs