Scenes from a disturbed childhood

'Adam Czerniawski's memoir begins in the pitch dark of Poland's fall in 1939, a family fleeing this way and that under the bombs and between the jailers. Then a faint light returns, and soon a clear, serene dawn as Adam follows schools in Palestine, enters the army, is reunited with his family in England and begins to write poetry.This is a beautifully subtle book, luminous with detail and character. The simplicity of the narrative, interwoven with old letters and seen with the surprise and candour of a boy, conceals much skill. There is terror and tragedy here, and the loss of home (the experience of a Polish generation), but never despair.'Neal Ascherson