The Broken Mirror: A Novella, Issue 1997

Kirk Douglas

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 1997 - Juvenile Fiction - 88 pages

Growing up in Munich in the 1930's, young Moishe loves to hear his sister, Rachel, read him his favorite story: a fairy tale about an evil mirror broken and scattered by Satan. He wonders whether shards of that mirror, which have the power to turn people's hearts to ice, still exist. A few years later, when the Nazis imprison his family in a concentration camp, he knows that they do. By the end of the war, Moishe is the only one of his family still alive, and he no longer wants to be Jewish. He tells the American liberators he is a Gypsy named Danny and is sent to a Catholic orphanage. When his best friend at the orphanage is adopted, Moishe is unable to bear yet another loss in his short life. He runs away. Yet when all seems utterly hopeless, he learns that the light of Sabbath candles is warm enough to melt the ice that has formed in his own heart. In this moving story of a young boy's flight from his past, legendary actor and acclaimed author Kirk Douglas reminds us that sometimes wemust embrace our most painful memories to uncover a brighter future. He tells a timeless tale of loss of faith and its recovery.

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LibraryThing Review

User Review  - yvonne.sevignykaiser - LibraryThing

Short story of the holocaust with the fairy tale of The Broken Mirror tied in to the story. Love being the common denominator to breaking the spell.

About the author

Kirk Douglas is a renowned actor whose work on and off the screen has been rewarded by three Academy Award nominations, an Oscar for Lifetime Achievement, and the Medal of Freedom. Through his production company, Bryna, Douglas has produced acclaimed films such as "The Vikings, Lonely Are the Brave, Paths of Glory", and "Seven Days in May. "He has penned ten novels and memoirs, including "The Ragman's Son "(1988). His 1960 epic, "Spartacus, "based on the Howard Fast novel of the same name, is credited with helping to end the practice of blacklisting film professionals who had refused to cooperate with the House Un-American Activities Committee. Douglas appeared in some ninety movies before retiring from film acting in 2004. In 2009, he starred in an autobiographical one-man show called "Before I Forget "at the Center Theatre Group's Kirk Douglas Theatre in Los Angeles. Douglas maintains an active life in Beverly Hills and Montecito, where he resides with his beloved wife Anne.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Broken Mirror: A Novella, Issue 1997; The Broken Mirror: A Novella, Kirk Douglas
• Author: Kirk Douglas
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 1997
• Original from: the University of Michigan
• Digitized: Dec 14, 2010
• ISBN: 0689814933, 9780689814938
• Length: 88 pages
• Subjects: Juvenile Fiction / Historical / Holocaust