Praise for: Shush! - Growing Up Jewish under Stalin

"This painful and acutely observed memoir will resonate with many readers."                                              

-Publishers Weekly 

[Draitser's] narrative eloquently testifies to the persistence of Russian Jews in maintaining their identity as well as to the value of the protest movement on their behalf."                                                                         

-Foreword

"A wonderfully evocative memoir of childhood and adolescence during one of the most tragic epochs in Russian history. As grim as the historical background of the memoir is, the mood is redeemed by Draitser's perfectly Odessan Jewish humor, sad yet optimistic, compared with that of another great Odessan, Isaak Babel."                              

-Lara Vapnyar, author of There are Jews in My House

"Draitser examines Odessa's social fabric as exemplified in film, literature, humor, headlines, holidays and vernacular to offer valuable, poignant snapshots of this turbulent, terrifying time. . . . Whimsical, heartfelt and candid."                        

-Kirkus Reviews

"Emil Draitser resurrects the world of his Jewish childhood in the Soviet Union touchingly and with a great sense of humor, a truly rare quality."  

-Solomon Volkov, author of Shostakovich and Stalin  

"Emil Draitser's memoir tells me, adroitly and movingly, more about being a child in Stalin's Russia than all the fiction and nonfiction I had read before put together. His work has worldwide appeal."            

-David Westheimer, author of Von Ryan's Express

"The hardships experienced by Soviet Jews are poignantly described in this memoir."                                                                      

 —The Jerusalem Post