Response to “From No One Is Here Except All of Us”

Response to “From No One Is Here Except All of Us”

      Ramona Ausubel’s novel “No One Is Here Except All of Us” uses stories that she once heard from her grandmothers since childhood. The first part of the novel focuses on the history of Jewish and how they move families again and again. In the second part, a remote Jewish village decides to create a new world for themselves by their own abilities.

     This is a good fiction because it makes my heart sinks. The background of the story was during the World War II when Nazis possessed most of Europe. The violence was everywhere, and the murder is everywhere. I cannot help thinking the horrible scene of the holocaust. The sorrow fills my heart, in the meantime, I actually driven by the strong power of the remote Jewish village. They try their best to ignore the exoteric danger, to forget the death of their loves, and to isolate them from the war. Building up a new society to protect all villages is their faith to live in peace. “It’s the night before the world begins,” as the narrator says, “Everything is getting ready. Everything is waiting to be alive.” The beliefs of the villagers make me realize that no one should give up life even though being at danger. Maybe it’s to naïve to think about the empty things, but the rebuilding is a kind of support.

     Besides the content, the language Ausuble uses is very magical, mesmerizing, lyrical and evocative. She uses poetry, fairy tales and fables. The language is organized to convey deep meanings from long family history, imagination, and terrible war.