‘I Am Sasha’ is a novel based on a memoir of life under the Nazis in World War 2, written by the author's grandmother. Sasha is Anita Selzer's father.
The book's almost accidental origin, like that of Keneally's ‘Schindler's Ark’, makes it particularly valuable. If Selzer's grandmother had not written down her memories, and if the manuscript had not been picked up after lying in a drawer for 20 years, we would have missed this amazing story of Holocaust survivors. Driven out of Lwów in 1941, Sasha's mother knows that the only way her son can avoid the fate of other Jewish boys is for him to become a girl. At this point the Nazis are forcing only boys to strip so they can be checked for circumcision, and killed or spared accordingly. So long hair and a dress transform Sasha into a girl named Sala. And the much hated disguise saves his life.
Alarmingly, the author's timing could hardly be better, given the rise of neo-Nazism in Europe, the United States and even Australia. The racist and sexist abuse that young readers encounter every day online, the brutal Othering of people for their faith and sexuality are inescapable stains on public discourse today, and are only possible because, as Santayana said, 'Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it.' The consequences of cancelling history are the best reasons to read ‘I Am Sasha’.
The performative nature of gender identity intrigues writers from binarist cultures like Australia and the United States. But here, gender is not a game: it's a matter of life and death. Seen through the eyes of a boy, the narrative never lectures us with woke wisdom. It asks questions. Is identity just a label? Does feminine appearance make you a girl? If you were Jewish, could you pass as Catholic if it would save your life? Would you give up your most treasured possession if it meant you could eat? What does parental care mean - could it include taking your child's life?
‘I Am Sasha’ never flinches from the questions young readers ask themselves anxiously of an uncertain future, but it will strengthen them with its conviction that courage and determination can create inspiring answers.
NCACL Cultural Diversity Database