Trains of Thought

The memoir chronicles Victor Brombert's coming-of-age as a Jewish youth in 1930s France, where his explorations of love were disrupted by the rise of Nazi power. After escaping to New York, he served in the U.S. Army and fought in pivotal battles in Europe. The narrative weaves together the innocence of childhood, the traumas of war, and a deepening passion for literature. It serves as a poignant meditation on memory, evoking a Proustian reflection on a lost era marked by both melancholy and eroticism.