Once, Only the Swallows Were Free

Twenty-five years after Gabrielle Gouch left her native land, Transylvania, communism collapsed and the author returned to Romania from Australia to visit her half-brother Tom who told her stories about his life under communism. Though the story is factual, the author uses her strong eye for detail and the techniques of fiction to create this engaging and thought-provoking account about ordinary people in turbulent times. These sad and funny tales are interleaved with the story of the rest of the family from which Tom became estranged.

This memoir portrays the exodus of Jewish families from Romania and their arrival in the Promised Land, a dream come true for some but a shock for others. It explores issues of identity, disability, emigration and family relationships against a background of the major political events of the time from a perspective that challenges some accepted views.