Article and Interview by Elise Cooper
In Another Time by Jillian Cantor is a love story. Hanna Ginsburg is in love with Max Beissinger but also is in love with her music. She has hopes and desires to become a concert violinist. This story shows how the rise of Hitler affected people’s hopes and dreams.
Even though Max and Hanna have fallen in love they cannot marry because in Hitler’s Germany marriage between a Jew and Christian has been outlawed. Alternating between the 1930s and 1950s the story shows the despair, but also the fate Jews faced during that era. Max’s quest is to save Hanna and he intends to use something he discovered in his late father’s journal to do it. The mystery surrounds why he vanishes, often for months at a time, and how at the close of the war Hanna awakens in a field, and is unable to remember the events of the past ten years. Relocating to London with her older sister, Hanna wonders what happened to Max and decides to lose herself in her other love, playing the violin. Her goal is to achieve her dream and locate Max.
This story is both haunting and compelling yet leaves readers with a sense of optimism. It is a reminder of how horrible and atrocious Hitler’s regime was and yet hope arose from the ashes.
Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for the story?
Jillian Cantor: I spoke to a Holocaust Survivor’s Group for my last book. People were sharing their stories. One woman told how as a young Jewish girl she lived in Germany during the rise of Hitler. Her parents refused to leave Germany and said, “We are Germans too. This is our country. Why should we give it up to this madman?” I thought how I wanted to explore this idea about staying versus leaving. What was the daily life like, as Hitler rose to power. It was a slow rising of bad times. Everything did not happen overnight.
EC: What is the role that music plays?
JC: I hope readers see that the book is also about how music helps during trying times. There is a need for music. I think there is a love story between Hanna and her violin, how music saved her during the toughest of times. The book delves into Hanna’s trauma and has people wonder if she can achieve her dream.
EC: Her boyfriend Max said that when she played the music it came across as ‘fire and light.” Please explain.
JC: He meant music was her fire. When Hannah did not have her music, she did not feel alive. I read this memoir by a violinist prodigy that made me think how the violin instrument was such a strong part of her life. I put in this quote by Hannah, “The violin began to consume me, for a little while the nightmares ceased and I even began sleeping through the night.” The violin keeps her feeling alive and happy. I think creative people have passions that consume them, whether it is a concert violinist, a dancer, or a writer.
EC: Did you ever play the violin?
JC: No, but I did play the clarinet in the band during high school and college; although I have not played for twenty years. Music did play an important role in my life. My family always went to symphonies and musicals together. My children also play instruments. The closest I ever came to playing the violin was when my son considered it and I sat through his lessons and practicing.
EC: Books also play a role?
JC: Max had a bookstore because he loves to read. This is how he got Hanna to fall in love with him. He has to deal with the book ban in Germany. There is this quote by Heine I put in the novel, “Whenever they would burn books they would burn people too.” Books can represent ideas that are different. Books have power. If books are burned because of the ideas then people considered different can also be burned.
EC: How would you describe Max?
JC: He is generous, handsome, brilliant, caring, and kind. He does not connect with many people around him. He mainly connects with books until he meets Hannah. Then his goal is to save her from the Nazis.
EC: How would you describe Hannah?
JC: Independent, talented, focused, driven, and caring. She had blinders on to what was really happening in Germany.
EC: Can you give a heads up about your next book?
JC: It is a historical novel about a strong, powerful woman who is resilient. It is not set during WWII but in the 1800s.
EC: THANK YOU!!
