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y separately published work icon Once, Only the Swallows were Free single work   autobiography  
Issue Details: First known date: 2013... 2013 Once, Only the Swallows were Free
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Twenty-five years after Gabrielle Gouch left her native land, Transylvania, communism collapsed and the author, now an Australian, returned to visit her half-brother Tom. The years of separation are difficult to erase, but he opens up eventually. In a cosy room with red Persian carpets and photographs of his mother, gentle Tom shares stories of his life, often funny, sometimes heartbreaking but never self-pitying.


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.


Through a gripping and beautifully written personal history, Gabrielle Gouch succeeds in creating a memoir as strange and fascinating as fiction.' (Publisher's blurb)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Melbourne, Victoria,: Hybrid , 2013 .
      image of person or book cover 1448473987481778711.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online
      Extent: 279p.
      Note/s:
      • Published November 2013
      ISBN: 9781921665998

Works about this Work

Book Review: Once, Only The Swallows Were Free by Gabrielle Gouch Sarah Morton , 2014 2014 single work review
— Appears in: The NSW Writers' Centre Blog

— Review of Once, Only the Swallows were Free Gabrielle Gouch , 2013 single work autobiography
Book Review: Once, Only The Swallows Were Free by Gabrielle Gouch Sarah Morton , 2014 2014 single work review
— Appears in: The NSW Writers' Centre Blog

— Review of Once, Only the Swallows were Free Gabrielle Gouch , 2013 single work autobiography
Last amended 20 Jun 2014 14:34:17
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