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Finding Pascasio cover

  • eBook Edition
    • 978-1-5255-2467-7
    • epub, mobi, pdf files
  • Paperback Edition
    • 978-1-5255-2466-0
    • 6.0 x 9.0 inches
    • Black & White interior
    • 648 pages
  • Hardcover Edition
    • 978-1-5255-2465-3
    • 6.0 x 9.0 inches
    • Black & White interior
    • 648 pages
  • Keywords
    • WWII,
    • Post-revolution Cuba,
    • Family,
    • Searching for roots,
    • Immigrating to Canada,
    • Pre-and post-war Berlin,
    • Cold War

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Finding Pascasio
by Herminio Schmidt


Four-year-old ‘Wolfi’ Herminio is happily growing up in Berlin with his six-year-old brother Roni, his German mother Klara and his Spanish journalist father Pascasio. But on the day that Hitler invades Poland, a panicked Pascasio rushes home, burns all his papers, and then flees Germany, leaving his family behind and severing all contacts with them. This bewildering abandonment thoroughly derails the lives of the little boys, just as they are faced with the advent of WWII and all its terrors and privation. As a young man, Herminio sets out to solve the mystery of this defining event. Why Pascasio left? What happened to him? A lifelong journey to find the answers becomes a struggle of hope, suspicion, disappointment, and shocking discoveries that will take him to Franco’s Spain, Castro’s Cuba, and the remote Canary Islands. In a story that reads like an engaging thriller, Herminio’s search will also lead him into adventures such as working for a spy agency, becoming an unwitting accessory to a plot to blow up the Statue of Liberty, and a ping-pong game with Fidel Castro himself. Juxtaposed against some of the most pivotal events of the twentieth century, this fascinating and deeply personal story examines the effects of buried secrets and old wounds, and how they resonate down through generations. While Herminio starts out damaged by his father’s disappearance, his quest reveals that this moment is central to the man he has become.

www.herminioschmidt.com


"Schmidt writes in an elegant, thoughtful prose that captures the author’s quiet but insistent pining for understanding ... Schmidt provides a first-person account of so many fascinating times and places that it more than makes up for the lulls. The enigma of Pascasio becomes secondary to the experience of viewing major developments of the 20th century through one man’s personal development. A unique, often marvelous memoir of discovery." - Kirkus Reviews


Herminio Schmidt was born in Berlin and immigrated to Canada as a young man. He has taught at universities in Winnipeg and Waterloo. A playwright and a frequent contributor to international magazines and newspapers, he has also published a book on the German writer, Heinrich von Kleist. Schmidt and his wife, Linda, reside in Kitchener, Ontario, where they enjoy the stimulating environment of a vibrant university community. They like yoga, skiing, hiking, biking and travelling.


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