Hannah by Paul-Loup Sulitzer

Book title : Hannah
Author : Paul-Loup Sulitzer
Publisher : Diamond books
Date published   : 1988       Number of pages: 539
Genre (write one) : -                         Book Code           : PAU/PBI/NV/0662

This novel is based on the life of Helena Rubinstein. The most standout characters are Hannah, a Polish girl who rises from her humble origins to become an international cosmetics queen, Taddeuz, her long-lost friend, and Mendel Visoker, a friend of her father who helped her much in her live.
The part I like most from the story is when Hannah tried to bargain the salary from her boss till finally she could build another two stores for her own genius business. This part shows the best part of her beginning career. Until Fate and the extraordinary personality of the Grande dame of the beauty business contributed to her now- international renown. It was beautifully described.
The part that confuses me is when the story of her owns family; her mother and brother, never reappearance after her movement to Warsaw, whereas they were the only family she had after her father and brother died because of pogrom on her Jewish shtetl. It seems that they were only the complement of the story and have no role in her life.
I dislike the part when finally Taddeuz came back to her life. Although he was the only person she had been waiting for and she wanted to marry with since she was a child, I don’t like the way he comes and go freely in her life without knowing anything about her struggle. I think he had almost no important role in her life but why he was become so special in the story. Is it just because he was her first love? It’s very pool reason for me.
The story of Hannah reminds me to the story of the founding of Martha Tilaar cosmetic in Indonesia. She has almost the same story as Hannah. She grew in a low social family, but it couldn’t be reason for her to not being smart and rich. Since she was a child, she had already learned how to be entrepreneur by selling cakes made by her mother. What she had done is not wasted. Now, she become a succeed entrepreneur in cosmetic business.
If I were the author, I would like to exchange the position of Taddeuz and Mendel Visoker. Mendel was the one who had a big role in Hannah’s live. He was the one who responsible for her after her moving to Warsaw. He was also the one who sent her to Australia where she begin her new live. While Taddeuz, was only her childhood sweetheart. So, for me the one who was more appropriate to become her lover was Mendel not Taddeuz.
The largest issue of this novel is about live and love. Hannah’s story described those two things in incredible way. Left by her beloved father and brother, not cared by her own mother made her think that she was the one who lives her own live. Her believe in love lead her to meet her childhood love as her real husband when she was adult.
The lesson I got from the novel is that live is struggle.  Hannah’s story shows how difficult she was to survive. She struggle from the hard of live. She starts with nothing and is soon the richest woman in the world. It’s like from zero to hero. Never ever give up your live and be the one you dream of.