Join Rabbi Tecktiel for the final novel in the summer's book club series on Sunday, July 26 on l

“Memento Park” is a story of restitution, of a man seeking to recover a painting he believes was looted from his family in Hungary during World War II. This art themed novel revolves around history, relationships and the painting "Budapest Street Scene" by Hungarian Ervin Laszlo Kalman. Matt Santos is a non-practicing Jew and a first generation American. His father, with whom he has a difficult relationship, immigrated from Hungary in the 1950s. Matt is both surprised and puzzled when he is contacted about a missing painting that has recently resurfaced after its disappearance during World War II. The painting may have been stolen from Matt's family, and he may be the rightful heir – but only because his father has refused to have anything to do with it. Matt's search for answers leads him to Hungary. What he learns there will cause him to reexamine all of the important relationships in his life – his relationship with his father, his relationship with his fiancee, and his relationship with God.

According to one reviewer “this short novel has a nice balance of well-rounded characters, a strong sense of place, and a well-paced mystery that keeps the reader engaged.” Of all the questions asked by Mark Sarvas’ “Memento Park”―about family and identity, about art and history―a central, unanswerable predicament lingers: How do we move forward when the past looms unreasonably large?

"Momento Park" is Sarvas' second novel. His debut novel, "Harry, Revised," was published in more than a dozen countries around the world. Sarvas is an American novelist, critic, and blogger living in Los Angeles. He is the host of the literary blog "The Elegant Variation."