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sloatsj's review against another edition
5.0
Fantastic book, and strange I’d never heard of it until recently. I guess that the limited audience for such a book equals limited air time. If you are not German (and even if you are) or don’t have a particular interest in Germany, this book could bore you. But I ate it up. I am the target audience!
From the perspective of the 70’s, which are grotesque enough, the author takes on Germany, its culture and society and its heavy history. The weight of the past, the haunting and shame and guilt. The book has a lot of punch. I was worried the end would fizzle out stupidly but it did not. It was surprising and strong.
Basically the theme is on p. 190: “Sooner or later, every German, young or old, male or female, will come across some description in a book, or newspaper, or magazine of those grim events …. “
And “those grim events” may be too much for the individual to carry. He’ll want to deny or forget or rewrite, or at least question them. When a collapsed sewer reveals a mass burial site folks are particular about doing the right thing. And yet there’s the wishful question “can anyone really rule out the possibility, remote as it may appear, that these people were not inmates of the camp but Germans killed in air raids, or killed by Americans, or killed by the inmates after they had been released, or killed by fanatic Germans…” and wouldn’t it be nice if for once the Germans were not the perpetrators but the victims and they didn’t have to go on committing this ghastly crime forever and ever? Ach, if only!
For all its seriousness the book is also very funny. I laughed through all the talk about the weather, and the German words used to describe it. The story takes place in “a glorious German summer,” the best one in 33 years! That’s the beginning of the book and the glorious summer is mentioned over and over. It’s meant to be ironic, and it is, and it’s funny.
Then there are the titles of the book the main character has written: “Now or Never,” “What Else?” and finally “Exactly,” which strikes me as particularly German and hilarious. (Genau!)
And then the family as a metaphor for heritage: “In the garden Erika, laughing wildly, was chasing Gisela. In comparison to her, Gisela was by far more agile, more inventive. He found his daughter’s laughter vaguely disturbing, as if it spelled out a possible future derangement. Erika, he called from the window. Erika, stop it immediately.” (p. 101)
Finally, every German will have to deal with being German, and living with that history. The protagonist, recently back from Paris, spends some time where he’s settled, and is asked if he’s beginning to feel at home: “More and more, he replied. And when he thought about it later, he concluded that it was true. He did feel more at home, but that did not mean that he liked it.” (p. 168)
It’s a sad fate. Here the house as nation stripped of everything it could be proud of, art, culture and ideals: “I grew up in a large house in the country. A house that after the war was gradually emptied of its contents, its furniture, its paintings, its silverware, its carpets, anything that was of value. People from all over came to see what we had to sell.” (P. 249)
From the perspective of the 70’s, which are grotesque enough, the author takes on Germany, its culture and society and its heavy history. The weight of the past, the haunting and shame and guilt. The book has a lot of punch. I was worried the end would fizzle out stupidly but it did not. It was surprising and strong.
Basically the theme is on p. 190: “Sooner or later, every German, young or old, male or female, will come across some description in a book, or newspaper, or magazine of those grim events …. “
And “those grim events” may be too much for the individual to carry. He’ll want to deny or forget or rewrite, or at least question them. When a collapsed sewer reveals a mass burial site folks are particular about doing the right thing. And yet there’s the wishful question “can anyone really rule out the possibility, remote as it may appear, that these people were not inmates of the camp but Germans killed in air raids, or killed by Americans, or killed by the inmates after they had been released, or killed by fanatic Germans…” and wouldn’t it be nice if for once the Germans were not the perpetrators but the victims and they didn’t have to go on committing this ghastly crime forever and ever? Ach, if only!
For all its seriousness the book is also very funny. I laughed through all the talk about the weather, and the German words used to describe it. The story takes place in “a glorious German summer,” the best one in 33 years! That’s the beginning of the book and the glorious summer is mentioned over and over. It’s meant to be ironic, and it is, and it’s funny.
Then there are the titles of the book the main character has written: “Now or Never,” “What Else?” and finally “Exactly,” which strikes me as particularly German and hilarious. (Genau!)
And then the family as a metaphor for heritage: “In the garden Erika, laughing wildly, was chasing Gisela. In comparison to her, Gisela was by far more agile, more inventive. He found his daughter’s laughter vaguely disturbing, as if it spelled out a possible future derangement. Erika, he called from the window. Erika, stop it immediately.” (p. 101)
Finally, every German will have to deal with being German, and living with that history. The protagonist, recently back from Paris, spends some time where he’s settled, and is asked if he’s beginning to feel at home: “More and more, he replied. And when he thought about it later, he concluded that it was true. He did feel more at home, but that did not mean that he liked it.” (p. 168)
It’s a sad fate. Here the house as nation stripped of everything it could be proud of, art, culture and ideals: “I grew up in a large house in the country. A house that after the war was gradually emptied of its contents, its furniture, its paintings, its silverware, its carpets, anything that was of value. People from all over came to see what we had to sell.” (P. 249)
categal's review against another edition
4.0
This was such an interesting book. I don't think it entirely worked, especially the end, but there are breathtaking scenes and tensions that are absolutely worth experiencing.
The new, shiny town built on a concentration camp, the brothers' awful rivalry, the young adults trying to rebuild a country devastated by war, fantastic writing.
The new, shiny town built on a concentration camp, the brothers' awful rivalry, the young adults trying to rebuild a country devastated by war, fantastic writing.
lindseyzwilson's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
maggior's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
pelks's review
4.0
Excellent, bitingly sarcastic portrayal of Germany and its tortured history regarding WWII. I would very much recommend this to anyone interested in modern Germany or Germany's take on its own fascist past-- apparently not too much has changed in that regard since this book was written.
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