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srutsam's review against another edition
3.0
Keilson's way of dealing with what everybody knows in a subtle manner is quite fascinating. There are no names, except some first names, and no places mentioned, and yet you know exactly what and who he is talking about.
I suppose it is a bit slow, and sometimes tedious to get through a page, but trust me, getting to the end it worth it.
The book, and writing, is shrouded by the dark looming presence of the adversary as one man tries to weave his way through life, while facing his fears and dealing with his hatred and others'.
This is definitely one of my favorite WWII era books.
I suppose it is a bit slow, and sometimes tedious to get through a page, but trust me, getting to the end it worth it.
The book, and writing, is shrouded by the dark looming presence of the adversary as one man tries to weave his way through life, while facing his fears and dealing with his hatred and others'.
This is definitely one of my favorite WWII era books.
gbliss's review against another edition
5.0
Read this book. Read this book.
I want to be really clear about this one: At about page ten or so I realized this was one of the best books I have ever read. It joins my little list of elite books that are those I will perennially recommend and cite as the great books I have read (Handful of Dust, Hundred Years of Solitude, Spandau: The Secret Diaries, Remains of the Day...being others).
The book is an incredibly insightful, eloquent, look at human nature and the failures of human nature that allowed the holocaust to happen.
But enough of what I have to say about this book. Here is what Francine Prose had to say:
For busy, harried or distractible readers who have the time and energy only to skim the opening paragraph of a review, I’ll say this as quickly and clearly as possible: “The Death of the Adversary” and “Comedy in a Minor Key” are masterpieces, and Hans Keilson is a genius.
She is 100% correct. Run, do not walk to your nearest library or (independent) book store.
I have put my name on the list for Comedy in a Minor Key.
I want to be really clear about this one: At about page ten or so I realized this was one of the best books I have ever read. It joins my little list of elite books that are those I will perennially recommend and cite as the great books I have read (Handful of Dust, Hundred Years of Solitude, Spandau: The Secret Diaries, Remains of the Day...being others).
The book is an incredibly insightful, eloquent, look at human nature and the failures of human nature that allowed the holocaust to happen.
But enough of what I have to say about this book. Here is what Francine Prose had to say:
For busy, harried or distractible readers who have the time and energy only to skim the opening paragraph of a review, I’ll say this as quickly and clearly as possible: “The Death of the Adversary” and “Comedy in a Minor Key” are masterpieces, and Hans Keilson is a genius.
She is 100% correct. Run, do not walk to your nearest library or (independent) book store.
I have put my name on the list for Comedy in a Minor Key.
evanboulton's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
silvej01's review against another edition
3.0
This short novel grows in its strength and power. Its subject is the emergence of Nazism as experienced by the nameless narrator who recounts his antipathy for his “adversary” – Hitler – beginning in his early childhood in the late 1920s and 30s. First published in the 1950s in the original German, Keilson was a German-Jew who hid out in the Netherlands following the Nazi ascendency and became active in the resistance. As the narrator grows into young adulthood, so of course does Germany come under Nazi rule. The narrator is trying (without success) to write cryptically about who exactly he is (a Jew). Similarly, he refrains from naming his great adversary – referred to as “B” – nor does he ever name the Nazi party. While his family – his father in particular – is keenly aware from early on of the terrible threat arising, the narrator also describes his discovery that many of his initial friends, associates, and potential girlfriends (who often don’t know that he is Jewish) are in fact adherents to B and his party.
I believe I might have enjoyed it more had Francine Prose not written:
“The Death of the Adversary and Comedy in a Minor Key are masterpieces, and Hans Keilson is a genius…. Read these books and join me in adding him to the list, which each of us must compose on our own, of the world’s very greatest writers.”
So, here is a yet another example of the disappointment that can come with very high expectations. While Keilson will not be on my own list of the world’s greatest writers, I’m nevertheless glad to have read this book. Without Prose’s endorsement, I probably would not have been aware of it at all (along with Keilson’s Comedy in a Minor Key,” which I liked more).
I believe I might have enjoyed it more had Francine Prose not written:
“The Death of the Adversary and Comedy in a Minor Key are masterpieces, and Hans Keilson is a genius…. Read these books and join me in adding him to the list, which each of us must compose on our own, of the world’s very greatest writers.”
So, here is a yet another example of the disappointment that can come with very high expectations. While Keilson will not be on my own list of the world’s greatest writers, I’m nevertheless glad to have read this book. Without Prose’s endorsement, I probably would not have been aware of it at all (along with Keilson’s Comedy in a Minor Key,” which I liked more).
disabledreamer's review against another edition
1.0
If you want to take the time to read a book with no names plot or anything then go ahead. Elusive and so bad just a waste of space and time.
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