quinndm's review against another edition
3.0
I really loved the concept and the writing style of this book. I wanted to enjoy it more than I did. But, I found most of the dialogue way too clinical and ominously philosophical (which is great), but a lot of the characters in the book are young and/or illiterate; which, apart from the very brief description explaining their lack of education and intelligence, is quickly lost in their strangely (and uncharacteristically) eloquent speaking styles.
The book had a great - and very gripping - pace... until the bees! Too many damn pages and chapters about bees and bee-keeping. And, once you manage to pass all that, the book picks up again and finishes a very interesting take on Hitler's youth.
The book had a great - and very gripping - pace... until the bees! Too many damn pages and chapters about bees and bee-keeping. And, once you manage to pass all that, the book picks up again and finishes a very interesting take on Hitler's youth.
skidiva's review against another edition
2.0
A terrific concept -- Hitler's childhood, told from the vantage point of the Devil. Long, long, long, with a lot of odd side trips (what is Tsar Nicholas' coronation doing here???), and kind of overwrought. Wanted it to be a lot better than it was.
queer_reader's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
pharmdad2007's review against another edition
2.0
This one was interesting. The story was interesting enough, but it was so focused on the perverse and scandalous that it kind of left a sour taste in my mouth.
asteroidbuckle's review against another edition
2.0
This is the strangest book, fiction or nonfiction, that I have read in a long time.
Never having read a Norman Mailer book before, I had no idea what to expect. The blurb on the dust jacket sounded promising: a story about Adolf Hitler as a child, with portraits of his parents and siblings, as told by a mysterious SS officer. As a huge fan of historical fiction with a special interest in Nazi/WWII fiction, I couldn't pass this up.
However, I'm ambivalent about it. It wasn't bad, but I can't bring myself to say it was good, either. The best thing I can say about it is that it was weird enough for me to see it through to the end.
This book is many things rolled into one: a novel, an essay on the shortcomings of organized religion, an exploration of the age-old question of Good vs. Evil, and an in-depth look at how sex is at once a great and terrible thing, driving people to push the limits of morality in pursuit of carnal pleasure.
The narrator, as it turns out, is not an SS man, but a demon, a minor devil who once possessed the SS man and who now is breaking his code of silence to tell the story of how he helped shape and influence Adolf Hitler well into adulthood.
The book is told from the viewpoint of an omniscient narrator, since the point-of-view of several characters are covered in the book, many times within the same section. The narrative focuses mainly on Adolf's immediate family: Alois, his father; Klara, his mother; and his siblings Alois Junior, Angela, and Edmund. Their thoughts and motivations as well as how they interacted with Adolf while he was growing up (at times influenced by the demon) play major role in shaping young Adi, as Adolf was called, into the ego-centric, blood-obsessed, ambitious man we're familiar with.
The creativity with which Mailer uses these events of Adi's childhood is impressive, though at times it feels as if the story lacks focus. The story flits from one character to the next, oftentimes rapidly, at times focusing too much on sex (Alois' womanizing, Alois Junior's cruel and selfish affair with an old beekeeper, Adolf's masturbation style), other times retreating into a sermon on the absurdities of religion (Mailer even goes so far as to have the demon refer to God as the Dummkopf, which roughly translated, apparently means "dumbass").
The twist happens right at the beginning: Adolf is a child of incest. His parents are father and daughter, though neither is quite willing to let themselves admit it. As circumstances have it, they marry, and much of the rest of the book sets out to describe how this knowledge and its consequences influences both Klara (who thinks her children keep dying because of it) and Alois (whose powerful ego must constantly find ways to smooth over the rough spots caused by guilt).
The book ends when Adolf is 18 or 19, and we begin to really see the beginnings of the monstrous man he is to become.
Like I said, a strange book. It feels like Mailer tried to make it too many things and as a result, none of them really worked. I must say I wasn't sorry to reach the end.
Never having read a Norman Mailer book before, I had no idea what to expect. The blurb on the dust jacket sounded promising: a story about Adolf Hitler as a child, with portraits of his parents and siblings, as told by a mysterious SS officer. As a huge fan of historical fiction with a special interest in Nazi/WWII fiction, I couldn't pass this up.
However, I'm ambivalent about it. It wasn't bad, but I can't bring myself to say it was good, either. The best thing I can say about it is that it was weird enough for me to see it through to the end.
This book is many things rolled into one: a novel, an essay on the shortcomings of organized religion, an exploration of the age-old question of Good vs. Evil, and an in-depth look at how sex is at once a great and terrible thing, driving people to push the limits of morality in pursuit of carnal pleasure.
The narrator, as it turns out, is not an SS man, but a demon, a minor devil who once possessed the SS man and who now is breaking his code of silence to tell the story of how he helped shape and influence Adolf Hitler well into adulthood.
The book is told from the viewpoint of an omniscient narrator, since the point-of-view of several characters are covered in the book, many times within the same section. The narrative focuses mainly on Adolf's immediate family: Alois, his father; Klara, his mother; and his siblings Alois Junior, Angela, and Edmund. Their thoughts and motivations as well as how they interacted with Adolf while he was growing up (at times influenced by the demon) play major role in shaping young Adi, as Adolf was called, into the ego-centric, blood-obsessed, ambitious man we're familiar with.
The creativity with which Mailer uses these events of Adi's childhood is impressive, though at times it feels as if the story lacks focus. The story flits from one character to the next, oftentimes rapidly, at times focusing too much on sex (Alois' womanizing, Alois Junior's cruel and selfish affair with an old beekeeper, Adolf's masturbation style), other times retreating into a sermon on the absurdities of religion (Mailer even goes so far as to have the demon refer to God as the Dummkopf, which roughly translated, apparently means "dumbass").
The twist happens right at the beginning: Adolf is a child of incest. His parents are father and daughter, though neither is quite willing to let themselves admit it. As circumstances have it, they marry, and much of the rest of the book sets out to describe how this knowledge and its consequences influences both Klara (who thinks her children keep dying because of it) and Alois (whose powerful ego must constantly find ways to smooth over the rough spots caused by guilt).
The book ends when Adolf is 18 or 19, and we begin to really see the beginnings of the monstrous man he is to become.
Like I said, a strange book. It feels like Mailer tried to make it too many things and as a result, none of them really worked. I must say I wasn't sorry to reach the end.
danad96's review against another edition
1.0
Just couldn't finish this book. Not as much from the subject matter as because it was sooo slow in the middle. It was one of the weirdest books I'd ever read. A lot of it was kind of disturbing, but considering it is essentially a book about evil, it was probably to be expected. Glad to be moving on to another book.
hideousheart1's review against another edition
3.0
Difficult to recommend. And some of the subject matter leaves a rather bad taste in you mouth.
That said the writting is top notch and some of the metaphysical concepts are facinating (to me at least)
Worth your time and a very interesting read.
That said the writting is top notch and some of the metaphysical concepts are facinating (to me at least)
Worth your time and a very interesting read.
rmardel's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed reading this book, although it was admittedly a little difficult to get started and I can completely understand the some of the criticisms. Although the novel is supposedly about the youth of Hitler and he became the person whom history remembers, I really felt that the young Adolf was the least interesting part of the book. Knowing what we know about history, and given modern theories of psychological development, there was nothing particularly new or revelatory about that part of the story. The novel is, however, and excellent story about the strengths, weaknesses, failings, and squabbles of a late 19th/early 20th century german peasant family and this is fascinating reading.
I also enjoyed the narrators various digressions and comments although I thought Mailer was trying to channel CS Lewis here, and I think Lewis's devil was far more disconcerting. This devil shows very a very human tendencies in his need to justify and explain his activities, partly understandable because he was supposedly corporeal during part of the novel, but not completely so as the novel is supposedly dictated well after the fact.
Mailer writes well. He seems to pull off a rather difficult technique built around a difficult premise well. It is not perhaps the best choice for someone seeking a quick read, but it does pay off for anyone willing to put in the time.
I also enjoyed the narrators various digressions and comments although I thought Mailer was trying to channel CS Lewis here, and I think Lewis's devil was far more disconcerting. This devil shows very a very human tendencies in his need to justify and explain his activities, partly understandable because he was supposedly corporeal during part of the novel, but not completely so as the novel is supposedly dictated well after the fact.
Mailer writes well. He seems to pull off a rather difficult technique built around a difficult premise well. It is not perhaps the best choice for someone seeking a quick read, but it does pay off for anyone willing to put in the time.