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A review by nailahreema
The Passenger by Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz
3.0
It was difficult to assign The Passenger a rating. I appreciated that Boschwitz had provided something quite unique but I didn't find the writing engaging. If I put it down, I ended up forgetting about it. It might be because this is a translation. If I understood German, and read the original text, I may have felt differently. Boschwitz backstory is what made the story fascinating.
He wrote the Passenger during the Nazi's persecution of the Jewish people. His story telling was almost premonition like. There were several moments where the reader could see how Boschwitz had guessed what the Nazis might do for example in once scene one of the characters say that it would be so much easier if all Jews wore a coloured arm band, so it's easier to identify them. It makes you realise, how antisemitism is a really good example of how irrational prejudice can be. You can't identify a Jewish person simply by looking at them in the same way you could identify someone as Asian or Black.
In another scene, the main character Otto thinks how bloodless killing a man could become once you strip away his money and clothing. It was hard not to automatically think of the gas chambers in concentration camp.
Really, the story only takes place across a few days at most, but emotionally it feels never ending. Otto is stuck on one train after another, desperately trying to escape but with no real plan. He has lost his money, home, business, social circle. It feels exhausting following him on his journey, whilst making some bizarre choices. It's clear how his mental resolve is being worn down in the face of increasing persecution.
I can't say I wouldn't recommend this book, it's just not one I enjoyed reading.
He wrote the Passenger during the Nazi's persecution of the Jewish people. His story telling was almost premonition like. There were several moments where the reader could see how Boschwitz had guessed what the Nazis might do for example in once scene one of the characters say that it would be so much easier if all Jews wore a coloured arm band, so it's easier to identify them. It makes you realise, how antisemitism is a really good example of how irrational prejudice can be. You can't identify a Jewish person simply by looking at them in the same way you could identify someone as Asian or Black.
In another scene, the main character Otto thinks how bloodless killing a man could become once you strip away his money and clothing. It was hard not to automatically think of the gas chambers in concentration camp.
Really, the story only takes place across a few days at most, but emotionally it feels never ending. Otto is stuck on one train after another, desperately trying to escape but with no real plan. He has lost his money, home, business, social circle. It feels exhausting following him on his journey, whilst making some bizarre choices. It's clear how his mental resolve is being worn down in the face of increasing persecution.
I can't say I wouldn't recommend this book, it's just not one I enjoyed reading.