- Paperback: 64 pages
- Publisher: Washington Square Press (April 3 2001)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0743412710
- ISBN-13: 978-0743412711
- Product Dimensions: 15.8 x 13.6 x 0.6 cm
- Shipping Weight: 68 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #230,062 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
First published in 1938 in Story magazine as a wake-up call warning Americans of the true nature of the Nazi menace, this punchy epistolary tale enacts a stunning drama of friendship, betrayal and vengeance. In 1932, San Francisco art-gallery owner Max Eisenstein, a Jew who grew up in pre-Nazi Germany, bids farewell to his longtime friend and business partner Martin Schulse, who returns with his family to Munich, where he becomes a Nazi. Through their letters to one another, which quickly move from warmth to a chilling disregard, we watch as the once-liberal Martin, seduced by grandiose visions of German destiny and by the rantings of "our Glorious Leader," vents an anti-Semitism that he tortuously rationalizes. Max, alarmed by reports of anti-Jewish persecution in Germany, asks Martin to look after his actress sister, Griselle, who is performing in Berlin. When she is murdered by Nazi storm troopers after being refused refuge at the Schulse house, Max takes revenge through a clever epistolary ploy that provides a satisfying surprise ending. Nearly 60 years after its initial publication, Kressman's story serves not only as a reminder of Nazi horrors but as a cautionary tale in light of current racial, ethnic and nationalist intolerance.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Published to acclaim and impressive sales?50,000 copies?in 1938, this is one of the earliest pieces of Holocaust fiction. The epistolary novel reveals the rising tide of evil in Germany through the correspondence between two friends, one of whom is living in San Francisco, the other in Berlin.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
Back in Germany! How I envy you! Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Back in Germany! How I envy you! Read the first page
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Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
O. Henry she ain't.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Address Unknown (Paperback)
Based on the positive hype, I ordered four copies of this lovely little book. I should have read the reviews more carefully, but I did not want to risk finding out the surprise ending. Unfortunately, I can't send this book to anyone on my list: it's a quick read and well crafted, but it's unflattering to Jews (though perhaps it wouldn't have been perceived this way 65 years ago?); and the ultimate message is a great disappointment to anyone who believes that vengeance is not laudable, however cleverly it is accomplished.
4.0 out of 5 stars
An interesting little gem,
By
This review is from: Address Unknown (Paperback)
I read this book (novella really - almost a short story) in one sitting, and found it to be both profoundly disturbing and very clever. There is a marvellous twist in the tale which I have to confess that I didn't see coming, and despite the real horrors of the story, left me satisfied and smiling at the end.But this is not a perfect book - some of the other reviewers have mentioned the inaccuracies of the time and the geography, and how parts of some of the characters' adventures and activities are a little too pat. All of this is true. But we forgive all of that as we read the letters which demonstrate so well the dissolving of a lifetime's ties of friendship, and the infinitely clever revenge that is eventually had. So, not a perfect book, but a very, very good one (4 and a half stars really), and one that I would recommend to anyone who is interested in history, clever writing, and who loves a story with a twist in the tale!
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating and Disturbing,
By Neir (Bethesda, MD) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Address Unknown (Paperback)
I read this book in less than 20 minutes, but I was struck with its implications for hours afterwards. The novella touches on an important theme in the post-Sept. 11 world: that of revenge. Is it ever justified to take the law into your own hands, to punish someone who did you wrong, to make him lose his life? What good can this possibly do? While the revenge is certainly sweet, is it justified? Is it moral? Interesting topic for an essay.
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