VIEW OF PRAGUE

I am also in the midst of reading Leaving the Atocha Station by Ben Lerner. It’s not a Holocaust novel. I wanted to read it because it is the runner-up for the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature. The Rohr Prize is awarded for the important role of emerging writers in examining the Jewish Experience. I’m half way through the story and have yet to find how the book examines the Jewish experience. Thinking that perhaps I had missed something, I read Erika Dreifus’ review on her blog at:

Erika Dreifus Blog
 
To return to the question posed at the beginning: Does Holocaust fiction serve to fuel hate against the collective perpetrators of evil, or as warning to never give in to hatred? In balance, do they fill us with despair, or with hope for the future of humanity?  I believe that well-written, well-researched books about the Holocaust provide real insight into how ordinary people—like ourselves, our family, our friends and neighbors can easily be caught in a vicious web of deceit and destruction—if we are not vigilant. These stories become more important with the passing of time, because they goad and inspire us to find the courage and integrity to speak out before it is too late. 
 
For more my more detailed reviews of the other Holocaust novels see:
 
Children of Fire by Ursula Hegi.
In The Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin by Erik Larson
The Book Thief by Marcus Zusack
The Hare with the Amber Eyes: A Hidden Inheritance by Edmund de Waal
The Nine Inheritors: The Extraordinary Odyssey of A Family and Their Ancient Torah Scroll.
 
 
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