The Kindly Ones

Commentary Review

Kyle — Fri, 01 May 2009 15:51:52 +0000

“Although The Kindly Ones is constructed like an airport potboiler, its scope, its intellectual sophistication, and its stately prose all point to Littell’s enormous literary ambition. His knowledge of the war, down to its most hidden bureaucratic crannies and its most private anguishes, is astonishing, particularly for an author who speaks no German.” More of the review here.

Reading Group Guide Question

Kyle — Fri, 01 May 2009 15:49:31 +0000

In an interview, Jonathan Littell said of the novel and his protagonist Max Aue, “I was aiming not for plausibility, but for truth. Novelistic truth is different from historic or sociological truth.” Does he achieve his goal? As a portrait of a perpetrator and his motivations, does the novel ring true for you?

Two More Online Reviews

Kyle — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 18:19:41 +0000

The reviews continue to come in. Let us know what you think about the book!

Philly.com

A Common Reader

Question for Readers

Kyle — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 17:37:01 +0000

Our weekly question for readers of The Kindly Ones:

The Kindly Ones is told from the viewpoint of an educated Nazi officer. What does this narrative viewpoint offer that other novels on the subject may not?

The Nation

Kyle — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 20:12:58 +0000

For a very thorough examination of the book by historian Samuel Moyn, go over to The Nation online.

“Contrary to most foreign critics (and perhaps Littell’s self-defense), the novel’s true premise is not that Aue is like other perpetrators. It is that he stands for Nazism as a whole.”

Blographia Literaria

Kyle — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 16:04:31 +0000

Andrew Seal at Blographia Literaria has two posts on The Kindly Ones. The first deals with his reactions to reviews of the book, the second his own review.

In his first essay, he points to how Littell’s experience working for an NGO in places such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chechnya, the Congo, Sierra Leone, and Afghanistan is key to thinking about how genocide is portrayed in the book:

“I do not understand how one can simply neglect to talk about this aspect of Littell’s personal history—is it not the most basic background and most likely impulse for the writing of a novel about mass murder, a great deal of which was the result or the corollary of starvation? To ignore or pass over the novel’s overwhelming prevalence of malnutrition, hunger, and starvation in favor of some relatively isolated scenes of (nonetheless intense) violence is to miss an enormous part of the novel’s substance, meaning, intention, and effect.”

The Valve

Kyle — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 17:23:30 +0000

Adam Roberts over at The Valve-A Literary Organ is posting his reactions to each section of The Kindly Ones as he reads them. Several of his readers have posted comments. Take a look. This link is to his first post but he’s posted three more since then.

Time Magazine Review

Kyle — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 16:30:12 +0000

“The force and clarity with which Littell renders the physical realities of war and mass murder are simply astounding… The Kindly Ones is unmistakably the work of a profoundly gifted writer.” More by Lev Grossman at Time Magazine.

The Boston Globe Review

Kyle — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 14:00:24 +0000

From Susan Rubin Suleiman at The Boston Globe:

“…if you’re like me, you will read it to the end with a mixture of fascination and disgust toward its narrator, and admiration for the author who created him… this novel gives us a comprehensive and historically accurate account of the Nazi genocide of the Jews…” More.

An Essay from the Translator

Kyle — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 13:55:01 +0000

Charlotte Mandell, who had the arduous task of translating The Kindly Ones into English, posted an essay about the book over at Beatrice.com.

“This is not the One Good Nazi of the sentimental (and to me disgusting) movies. This is the Evil Nazi, and we are in him for a thousand pages, and have to make our own way out. No consolations, no forgivenesses. I think about Paul Celan’s famous question, and realize we have to become the ones who witness the witness.” More.