The Death of the Adversary: A Novel Audiobook

" Over dit boek heb ik lang gedaan. Steeds weggezet en weer opgepakt. Het rare is dat zijn schrijfstijl me irriteert, maar dat het verhaal dat hij verteld, en de manier waarop hij het verhaal verteld, maar in mijn hoofd blijven terugkomen. Ik weet nog steeds niet wat ik er precies mee aanmoet. "

" Zie recensie in De Morgen 1-12-2010. "

" This is a fairly amazing book. Hans Keilson wrote this book during WWII as he fled Germany for the Netherlands about the emotions, the inner turmoil, of being a member of an un-named group who is the subject of the exploitative ire of "the adversary". Of course, he's writing about the Jews, about Hitler, but the quiet contemplation of the horror, the building of events, is incredibly powerful. Keilson presents the emotions that fed the events, the self-deception that allowed it happen, the evolution of hate and how it feeds on itself. Really powerful. But at the same time, he's so relentlessly analytical that you want him to let loose, to feel instead of being so persistently considered. On the other hand, the thoughtful quality makes it easier to read than it could have been. Recommended. "

" Although a short book, it is not a quick read. Keilson explores the need of an adversary to sharpen one's self definition of moral standards and as a reason for one's mere existance. It is a thinly vailed view of a WW2 jew and his political and social adversary - the 3rd Reich. "

" Keilson's story is powerful, not only because some things are never mentioned--Hitler, Nazi Youth--but because he is so good at psychological realism. And, since he lived during this time, there is an overlay of autobiographical realism at work, too. "

" Strangely intriguing, sometimes boring, interesting narrative. Don't really know how to rate it. Mildly enjoyable. "

" I don't understand the great reviews this book has gotten. It's like trying to see details through the densest fog imaginable. Almost nothing happens for many pages. My friends called it impressionistic; I found it unbelievably boring. "

" Hans Keilson has a beautiful prose style. This is a story about a young man's obsession with Hitler, whom he could only refer to as "the enemy" or "B." "

" Scary in an unconscious way. "

" Just couldn't connect with this book... I got it -- just never could get to the point where I trusted the narrator... A bit like reading a liar's memoir to me... I never knew what was real and what was just pure vitriol twisting the narrative... "

" A Jewish man lives with a young newly-wed couple in the Netherlands in the 1930's and then dies from pneumonia, so they have to get rid of his body without the police finding out. "

" A psychological examination of a Jew and the Dutch couple who hide him during the Occupation. This novel is succinct without losing it's poetry; Keilson crafts it with humor, intrigue and deep sadness. Highly recommend. "

" Not as good as Death of the Adversary, but good nonetheless. "

" This book is about a Dutch couple who hide a Jewish refugee during WWII. The story is short and spare. The psychological insights of the redeemer and the redeemed are acute. But maybe a person who is a little more introspective than can appreciate the fine pen the author uses. "

" Comedy in a Minor Key is absurd, sad and sweet. Wim, Marie and Nico (the houseguest) "

" Tables are turned when a hidden Jewish refugee dies. . . "

" Was a different perspective of the holocaust, not particularly life-changing but it gave psychological peeks into what went on in the minds of both the Jews who were hidden and the people who hid them. "

" Novella about a couple who harbor a Jew during WWII. I just can't love short stories or novellas; just not enough time to develop the characters. I couldn't relate to any of them. "

" How amazing it is to still be finding Holocaust literature that was written in 1947, only to be recently translated. A story worth reading, dealing with the difficulty of getting a Jew who died out of a house where he was hiding in the Netherlands. "