Still Alive
Ruth Kluger
I have read a lot of Shoah literature, and yet there is something different about each personal account of the disaster. This memoir/philosophical treatise delves deep within the human soul to try not to excuse history or even to explain it, but to cast it in an interesting and inherently more honest light. It is evident that Kluger is writing for herself just as much as she is writing for the readers, and this makes the book self-reflective rather than self-pitying. Kluger is searching for truth within and from her awful experiences, not for pity or disdain. The narrative speaks of greater things than just the Shoah, with a sincere urging not to forget and not to get bogged down in the details of the many horror stories. Kluger wants to preserve our shock, and her constant refusal to go into excess gruesome detail is poignant. Kluger is not hiding from the past but is, rather, illuminating it.
The book is somewhat dense and doesn't read as a straightforward chronological narrative, though it follows the general path of Kluger's early life. The events are speckled with more current reflections that manage not to distract the reader. The only thing about the book that does get distracting are the unfortunate lapses in tense- the narrative switches between present and past tense without much sense or reason. This, however, can be overlooked in light of what is being narrated. Kluger is a truly gifted writer who speaks to the reader and to herself throughout her writing without seeming pretentious at all. Kluger feels strongly about Germans; there is no doubt of that, but neither is she eager to condemn them outright. Her words are at once severe and forgiving, weaving a pattern of introspection that transcends memoir and asks the big questions. This memoir is not just another stone in the great repository of Shoah remembrance. Kluger breaks free of stereotypes, addresses them, and comes out ahead of the norm with an interesting, poignant, and truly unique look at the horror years of Europe.
In my distracted state, I cannot do adequate justice to this masterpiece of reflection. Kluger's text transcends the boundaries of its subject matter and its time and gets at the heart of reflection and historical memory. She is startlingly honest and frank- she makes no apologies or excuses for her actions and is as unforgiving to herself as she is to her mother. The poetry within the pages of prose, though Kluger's own, is offered without pretense and illuminates the text without becoming self-congratulating. Kluger is, if nothing else, brutally honest and strives to make her narrative different. Her book succeeds on every level, and is a must-read for those interested in this period of European history.
Grade: A
Ruth Kluger
I have read a lot of Shoah literature, and yet there is something different about each personal account of the disaster. This memoir/philosophical treatise delves deep within the human soul to try not to excuse history or even to explain it, but to cast it in an interesting and inherently more honest light. It is evident that Kluger is writing for herself just as much as she is writing for the readers, and this makes the book self-reflective rather than self-pitying. Kluger is searching for truth within and from her awful experiences, not for pity or disdain. The narrative speaks of greater things than just the Shoah, with a sincere urging not to forget and not to get bogged down in the details of the many horror stories. Kluger wants to preserve our shock, and her constant refusal to go into excess gruesome detail is poignant. Kluger is not hiding from the past but is, rather, illuminating it.
The book is somewhat dense and doesn't read as a straightforward chronological narrative, though it follows the general path of Kluger's early life. The events are speckled with more current reflections that manage not to distract the reader. The only thing about the book that does get distracting are the unfortunate lapses in tense- the narrative switches between present and past tense without much sense or reason. This, however, can be overlooked in light of what is being narrated. Kluger is a truly gifted writer who speaks to the reader and to herself throughout her writing without seeming pretentious at all. Kluger feels strongly about Germans; there is no doubt of that, but neither is she eager to condemn them outright. Her words are at once severe and forgiving, weaving a pattern of introspection that transcends memoir and asks the big questions. This memoir is not just another stone in the great repository of Shoah remembrance. Kluger breaks free of stereotypes, addresses them, and comes out ahead of the norm with an interesting, poignant, and truly unique look at the horror years of Europe.
In my distracted state, I cannot do adequate justice to this masterpiece of reflection. Kluger's text transcends the boundaries of its subject matter and its time and gets at the heart of reflection and historical memory. She is startlingly honest and frank- she makes no apologies or excuses for her actions and is as unforgiving to herself as she is to her mother. The poetry within the pages of prose, though Kluger's own, is offered without pretense and illuminates the text without becoming self-congratulating. Kluger is, if nothing else, brutally honest and strives to make her narrative different. Her book succeeds on every level, and is a must-read for those interested in this period of European history.
Grade: A
No comments:
Post a Comment