Imagining the Holocaust

In Imagining the Holocaust, Daniel R. Schwarz examines widely read Holocaust narratives which have shaped the way we understand and respond to the events of that time. He begins with first person narratives— Wiesel's Night and Levi's Survival at Auschwitz —and then turns to searingly realistic fictions such as Borowski's This Way to the Gas Chamber, Ladies and Gentlemen, before turning to the Kafkaesque parables of Appelfeld and the fantastic cartoons of Spiegleman's Maus books. Schwarz argues that as we move further away from the original events, the narratives authors use to render the Holocaust horror evolve to include fantasy and parable, and he shows how diverse audiences respond differently to these highly charged and emotional texts.

In Imagining the Holocaust, Daniel R. Schwarz examines widely read Holocaust narratives which have shaped the way we understand and respond to the events of that time. He begins with first person narratives— Wiesel's Night and Levi's Survival at Auschwitz —and then turns to searingly realistic fictions such as Borowski's This Way to the Gas Chamber, Ladies and Gentlemen, before turning to the Kafkaesque parables of Appelfeld and the fantastic cartoons of Spiegleman's Maus books. Schwarz argues that as we move further away from the original events, the narratives authors use to render the Holocaust horror evolve to include fantasy and parable, and he shows how diverse audiences respond differently to these highly charged and emotional texts.

Library Journal

Schwarz (English, Cornell Univ.) divides his study of Holocaust literature into sections on memoir, realism, fantasy, and myth, parable, and fable. He describes the difference in techniques and philosophical ideas and covers questions of aesthetics and morals statements in the works by Primo Levi, Tadeusz Borowski, Aharon Appelfeld, Cynthia Ozick, and Bruno Schulz, among others. Jerzy Kosinski's life and work are poignantly explained, as are Art Spiegelman's graphic works. Schwarz is especially good in his discussion of the American popular realism of John Hersey's The Wall, Gerald Green's Holocaust, and William Styron's Sophie's Choice. A discussion of Claude Lanzmann's and Steven Spielberg's films on the Holocaust frame the overall discussion. Recommended for Jewish studies collections. Gene Shaw, NYPL Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Daniel R. Schwarz is Professor of English at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. His books include Reconfiguring Modernism: Explorations in the Relationship Between Modern Art and Reading Joyce's Ulysses.