COMEDY IN A MINOR KEY by Hans Keilson

To be comfortable in the world of the Kafkaesque, one must slowly climb up the literary ladder, page after page, year after year. My journey began with the likes of V.C. Andrews during my tawdry youth, and then eventually reached its pinnacle with Tolstoy, and of course, Kafka. Aside from my literary snobbery (which is nothing short of a veneer – I still love me some Sidney Sheldon), having entered Kafka’s abyss of absurdity and horror makes Hans Keilson’s novel, COMEDY IN A MINOR KEY, not only recognizable, but entirely brilliant.

December 16, 2010 В· Judi Clark В· No Comments
Tags: , ,  В· Posted in: Classic, Holland, Reading Guide, World Lit

DEATH OF THE ADVERSARY by Hans Keilson

What is the relationship between persecutors and their victims? In THE DEATH OF THE ADVERSARY – poised on the brink of what soon will be one of the world’s most horrific tragedies – an unnamed narrator in an unnamed country reflects on an unnamed figure who will soon ascend to power. Although the figure (“B”) is never revealed, it soon becomes obvious that he is Hitler and that the narrator is of Jewish descent.

October 22, 2010 В· Judi Clark В· No Comments
Tags: , ,  В· Posted in: Allegory/Fable, Classic, Facing History, Germany, World Lit