Imagining the Holocaust Book

It is a particular feature of Holocaust fictions that we remember them differently than other fictions, and as the historical period recedes, literature helps keep those events alive. In Imagining the Holocaust, Daniel R. Schwarz examines widely read Holocaust narratives that 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 for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen before examining the Kafkaesque parables of Appelfeld and the fantastic cartoons of Spiegelman'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.Read More