Customer Reviews

Admitting the Holocaust: Collected Essays

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There are few scholars who have tackled the implications of the Holocaust with as much insight and intelligence as Lawrence Langer. From his analysis of Holocaust literature, to his impassioned invective against the misuse of Anne Frank's diary, his insightful analysis of Holocaust art, and his critical examination of the possibility of choice in the death camps, Langer has over the past twenty years carved himself a niche as one of the best Holocaust scholars. *Admitting the Holocaust* is the first collection of his essays Holocaust-related themes. Anyone interested in the Holocaust and its implications for contemporary life and thought cannot afford to pass up this collection. The piece "The Dilemma of Choice in the Nazi Deathcamps" is by itself worth the cost of the book. Coupled with his more recent collection, *Preempting the Holocaust*, this book is an extremely valuable contribution to any personal, public or educational library. (Don't pass up his *Holocaust Testimonies* either.) Perhaps only Elie Wiesel has addressed the Holocaust with more insight and sensitivity than Langer. Five stars for all of his works to date.

Many of these essays are admirable. Most of them deal with how writers have responded to the Holocaust. As Langer puts it, the Holocaust "demanded a totally new verbal sensibility." He goes on to say that "this universe of destruction undermined fundamental concepts that normally nurture human consciousness: tragedy, personal destiny, the discipline of private suffering." Some of his essays are more general, while others deal specifically with writers like Ozick, Malamud, and Kafka. Unfortunately, because this is a collection of essays that were mostly published elsewhere, there is a great deal of repetition. Thus, after the first essay, in which Langer sets forth his main ideas, the book is most useful as a reference work, to be consulted if you are interested in Langer's thoughts about particular a writer. You might want to see if your library has a copy.