Customer Reviews

The Conversion

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have been reading several works by Mr. Aharon Appelfeld. Many of his books relate the stories of Holocaust survivors before, during and after the Genocide. "The Conversion", takes place two generations prior to the Holocaust and addresses the topic the title suggests.

Theologians must debate the concept of conversion on dozens of levels, some as basic as is conversion possible as an absolute. The practice is widespread in the setting of this Austrian City, and the reasons for it are as varied as the people who make the decision. And among the converted there remains a great deal of emotion as to what their own conversion means, why theirs was justifiable and others not. What constitutes a frivolous conversion? Some would say any conversion is so classified, others that convert so as to receive a promotion feel their actions are valid. Some feel safe in their decision if a Parent gave their approval.

Mr. Appelfeld tells a complex tale that is very serious, however he exposes the hypocrisy or perhaps the lunacy that religious conversion creates. A person is denied a high government post because he or she is a Jew. This same person spends a few hours with a Priest, the bells ring, and suddenly this same person is not only considered for the job, but is rewarded with it. Who is more deluded, the person who converts, or the person who accepts them because of their conversion?

As he always does Mr. Appelfeld explores enough layers to show readers how complex a subject he is presenting, and how much more is left to be discussed. Why would a Jew become a Christian and almost immediately become the first in line to defend the people, the group, the traditions he just turned his back upon? One convert makes the transition from allowing a Priest to accept and convert him to Christianity only to see the same person see the Priest as a predator as a short time passes.

All of the writing of Mr. Appelfeld's that I have read is powerful. The end of this work is especially strong as he creates an ending that foretells the future. I don't believe many Authors could have written the ending with credibility much less with the emotion the reader has thrown over them.

I recommend this man's books to anyone. The topics may seem to be those you may have read before; however in every instance of his work even the familiar causes emotions to surface that would just be read without pause in another work. The man is truly a remarkable writer.

Unfortunately the nobel prize has already been given many times to jews who lived true the holocaust, else Appelfeld would have been a clear candidate. Indeed he is a master who should have received it, and he might end up as another example of the best writers never receiving one. In the novel we follow a jew who converts to christianity to climb on the career ladder. The writing is intense, and especially interesting is the perspective this gives on "christian" Europe.

The Conversion is exquisitely crafted. When the message hits of the overwhelming sense of loss, and the very gradual understanding by the main characters of the hopelessness and unworthiness of "belonging", you can hardly tolerate the pain. Ithits you so hard tha t you don't want it to end like you know it will. Each of his books shows the great trauma and alienation of events unexplainable . All powerful.

Sylvia Seltzer Hougland

I stumbled upon this book quite accidentally at my library, and I'm very glad that I ended up checking it out to read. Applefeld's writing is direct, sharp, and very engaging. I could barely put this book down.

Karl Huebner, a Jew living in Neufeld, converts to Christianity in order to obtain a better job. He's not alone in his conversion; many of the Jews in Neufeld followed a similar path, whether for better opportunities or better living conditions. Few, if any, seemed to convert for religious or spiritual reasons. Initially, Karl views his conversion as freeing. He no longer feels trapped in the "outside," as the faithful Jews are, and he was never particularly devout. But, as events occur that change his life, Karl begins to see his conversion in a different light.

As a Jew myself, this story really resonated with me. I, too, know the feeling of "otherness" and discrimination that often accompanies being Jewish. And I, too, converted to Christianity when I was younger, although I recanted later. I could understand Karl's motivations and the adrift feeling too, as if he was separated from the Christians (who still saw him as Jewish) and his former people (who see him as the "other" now, although many understand why he converted).

None of the people who converted seemed particularly happy with their choice to abandon the Jewish ways. Martin, a lawyer, became a drunk with a string of unhappy marriages. Freddy, a doctor, wore himself thin and was treated shabbily by his patients and wife. And Karl, who finally obtained the position he'd dreamed of for years, felt hollow inside, beginning to see the Catholic priest who had converted him not as a savior (as he once had), but as a predator, trying to eradicate the Jewish presence from Neufeld.

Of course, it's also important to remember the time frame of this story - "two generations before the Holocaust," according to the flyleaf - and the anti-Semitism displayed here. There are several echoes of what, we now know in hindsight, is about to befall the Jewish population in Neufeld, in Austria, in Europe. And the ending is especially foreshadowing in that regard.

Altogether, I thought that this book was excellent, and I am eager to read more from this author.

The author skillfully holds the reader's attention as he weaves his tale. Set in the culture of Old World Austria, where Hitler had also spent his formative years absorbing its virulent anti-Semitism, the story is poignant and sad.

Pity poor Aharon Appelfeld for contributing to popular Jewish writers writing on the subject of Jew-loathing! Pity poor Schocken Book, which has been going down and down as a publisher of Jewish subjects, which can't seem to publish a happy book on the current Jewish status in the world and has to resort to continuing the old Jew and his terrible living conditions and self-loathsome. As a Lubavitcher Jew, I tell you "The Conversion" has no saving grace for Judaism, but gives added proof --if that's the word--to anti-Semites today that Jews remain miserable. Not true, and "The Conversion" misses any happy feeling abot Judaism. Gloria, on the contrary, is neither a Jew nor a Christian, but a reflection of Karl--indeed all the book's characters are reflections of Karl. Pity. Throughout history such books have ben written. I pray that Mr. Appelfeld, who is an a-one Zionist born to Judaism and who lives as a non-Jew, writes "happy." There's enough sadness in the world. Maybe, and I pray, that Schocken Books will get wise--there's a whole market of Jewish readers out there who want books focusing on the merits of Judaism. May I suggest to Schocken Book and Aharon Appelfeld that they get some Jewish pride in their blood--before they go the way of all misguided flesh. Yes, I am disappointed and sad that "The Conversion" has been published. I'll read no more of Appelfeld's books. What a waste of good writing.