A Family Madness [Hardcover]

Thomas Keneally (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1986

Inspired by a true incident that took place in Australia in 1984, this powerful and disturbing novel focuses on Rudi Kabbel, a survivor of Nazi-occupied Belorussia, and Terry Delaney, a young Australian rugby player who falls in love with Kabbel's daughter. With the optimism and innocence of those unscathed by war, Delaney gropes to understand Kabbel's outlook on life. All too slowly he grasps the implications of Kabbel's vision, too late to averts its tragic consequences.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Keneally, who won England's Booker Prize for Schindler's List, here offers an intricately constructed, labyrinthine tale that unfolds on three levels. A traditional third-person narration chronicles events taking place in Penrith, Australia, in the early 1980s. Terry Delaney, a professional rugby player who takes a part-time job as a security guard, meets Rudi Kabbel, an emigre who runs his own security business. Their lives intersect in various ways, especially after the married Terry becomes involved with Rudi's daughter. Rudi is an eccentric, deeply scarred personality as a result of his tragic past in war-torn Europe, which is recounted in trenchant chapters entitled "Radislaw Kabbel's History of the Kabbeleski Family." A more informed and shocking perspective on the horrors of the war is found in excerpts from Rudi's father Stansislaw's journal. Along with Rudi's history, they set the stage for the present-day demonstration of what is indeed a family madnessa madness that Terry must contend with in the novel's stunning conclusion. Keneally brilliantly combines three diverse narrative techniques, and while the book is not light or easy reading, it is enormously rewarding.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Terry Delaney, a rugby player in Pernith, Australia, takes a job with a security firm run by Belorussian emigre Rudi Kabbel, a man "marred by history." When Delaney falls in love with Rudi's daughter, he is drawn into the family's madness as they prepare to survive an apocalyptic annihilation and establish "a true Belorussia of the spirit." In his "History of the Kabbelski Family," Rudi recounts his harrowing experiences as a child in World War II when the Nazis occupied his homeland; and the journal of Rudi's father, Stanislaw Kabbelski, reveals the evil done in the name of patriotism by the Belorussians fighting for their independence. These three separate narratives are skillfully combined in a complex and powerful novel by one of Australia's leading writers. Kenealy's last book was the critically acclaimed Schindler's List ( LJ 10/82). Janet Wiehe, P.L. of Cincinnati & Hamilton County
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; 1st edition (February 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671611755
• ISBN-13: 978-0671611750
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,495,316 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars History reaches out to grab us . . ., January 22, 2001

By 

Stephen A. Haines (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Family Madness (Paperback)

The Second World War in Europe was considered a Great Crusade. The crusaders were largely single-minded in their approach to the conflict, particularly in political matters. The invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany brought that Communist coalition into a rickety accord with the Western Allies. Loosely calling the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics "Russia", the Allies lumped many peoples together. The member-states of the Soviet Union each had a sense of their own nationalism. In some cases, these client states gave uneasy welcome to the invaders in the belief they would thereby shed the Russian yoke.

Thomas Keneally has added to our awareness of these conditions with A FAMILY MADNESS. Many survivors of Nazi Germany fled Europe at war's end. So much attention has been given to those who found sanctuary in South America, that we tend to forget there were other places to hide from justice. Australia was a fine refuge for many European exiles in the post-war years. But those émigrés often carried a heavy mental and emotional burden.

Rudi Kabbel, Sydney security firm owner, is one such, his father having been a police chief in Nazi- occupied Belorussia. The weight of being the son of a man who assisted with the settlement of "the Jewish problem" in his nation rests severely on him. Belorussia, the Ukraine and other Soviet Union members took the view that Jews were the foundation of the Bolshevik movement. Russia, as the driving force in expanding Communism and degrading national aspirations. These nations had engaged in pogroms against the Jews at earlier times in their history. It was no novelty to continue it under the Nazis as an element in their resistance to Russian hegemony. So Stanislaw Kabbelski willingly became an instrument against the hated enemy of Russian Communist Jewry.

Keneally's method of tracing this complex time is by the creation of a Kabbelski family history and a diary of the elder Kabbelski. The family now lives in Sydney, running the security agency. Terry Delaney, becomes involved with the Kabbels as an employee of the agency. He complicates his association by having an affair with Rudi's daughter Danielle. As their situation evolves, Delaney becomes increasingly aware of Rudi's disturbed mental state. War criminal fugitives and their families are falling under increasing scrutiny. Rudi understands that "history makes its claim - history comes up and grabs people". Now it is reaching up to seize him and his family. And Terry Delaney is being swept up in its grip.

With the blood of Irish rebels in his veins and as an ardent leader in the Australian Republican Movement, Thomas Keneally is well versed it nationalist ideals. He's expressed his ideals in fiction and autobiography. He knows how it can be expressed and what pitfalls may be encountered. He doesn't have to be Belorussian to understand the workings of the Kabbelski mind. Nor does he fall into the trap of his strong nationalist sense overlooking brutality done in its name. Keneally's sense of humanity is only excelled by his ability to relate a story with consummate skill.

Keneally's greatest talent lies in how his words can convey the thoughts of others. Here, he's given us a view of some of the hidden events of World War II. We must be grateful to him for that effort. In today's environment of numerous bushfire wars and "incidents" in the name of nationalist aspirations, this book reminds us not to be caught by accepting simple answers to complex issues. Dig deeper, he cautions. Accept no superficial evidence for there is certain to be further evidence buried away - either by design or oversight. This book carries valuable reminders for us all.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating exploration of the banality of evil, May 10, 2000

By 

Charles M. Jones "Chuckburger" (Danville, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Family Madness (Paperback)

How does Keneally know? The exploration of what it took for people to survive in the no-mans-land of eastern Europe as fascist and communist fought for control is so revealing that I could only believe that K had spent hours interviewing people who were there. Yet in his other novels he shows that he has an uncanny ability to understand what 'just folks' went through in far away times and places. Keneally is so sensitive and sympathetic that he can make characters real in a very deep way. The story of the struggle for survival in Europe is played against the banality of suburban life in Australia. When people are caught up in cataclysmic events, they live by their wits or perish. When the upheaval subsides, can they return to 'normalcy'?

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars From WW II Belorussia to contemporary Australia, January 21, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Vienna, Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Family Madness (Paperback)

Keneally explores, in this fascinating novel, the effects of history, specifically the violent history of Belorussia during World War II, on our ahistorical present, specifically suburban Sydney. As in his far more famous Schindler's List, no one is completely good or evil; there are admirable Nazis and detestable police men. Excellent.