I was browsing Goodreads the other day and a short review came through my feed. I'd never heard of the book before but Elizabeth rarely gives books five stars so I was intrigued. I immediately put it on hold at my library and read it as soon as I got home today. I was skeptical about the claims made about the book, including the front cover quote from the New York Times Review:"This modern story is perfection itself. It is the most effective indictment of Nazism to appear in fiction."Address Unknown was first published in 1938 by Kathrine Kressmann Taylor, who wrote as Kressmann Taylor at the suggestion of her publisher, who thought the topic too intense to publish under a female's name. Story magazine's entire printing that contained the 54-page short story sold out quickly. Though several accounts I've read online argue that the book came back into the public light in 1999 when a French publisher put out a French translation which sold 600,000 copies (BBC), I honestly cannot believe that this book isn't used in schools and that I've somehow made it 28 years without ever hearing one word about it. When asked why she wrote this book, Kressmann Taylor tells a firsthand story about German friends of hers who'd lived in the US but were only visiting after moving back to Nazi Germany. They encountered a Jewish man, with whom they'd been intimate friends, and turned their back to his offered embrace and would not speak to him. (foreword) She said that after seeing this she could not help but wonder how seemingly normal people could become so warped and that she "began researching Hitler and reading his speeches and the writings of his advisors. What I discovered was terrifying. What worried me most was that no one in America was aware of what was happening in Germany and they also did not care." (foreword) Look how small this book is: Barely bigger than a postcard yet it packs more of a punch than most books three, four, even five times its length. The story, about which I will speak very little because this is a book that would absolutely be ruined by spoilers, is that of two friends, one Jewish, one German. Address Unknown is a series of fictional letters between Max Eisenstein, a San Francisco art gallery owner and his German business partner, Martin Schulse, written after Schulse moves with his family back to Germany in the early 1930s. Epistolary format in this particular case created so much unease for me as I kept wondering what was going on for these people during all of the interim periods between letters. It also reminded me how powerful words can be, though it sounds absolutely cliche to say so, and how frustrating it can be when you are trying to get the full story from someone and your pleas are chained to a format which allows for pondering, revisions, and omissions with basically no guarantee of a satisfactory answer. The ending took me by surprise and that's all I'll say about that--the story went somewhere I had no idea it was going to go and I had to sit back and wonder whether what I was feeling was valid or disgusting. How often does that happen? I found out after reading about Kathrine Kressmann Taylor online that there was a movie made in 1944 and the ending is changed up a bit. I can't wait to see this film. There was also a dramatization done by the BBC for their Afternoon Drama series. I recommend that everyone read this. It will take you about half an hour. Come back and tell me what you think of it. I hope you can find a copy. I know I'm buying one.Read this and other reviews at The Readventurer.
Surprisingly effective short story (50 pages) illustrating the immense power that can be wielded in words. It was written in 1938 to counter the ignorance in U.S. about what was happening in Nazi Germany. The inspiration was a real incident in which some American students in Germany were put at risk by letters from their fraternity brothers back home, who thought it would be funny to write them letters making fun of Hitler. She herself had known a German family she describes as "cultivated, intellectual, warmhearted" who were completely changed after returning to Nazi Germany. "During a return visit to California, they met an old, dear friend of theirs on the street who had been very close to them and who was a Jew. They did not speak to him. They turned their backs on him when he held his hands out to embrace them. 'How can such a thing happen?' I wondered. 'What changed their hearts so?' ...I began researching Hitler and reading his speeches and the writings of his advisors. What I discovered was terrifying. What worried me most was that no one in America was aware of what was heppening in Germany and they also did not care." The New York Times Book Review called it "the most effective indictment of Nazism to appear in fiction." In 1939 it was banned in Germany. The book was forgotten after WWII until 1995, when it was reissued to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camps. A "must read".
Do You like book Address Unknown (2001)?
خیلی خیلی خیلی دوست بازیافته بود! هرچند، دوست بازیافته ای که آدما ش بزرگ شده بودن خب و داستان تو عوالم بچگی نمیگذشت...و اینی که نشون میداد آدمها چقدر میتونه خودشون، آرمان هاشون، شخصیت شون، همه چیشون عوض بشه تحت تاثیر یک آدم به نظرم نکته ی قابل تاملی بود...اینکه واقعا هیتلر چیکار کرد با آدما... و اینکه شاید همه چیز اون قدرا م تقصیر خود آدما تو اون زمان نبوده پس، شاید واقعا یه بخشاییش ناخود آگاه بوده... چون رفتار مارتین(یا ماکس بود:-؟:دی اونی که آلمان بود خلاصه:-”) واقعا اصلا طبیعی نبود و به نظر نمیرسید کاملا از روی عقل باشه... انگار هیپنوتیزم شده بود مثن...هرچند که به نظرم نویسنده واقعا یه کمی اغراق هم کرده بود واسه نشون دادن اهمیت موضوع.... چون تغییر حتی اگه انقدر هم اتفاق بیفته، ولی انقدررر سریع بعید میدونم اتفاق بیفته...و اینکه سوالی که بعد از خوندنش، شاید کاملا بی ربط، به ذهنم رسید این بود که حس الان آلمانیا به یهودیا چیه؟ حس یه عده خاص رو نمیگم... حال عمومی جامعه آلمان منظورمه، که آیا همچنان بدشون میاد؟ یا حس عذاب وجدان و معذرتخواهی دارن؟ یا به نظرشون کارشون خیلی م درست بوده؟ یا چی واقعا؟ سواله برام....+ساختار نامه ایش چیزی ه که واقعا جذاب تر کرده داستانو، خیلی خیلی!++مرسی از زینب:>
—لیلی
That. Was. Perfect. Simply perfect.!! Written in the style of a collection of letters,this work of fiction is about two friends,or rather a German and a Jew to talk in the terms of these letters. In the beginning we see the depth if their friendship and as time passes by,we see it deteriorating. Towards the end,the German fails to save the Jew's sister who is also his ex-lover and thus breaking every semblance of friendship between them. In these letters,we see the slow poisoning of minds,how good normal people were changed into bloodthirsty hounds. It shows how their brains were clouded by the hypnotic words of Hitler. In these few words(and how simple those words are.!!),the author clearly portrays everything that was wrong with the mindset of that time.HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
—Viji Sarath (Bookish endeavors)
It is explosive! Tension kept building and building until the ending when shock exploded inside me. I was stunned by the direction the story took. It displayed the power of words in so many ways and it left me amazed, disgusted and apprehensive. Yes, all three emotions at the same time. And the story is written in 64 pages.Set just before World War 2, Address Unknown is a series of fictional letters between two close friends, both German, one a Jew and the other non-Jewish. The Jewish friend (Max Eisenstein) is living in America while the other friend (Martin Schulse) has moved back to Germany. The letters are all about life in Germany, Hitler’s rise to power and Max’s sister’s travel to Germany. I don’t want to reveal the plot because this book will be completely ruined by spoilers. What makes the story even more powerful is the fact that it was inspired by two real life incidents. These incidents are nicely described by the author’s son at the end of the book.As I mentioned before, the power of words was shown in many ways. Firstly, it was Kressman Taylor’s talent in writing, how she created such a powerful tale in so few words. Secondly, Hitler’s speeches had a strong effect on Martin, as shown by the infusion of Hitler’s words in Martin’s voice. Lastly, at the end of the story, it was words, nothing but words, that turned people’s lives upside down and possibly caused loss of life too.If you are looking for something quick, shocking and hard-to-forget then you have to read Address Unknown. It is that good.
—Adeba
