What is one to make of this book? It is clearly a work of genius (and blatantly attempted in my opinion). Littel weaves together Moby Dick, Baba Yar, James Bond, Les Miz, even a touch of fantasy/sci-fi. The statistical comparisons to the VietNam War at the very beginning might be worth the price of purchase. The pornography is daunting; it is frequent, it is varied, it seems to be integral. A sample - Max boofoos his sister on a guillotine platform. You might guess that would be the worst of it, but, oh no. At least that scene is active and involves a partner. When Max is stuck alone, behind the lines in an abandoned mansion... it goes on for pages! Try to get through these parts, skip them if you have to.You will be rewarded with an entire how-to mini-book devoted to sabotaging a corporate meeting. You will meet a mystic from a Jewish tribe of the Caucusus who knows the manner of his and Max's death (and his refusal to divulge this information results in Max's order to shoot him, naturally enough). You will have to calculate population access to calories. You will end up running with tigers, bears, and giraffes during the bombing of the Berlin zoo. It's not for the faint of heart, wear your mouth guard (and oh BTW, one of the characters has a pretty bad case of bruxism). It's ALL here! New York born and Yale educated Jonathon Littell established himself as the leading French writer of this century with the Kindly Ones published in 2006. It represents a dramatic break from the insular outlook and chronic navel gazing literature which has dominated French literature for the last 50 years. The Kindly Ones has received all the honours possible in France and was a tremendous hit with the public which was dazzled by this fresh young talent. This work deserves a much larger audience than it has so far achieved in the English world.The problems with this book are threefold. It is impossibly long. It deals with the Nazi Endlosung in the most graphic and repulsive manner imaginable and finally the hero Maximillien Aue is one of the foulest figures ever created the 3000 years of Western European literature. It is important for the reader to understand the classical origins of the Kindly Ones. Littell indeed goes right back to the origins of our culture to create his monstrous Aue from Aeschylus' Orestes. Like Orestes, Aue is tormented throughout the story by the Furies for having murdered his mother. As with Orestes, peace will be granted to Aue at the end as his Furies will be transformed in the Kindly Ones.Littell got the idea for the Kindly Ones while working as journalist in Bosnia and Herzegovina where he met a number of the individuals who had participated in the operations of the ethnic cleansing that occurred during the 1990s. Littell's goal was to examine the psychology of the type of individual who chooses to become an executioner.Littell decided to situate his novel in Eastern Europe during WWII and to make his protagonist an administrator of the Nazi Endlosung (a.k.a. Shoah a.k.a. Holocaust a.k.a Genocide). Littell claims that he read roughly 200 hundred books on the Endlosung and Nazi Germany in order to research his book. The erudition shows and it is a major reason why Antony Beevor who is probably the leading historian of World War II of our time praised the book so highly. Unfortunately this erudition means a grisly series of horror stories that overwhelm the reader and cause many to abandon this novel.One of the great strengths of this novel is the way it illustrates how Hitler was able to direct the Holocaust while appearing to be totally unaware of it not only when he was speaking in public but also in his private conversations with the most intimate members of his entourage. The mobile execution vans, the mass executions in the fields and the great death camps were all conceived at the base of the period with no instructions from Hitler or his cabinet.Aue resolutely approves of the genocide. However, he has a very strict code of how it is to be performed. One must never humiliate or mock the victims. Similarly, one must not take pleasure in killing the victims. One must do it in a professional fashion with a minimum of cruelty. Aue's view is simply that the genocide can and must be done honorably. If it is not done honorably then its very purpose is compromised.As the events unfold, Aue becomes worried as he senses that the efforts being put into the genocide are diverting energy and resources that would be better expended on winning the war. He discusses his concerns with a colleague who explains to him that Hitler's wishes can be inferred from the way promotions are being accorded. Those conducting the genocide are being promoted while Generals who win battles are not. Aue however does not agree. He starts to argue with his colleagues that the executions should be paused so that more energy can be allocated to fighting the war with the Russians.Aue becomes increasingly angry as his advice is being ignored. At the end in a moment of wild rage Aue physically attacks Hitler for having sabotaged everything that his Nazi movement had sought to accomplish. The Kindly Ones presents history brilliantly and for this reason alone is well worth reading. It is however Littell's hero not his presentation of history that have generated the greatest criticism of the book.The idea that the evil of the Nazis can be linked to source of evil in human nature that had been detected as early as the Fifth Century B.C. by Aeschylus is not easy to grasp. Those who grasp the idea often reject it.Aue's father like Orestes' has disappeared. His mother remarries with a man that he hates. Aue developls incestuous feelings towards his sister with whom he appears to father twin girls. Aue becomes a homosexual which is presented as a symptom of his profoundly deranged personality. When he kills mother the furies in the form of two police investigators descend upon him. Ultimately the furies like those of Orestes transform themselves into the Kindly Ones. Littell's concept is solid but many readers are unable to spend so much time inside the head of his revolting protagonists and consequently are unable to finish the novel. Littell's reply to this is that the actual Nazi leaders were indeed profoundly repulsive and mentally deranged people. I am inclined to agree with Littell and feel that he has done us all a great service by writing his book.The Kindly Ones is certainly a very rough ride. However, it makes its case brilliantly and deserves to be read by as many people as possible.
What do You think about Дoбрoжeлaтeлнитe (2006)?
Quite a slog, but oh-so worth it. Ugly in so many ways, but fascinatingly human.
—nogie
as a Antony Beevor fan it was good to read a novel about the history he covers.
—jojojoexplosion
See other reviews, of which there are myriad.
—aeynan
