THE KINDLY ONES, Jonathan Littell's chronicle of the SS Officer Max Aue on the Eastern Front during World War II, is a tremendous work, as well as tremendously flawed--and I would not recommend it to anyone, unless I knew specifically to whom I was recommending it. Any book that attempts to portray realistically the actions of the SS is going to be difficult to read--graphic and brutal, yes; and all the more disturbing given that the tale is told from the point of view of one of its officers. That alone might be a reason for some to avoid this work, and yet the author takes a chance of further alienating his potential audience by including explicit sexual behavior (both homosexual and incestuous) that will, no doubt, turn many others away as well. There are readers who--legitimately, I think--do not want to dwell on darker material, no matter if there is intrinsic value to its themes or not; and truly, any value or worth to a book like THE KINDLY ONES is entirely dependent on whether the author is able to elicit within the reader any insights into his subject matter. That is why I am uncomfortable recommending the book--it will simply not work for many readers; and those for whom it doesn't will likely find the book over-long, boring, and repellent.With those caveats out of the way, I will say that I found the book highly worthwhile for several reasons. The first is the writing. THE KINDLY ONES avoids clever flourishes and artistic affectations; rather it is straightforward and traditional in its presentation--and, unlike much other contemporary fiction I've read, the author is at a remove, barely (or perhaps, rarely) perceptible. Dr. Maximillian Aue, an S.S Obersturmführer as German troops cross into Ukraine in 1941 (and whose memoirs THE KINDLY ONES purports to be), is one of the most fully realized characters, one of the most fully human that I can recall reading; this, despite the fact that, like Humbert Humbert before him, he represents a group universally despised - in Dr. Aue's case, the architects of the Holocaust.One critic of the book takes it to task for being one more in a long list that seeks to show how it was possible for the `everyman' of German society to fall under the sway of the Nazis--that, as such, it is unnecessary. That might be relevant if it were true, but I doubt even the most generous soul would consider Max Aue an everyman. Instead, he is a bundle of psycho-sexual issues, including a disturbing fixation on his mother and an incestuous relationship with his sister. Add to that his homosexual encounters, and it leads to another critique of the book--namely that the author seeks to explain the Nazis through their sexual neuroses. Historically, there surely is some element of truth to that, but again, it does not seem to fit THE KINDLY ONES--Max hides his behavior from his fellow officers (even if some suspect), and, from his descriptions, one would think that most of his compatriots have more pedestrian sexual interests, that he is more or less alone in his morass of obsessions.So, then, what is it? What worth is there? What `insights' can a book like this evoke? Depending on the reader, perhaps none at all--but I think it's a mistake to think any of those insights apply to the World War, or the Eastern Front, alone. For me, it is rather the universal intimation that the world resists the easy categories of black and white; that humanity is complex and unpleasant; and that the compartments that I use to classify the world around me may be useful for day-to-day life, but actually are utterly false. That I live my life under comfortable illusions--illusions of how I might act under given circumstances, or a belief that my country is exempt from the kind of madness that took place during the second World War, or the idea that inhumanity is the opposite of humanity, rather than just another one of its aspects.Whether these are actually insights or merely a kind of reminder, I don't know, but it's the sort of thing that many people would rather not be given insight to, or be reminded of. And it may be that THE KINDLY ONES simply isn't the best delivery system for its themes. As I said in the beginning, I think the book is tremendously flawed--for one thing, I believe it IS too long, at least in relationship to its effectiveness. For another, the penultimate chapter required determined effort on my part--while I can understand that Max's hold on reality is slipping, this dreamlike section packed full of sexual and scatological references goes too far. Along with several of Max's other sexual encounters, it seems as though the author is determined to shoehorn them into the narrative--I can accept that this aspect of Max's personality is important to fleshing out his character, but, frankly, I thought that Mr. Littell's ability to describe these things was often not up to the task, to the point it would disrupt my involvement in the storyline.Despite these and other issues, I would consider THE KINDLY ONES one of the most thought-provoking books of this still-young century, even if its entertainment value is debatable. Muistan, että ostin tämän kirjan noin 6 vuotta sitten itselleni syntymäpäivälahjaksi. Muistan pitäneeni kirjasta todella paljon tuolloin ja oli hieman pelottavaa lukea sitä uudelleen. Olisiko se hyvä vai todella huono?Teos on valtava järkele ja siinä onkin 875 sivua. Hyväntahtoiset ei ole erityisen kevyttä luettavaa, vaan kirja vaatii oman aikansa. Kirjan päähenkilönä on Max Aue, joka elää 1950-luvun Ranksassa toimien pitsitehtaan johtajana. Hän on kadottanut elämänilonsa, ja alkaakin kirjoittaa omia muistelmiaan. Hän toimi SS-upseerina ja osallistui juutalaisten joukkomurhien organisointiin ja toteuttamiseen. Hänen tiensä kävi Stalingradissa, Berliinissä, Ranskassa (miehitetyllä puolella), Puolaan, Unkariin ja lopulta Berliiniin takaisin. Pidin kirjan kerrontatyylistä;”Minä olen syyllinen, te ette ole, ja hyvä niin. Teidän pitäisi silti kyetä sanomaa itsellenne, että tekin olisitte tehneet saman minkä minä. Ehkette aivan yhtä innokkaasti, toisaalta kenties vähemmän epätoivoisesti, mutta joka tapauksessa tavalla tai toisella. Katson modernin historian osoittaneen, että tietyissä olosuhteissa kaikki tai lähes kaikki tekevät mitä käsketään; ja suokaa anteeksi, muttei ole kovinkaan todennäköistä että te tekisitte poikkeuksen sen enempää kuin minäkään. Jos olette sattuneet syntymään sellaiseen maahan ja sellaiseen aikaan, jossa sen lisäksi, ettei kukaan tule tappamaan vaimojanne ja lapsianne, kukaan ei myöskään käske teitä tappamaan toisten vaimoja ja lapsia, kiittäkää ja Luojaanne ja menkää rauhassa. Mutta pitäkää tämä aina mielessänne: olette ehkä onnekkaampia kuin minä, mutta ette parempia. Jos teillä löytyy röyhkeyttä kuvitella toisin, olette vaarallisilla vesillä. Ihminen asettaa mielellään valtion – oli se sitten totalitaarinen tai ei – vastakohdaksi tavallisen ihmisen – oli tämä sitten lude tai ruoko. Mutta silloin unohdetaan, että valtio muodostuu ihmisistä, jotka kaikki ovat enemmän tai vähemmän tavallisia, jokaisella on oma elämänsä ja kaikki ovat enemmän tai vähemmän tavallisia, jokaisella on oma elämänsä ja menneisyytensä, sattumien sarja, jonka seurauksena löytää itsensä jonakin päivänä kiväärin oikeasta päästä tai paperiarkin oikealta puolelta, kun toiset huomaavat olevansa väärässä päässä ja väärällä puolella.Valtiokoneisto on tehty samasta hauraasta hiekasta kuin se, jota se jauhaa, jyvä kerrallaan. Se on olemassa, koska kaikki ovat yhtä mieltä sen olemassaolosta, mukaan luettuna – usein viime hetkiin saakka – sen uhrit.”
What do You think about The Kindly Ones (2006)?
It has a lot of potential, but is too long and verbose and tedious to be a really good book.
—gabimeinberg
Like a sadistic, bloodstained Forrest Gump
—footballdude89
