Scan barcode
rexlegendi's review against another edition
5.0
What an excellent reading experience! Let me attempt to write a (more or less) concise review of this 1000 page novel that contains so many aspects and layers it has rightfully been compared to Leo Tolstoy’s [b:War and Peace|220859|War and Peace|Leo Tolstoy|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1516480304l/220859._SY75_.jpg|4912783].
To start, it’s worth doing some background research before reading The Kindly Ones (original title: Les bienveillantes), the novel that earned Jonathan Littell (1967) the Prix Goncourt and the Prix de l’Académie française. The title refers to Aeschylus’ [b:Oresteian Trilogy|16934899|The Oresteian Trilogy|Aeschylus|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1439722593l/16934899._SY75_.jpg|2378], in which Orestes is pursued by goddesses who want revenge on him for his mother’s murder. Littell replaced the goddesses with two hard-nosed policemen who reminded me an awful lot of Tintin’s Thomson and Thompson, but that aside: what matters is the author’s incredible research work on the history of the Second World War and his skill in turning that history into a thrilling story.
Quotes are in Dutch as I read a translated version.
The story is about Max Aue, then director of a lace factory in France, who recounts his years in the service of the Schutzstaffel (SS). Before he starts, he tries to justify his actions and his reflection on them, resulting in a fascinating piece of writing and certainly the wryest I have ever read. In long words, Max argues that anyone – tu quoque, reader – could have done the same. He then continues about his first job gathering information, going from Ukraine to Stalingrad and from Berlin to Hungary, meanwhile witnessing the horrors of the front and the concentration camps.
It is possible to read The Kindly Ones as a dry report with facts and figures. For me, however, it was a novelised version of what Hannah Arendt ([b:Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil|52090|Eichmann in Jerusalem A Report on the Banality of Evil|Hannah Arendt|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1404513286l/52090._SY75_.jpg|1023716], [b:The Origins Of Totalitarianism|34204370|The Origins Of Totalitarianism|Hannah Arendt|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1494080300l/34204370._SY75_.jpg|23497]) wrote about the Nazi regime. Littell portrays the bureaucrats from many angles: their ambitions and meticulous planning, their ‘mechanical’ view of atrocities, their tendency not only to obey laws but to act as if they had written them themselves, their culture to pass the buck and finally their frenzy towards the end of the war. After seeing the film The Zone of Interest, I was particularly interested in the appearance of Rudolf Höss, camp commander of Auschwitz.
Although Max initially does not stand out among his peers, except perhaps for his repressed sexuality, more signs gradually emerge that he is in fact
The Kindly Ones is an exciting, historically well-researched story. While reading, I had so many associations (from Primo Levi’s [b:Survival in Auschwitz|6174|Survival in Auschwitz|Primo Levi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1414374949l/6174._SX50_.jpg|851110] to Józef Wittlin’s [b:The Salt of the Earth|41057278|The Salt of the Earth|Józef Wittlin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1533561404l/41057278._SY75_.jpg|400868] and even Yann Martel’s [b:Life of Pi|4214|Life of Pi|Yann Martel|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1631251689l/4214._SY75_.jpg|1392700]) that I eventually stopped noting them. I appreciated the continuous ‘mindfuck’, the obligation to reflect on every word, the often plastic descriptions and the many references to classical music and literature. (Of course, Louis-Ferdinand Céline is well presented.) Sure, the novel is long, contains a lot of details and hops from heel to heel, but somehow I was too drawn into the story to bother.
To start, it’s worth doing some background research before reading The Kindly Ones (original title: Les bienveillantes), the novel that earned Jonathan Littell (1967) the Prix Goncourt and the Prix de l’Académie française. The title refers to Aeschylus’ [b:Oresteian Trilogy|16934899|The Oresteian Trilogy|Aeschylus|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1439722593l/16934899._SY75_.jpg|2378], in which Orestes is pursued by goddesses who want revenge on him for his mother’s murder. Littell replaced the goddesses with two hard-nosed policemen who reminded me an awful lot of Tintin’s Thomson and Thompson, but that aside: what matters is the author’s incredible research work on the history of the Second World War and his skill in turning that history into a thrilling story.
Quotes are in Dutch as I read a translated version.
Ik heb nergens spijt van: ik deed mijn werk, meer niet; en ik maak zelf wel uit hoe er moet worden geoordeeld over mijn familieaangelegenheden, die ik misschien ook nog ter sprake breng; verder zal ik tegen het einde wel over de schreef zijn gegaan, maar in die fase was ik ook niet echt meer mezelf, ik wankelde en trouwens, om mij heen kantelde de hele wereld, ik was niet de enige die zijn hoofd verloor, dat zult u toch met me eens zijn.
The story is about Max Aue, then director of a lace factory in France, who recounts his years in the service of the Schutzstaffel (SS). Before he starts, he tries to justify his actions and his reflection on them, resulting in a fascinating piece of writing and certainly the wryest I have ever read. In long words, Max argues that anyone – tu quoque, reader – could have done the same. He then continues about his first job gathering information, going from Ukraine to Stalingrad and from Berlin to Hungary, meanwhile witnessing the horrors of the front and the concentration camps.
It is possible to read The Kindly Ones as a dry report with facts and figures. For me, however, it was a novelised version of what Hannah Arendt ([b:Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil|52090|Eichmann in Jerusalem A Report on the Banality of Evil|Hannah Arendt|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1404513286l/52090._SY75_.jpg|1023716], [b:The Origins Of Totalitarianism|34204370|The Origins Of Totalitarianism|Hannah Arendt|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1494080300l/34204370._SY75_.jpg|23497]) wrote about the Nazi regime. Littell portrays the bureaucrats from many angles: their ambitions and meticulous planning, their ‘mechanical’ view of atrocities, their tendency not only to obey laws but to act as if they had written them themselves, their culture to pass the buck and finally their frenzy towards the end of the war. After seeing the film The Zone of Interest, I was particularly interested in the appearance of Rudolf Höss, camp commander of Auschwitz.
Zijn vrouw hield zijn arm vast en liet nu en dan een harde, schrille lach horen. Ik keek naar haar en dacht aan haar kut, onder haar japon, genesteld in het kanten broekje van een jonge, knappe jodin die door haar echtgenoot was vergast. De jodin was al een hele tijd geleden verbrand, met kut en al, en als rook naar de wolken getrokken; haar dure onderbroekje, dat ze misschien speciaal voor de deportatie had aangetrokken, sierde en beschermde nu de kut van Hedwig Höss.
Although Max initially does not stand out among his peers, except perhaps for his repressed sexuality, more signs gradually emerge that he is in fact
Spoiler
anything but a trustworthy narrator, if not an outright psychopath. Truth and fantasy intertwine to such an extent that the reader cannot help but question everything, notably the existence of the rather comical Clemens and Weber.The Kindly Ones is an exciting, historically well-researched story. While reading, I had so many associations (from Primo Levi’s [b:Survival in Auschwitz|6174|Survival in Auschwitz|Primo Levi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1414374949l/6174._SX50_.jpg|851110] to Józef Wittlin’s [b:The Salt of the Earth|41057278|The Salt of the Earth|Józef Wittlin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1533561404l/41057278._SY75_.jpg|400868] and even Yann Martel’s [b:Life of Pi|4214|Life of Pi|Yann Martel|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1631251689l/4214._SY75_.jpg|1392700]) that I eventually stopped noting them. I appreciated the continuous ‘mindfuck’, the obligation to reflect on every word, the often plastic descriptions and the many references to classical music and literature. (Of course, Louis-Ferdinand Céline is well presented.) Sure, the novel is long, contains a lot of details and hops from heel to heel, but somehow I was too drawn into the story to bother.
Toen men na de oorlog probeerde te begrijpen wat er was gebeurd, is veelvuldig gesproken van ‘onmenselijkheid’. Maar neemt u me niet kwalijk, onmenselijkheid bestaat niet. Er is alleen het menselijke, niets dan het menselijke, en deze Döll was daar een goed voorbeeld van. Wat was Döll anders dan een degelijke huisvader, die zijn kinderen te eten wilde geven en gehoorzaamde aan de regering van zijn land, ook al was hij het er diep van binnen niet helemaal mee eens?
ombraluce's review against another edition
5.0
Le Benevole è una lettura lunga e difficoltosa, per la mole del libro, per il linguaggio che non fa sconti, per la storia terribile e tesa, per gli avvenimenti che racconta, per la contorta psicologia dei personaggi. Le Benevole è una lettura lunga e difficoltosa, eppure va affrontata e di tanto in tanto riaffrontata, perché è di belve che parla, della belva che è dentro ciascuno di noi, magari ben nascosta sotto l'aspetto per bene e quasi pietoso, e che, nel momento in cui il carico di male che ci circonda diventa insostenibile, invece di sparire in favore della nostra umanità, esce allo scoperto, ruggente e sbavante.
sbkeats's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I think the appropriate response to finishing this book is to go throw up
elinakd's review against another edition
3.0
On one hand I found this book absolutely repulsive drivel, on the other hand I really wanted to finish it to see how it concluded. the fact that Max has reinvented himself (as is mentioned in the synopsis) is completely irrelevant and not part of the plot whatsoever. What is part of the plot, which I thought was indulgent, disgusting, and unnecessary, is that Max is a murdering, homosexual who is in love with his twin sister. While the historically fictional account of Max's experience as an SS soldier are terrifying and disgusting in themselves, I think they are important to read. The parts about his twisted personal life really felt unnecessary to me.
llorenza's review against another edition
4.0
Dit is een ontzettend lang boek. En het kan perfect met minstens de helft ingekort worden zonder aan kracht in te boeten. Maar tegelijkertijd past deze lengte perfect, omdat het zogezegd de memoires zijn van het hoofdpersonage. En dit hoofdpersonage is nu eenmaal het type mens dat houdt van lange gedetailleerde beschrijvingen. Het doet vermoeden dat deze lange beschrijvingen en het vele gefilosofeer een manier zijn om te ontsnappen aan de harde realiteit van de oorlog. En dus zijn ze essentieel voor dit boek. Al is het contrast soms hard: het hoofdpersonage wandelt weg van een scène waarbij Joden gruwelijk vermoord worden om dan een uitgebreide beschrijving te geven van het lieftallige landschap.
Een andere keuze van de schrijver kon ik minder goed thuisbrengen. De (interessante) premisse dat bijna iedere mens zich zou gedragen tijdens WOII zoals de Duitsers zich gedragen hebben, puur door de omstandigheden, wordt wat teniet gedaan doordat Jonathan Littell van het hoofdpersonage Max Aue geen gewone mens maakt, maar iemand waarvan reeds voor WOII een serieuze hoek af was. Je kan je niet vereenzelvigen met iemand die duidelijk al (zware) mentale problemen had. Is het om aan te tonen dat Max Aue -zelfs met zijn mentale problemen- nog niet de ergste van het lot was en dat “normale” mensen nog grotere monsters kunnen worden? Of is het mededogen van de auteur met de lezer zodat deze zich niet te veel inleeft in het hoofdpersonage omdat het boek dan echt ondraaglijk wordt? Of is het pure sensatie, om een nog wat ranziger kantje aan het verhaal te breien? Want dat laatste was echt niet nodig. Wat het ook is, de beschrijving van de gruwel die de Joden aangedaan wordt en van de omstandigheden van de soldaten tijdens de WOII lijkt (in al zijn realisme) zodanig irreëel dat zelfs het meest vreemde hoofdpersonage niet afsteekt. De laatste 100 pagina’s zijn pure waanzin (en hebben een enorm hoog wtf-gehalte), maar tonen wel perfect de gelijklopende aftakeling van het Duitse Rijk en van de mentale gezondheid van het hoofdpersonage.
Dit is een ongelooflijk ambitieus boek, qua thematiek, qua lengte en qua gedetailleerdheid. De onophoudelijke Duitse hiërarchische termen maken duidelijk dat het daar eigenlijk één groot verward nest was, waarbij de verschillende structuren elkaar gewoon tegenwerkten. De schrijver spaart de lezer niet: zeker het begin van het boek bevat een continue beschrijving van de ergste gruwel. Na een tweehondertal pagina’s “kalmeert” het boek echter en wordt het een stuk leesbaarder (en wordt de drang tot verderlezen groot).
Dit is het soort boek waarvan gezegd wordt dat iedereen het zou moeten lezen - en terecht. Maar eerlijk: ik wens het niemand toe.
Een andere keuze van de schrijver kon ik minder goed thuisbrengen. De (interessante) premisse dat bijna iedere mens zich zou gedragen tijdens WOII zoals de Duitsers zich gedragen hebben, puur door de omstandigheden, wordt wat teniet gedaan doordat Jonathan Littell van het hoofdpersonage Max Aue geen gewone mens maakt, maar iemand waarvan reeds voor WOII een serieuze hoek af was. Je kan je niet vereenzelvigen met iemand die duidelijk al (zware) mentale problemen had. Is het om aan te tonen dat Max Aue -zelfs met zijn mentale problemen- nog niet de ergste van het lot was en dat “normale” mensen nog grotere monsters kunnen worden? Of is het mededogen van de auteur met de lezer zodat deze zich niet te veel inleeft in het hoofdpersonage omdat het boek dan echt ondraaglijk wordt? Of is het pure sensatie, om een nog wat ranziger kantje aan het verhaal te breien? Want dat laatste was echt niet nodig. Wat het ook is, de beschrijving van de gruwel die de Joden aangedaan wordt en van de omstandigheden van de soldaten tijdens de WOII lijkt (in al zijn realisme) zodanig irreëel dat zelfs het meest vreemde hoofdpersonage niet afsteekt. De laatste 100 pagina’s zijn pure waanzin (en hebben een enorm hoog wtf-gehalte), maar tonen wel perfect de gelijklopende aftakeling van het Duitse Rijk en van de mentale gezondheid van het hoofdpersonage.
Dit is een ongelooflijk ambitieus boek, qua thematiek, qua lengte en qua gedetailleerdheid. De onophoudelijke Duitse hiërarchische termen maken duidelijk dat het daar eigenlijk één groot verward nest was, waarbij de verschillende structuren elkaar gewoon tegenwerkten. De schrijver spaart de lezer niet: zeker het begin van het boek bevat een continue beschrijving van de ergste gruwel. Na een tweehondertal pagina’s “kalmeert” het boek echter en wordt het een stuk leesbaarder (en wordt de drang tot verderlezen groot).
Dit is het soort boek waarvan gezegd wordt dat iedereen het zou moeten lezen - en terecht. Maar eerlijk: ik wens het niemand toe.
pawact's review
4.0
Extremely and appropriately disturbing book about Max Aue, an fictional recreation of author Littell running through the German ranks during WWII. Even though he studied constitutional law, he ends up tangled up in dealing with "The Jewish Problem" which sends him to Ukraine, then the Russian front and finally Auschwitz. Along the way, the book is written as a memoir as Aue is safely a lace factory manager after the war, he obfuscates, justifies and lectures about his and Germany's behavior. He also happens to have committed incest and eventually, possibly, matricide. He is an extraordinarily unreliable narrator but he is also engaging, smart and intelligent, if more than a bit fussy.
Little uses him to shows the steps a government or group of people take to slowly dehumanize another group of people. At first, in Ukraine, where is witness to the massacre of thousands of Jews, he has nightmares and constantly vomits up his food. He does not have the self-awareness to connect the two events. Littel also lays out how Germany's attempt to exterminate the Jewish population moved from very sloppy to very efficient and Aue even tries to explain how even THAT is humane.
The Kindly Ones is also a very detailed look at what it was like to be a German officer and solder. He is incredibly knowledgeable and specific. He puts you right on the ground and completely immerses you in this world. It is a world of characters both heinous and charming. Littel manages to humanize them without losing sight of the atrocities they committed. Which is Littell's point, though he really didn't have to slog us through 1,000 pages to get us to it. Now matter how self-deluded Aue is and how much he shunts off responsibility for what he does, a truth does emerge. That average people, under certain circumstances, will do terrible things to other human beings.
Occasionally, Aue disassociates and starts hallucinating and sometimes it takes us a while to figure out he is doing it. It is a deliberate break in what is usually a very detailed realistic novel. This habit takes over the last twenty pages of the book, making it feel like the last bit of Terry Gilliam's Brazil, i.e., it goes a bit off the rails.
Look, this is a hard, hard book to read. The narrator is an utterly horrible person. With a couple of rare exceptions, the Jewish characters in the book are shunted to the background and are barely considered by any of the main characters. Little is foregrounding the German experience. But that is his point. There is a thin veil between ourselves and these people, and Littell wants to make sure that we never let that veil slip and allow us as a society to step over into such inhumanity again.
Little uses him to shows the steps a government or group of people take to slowly dehumanize another group of people. At first, in Ukraine, where is witness to the massacre of thousands of Jews, he has nightmares and constantly vomits up his food. He does not have the self-awareness to connect the two events. Littel also lays out how Germany's attempt to exterminate the Jewish population moved from very sloppy to very efficient and Aue even tries to explain how even THAT is humane.
The Kindly Ones is also a very detailed look at what it was like to be a German officer and solder. He is incredibly knowledgeable and specific. He puts you right on the ground and completely immerses you in this world. It is a world of characters both heinous and charming. Littel manages to humanize them without losing sight of the atrocities they committed. Which is Littell's point, though he really didn't have to slog us through 1,000 pages to get us to it. Now matter how self-deluded Aue is and how much he shunts off responsibility for what he does, a truth does emerge. That average people, under certain circumstances, will do terrible things to other human beings.
Occasionally, Aue disassociates and starts hallucinating and sometimes it takes us a while to figure out he is doing it. It is a deliberate break in what is usually a very detailed realistic novel. This habit takes over the last twenty pages of the book, making it feel like the last bit of Terry Gilliam's Brazil, i.e., it goes a bit off the rails.
Look, this is a hard, hard book to read. The narrator is an utterly horrible person. With a couple of rare exceptions, the Jewish characters in the book are shunted to the background and are barely considered by any of the main characters. Little is foregrounding the German experience. But that is his point. There is a thin veil between ourselves and these people, and Littell wants to make sure that we never let that veil slip and allow us as a society to step over into such inhumanity again.
janey's review
3.0
Well that was as weird as batshit. At least it's comforting to know that somewhere out there, there's someone who thinks that Freud is still relevant.
beckydk's review against another edition
4.0
De Velvillige af Jonathan Littell er ikke en letlæst bog. Jeg læser som oftest 3-5 bøger om måneden, det tog mig ca. et halvt år at komme igennem de knap 900 sider.
Det er en tung bog, længdemæssigt, skrivestilen og temaerne.
Forfatteren benytter sig meget af "stream-of-consciousness", hvilket resulterer i sætninger der fylder en side og passager som er adskillige sider lange uden afsnit. Dette er tilsammen med sprogbruget med til at gøre romanen tung at læse, man skal virkelig koncentrere sig om den.
Temaerne i bogen er utrolig grove, ikke nok med at bogen omhandler de ufattelige grusomheder begået under anden verdenskrig imod jøderne/polakkerne/russerne/de psykisk syge etc. etc., så omhandler den også hovedpersonens egen psykose (som vi især ser udfoldet til sidst i bogen), hans incestuøse forhold til hans tvillingesøster og hvordan det i det hele taget har påvirket hans seksuelle tankegang og tilbøjeligheder.
Især i starten af bogen følte jeg en stor forståelse for hovedpersonen, en kulturel og dannet mand, men tilsidst følte jeg kun afsky.
De sidste 100 sider læste jeg mest af alt fordi jeg havde læst de første 800, jeg følte at forfatteren gik over stregen og at det blev for meget.
De Velvillige er en provokerende bog, en tankevækkende bog, men jeg vil bestemt ikke anbefale den til alle. Det er ikke en bog som vil efterlade dig med en god fornemmelse, snarere en opgivenhed overfor så megen ondskab i verdenen.
Det er en tung bog, længdemæssigt, skrivestilen og temaerne.
Forfatteren benytter sig meget af "stream-of-consciousness", hvilket resulterer i sætninger der fylder en side og passager som er adskillige sider lange uden afsnit. Dette er tilsammen med sprogbruget med til at gøre romanen tung at læse, man skal virkelig koncentrere sig om den.
Temaerne i bogen er utrolig grove, ikke nok med at bogen omhandler de ufattelige grusomheder begået under anden verdenskrig imod jøderne/polakkerne/russerne/de psykisk syge etc. etc., så omhandler den også hovedpersonens egen psykose (som vi især ser udfoldet til sidst i bogen), hans incestuøse forhold til hans tvillingesøster og hvordan det i det hele taget har påvirket hans seksuelle tankegang og tilbøjeligheder.
Især i starten af bogen følte jeg en stor forståelse for hovedpersonen, en kulturel og dannet mand, men tilsidst følte jeg kun afsky.
De sidste 100 sider læste jeg mest af alt fordi jeg havde læst de første 800, jeg følte at forfatteren gik over stregen og at det blev for meget.
De Velvillige er en provokerende bog, en tankevækkende bog, men jeg vil bestemt ikke anbefale den til alle. Det er ikke en bog som vil efterlade dig med en god fornemmelse, snarere en opgivenhed overfor så megen ondskab i verdenen.
sidselmittet's review
4.0
En vigtig bog. Lidt vel lang til tider, men med en rigtig interessant fortællerstemme.