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A review by ezekielrage
Hope: A Tragedy by Shalom Auslander
5.0
I was given this book as a "Here, buy this"-recommendation by a friend of mine. That's really all she said. And the text on the back did sound rather exciting. Some guy quitting his life to an extent encounters Anne Frank or someone claiming to be her in his attic. How can this not be fun, right?
Well, it is fun. In fact, it's very funny. Just not in the "Let me tell you a joke"-sort of way. It's funny to the extent where you can't help but laugh at the characters' lives. Overly neurotic here, denying reality there, claiming to be Anne Frank up in the attic. Probably being Anne Frank, too.
Snark, cynicism, sarcasm and outright anger dominate this book. Anne Frank - I'll just call her Anne Frank, because whether or not she's the historical character, that's the name the character has - is upset because she will never write anything better or more significant than her debut novel, the book's main character, Solomon Kugel, is scared of everything and descends into his own self-made madness and it all reads perfectly normal.
Shalom Auslander crafts a completely absurd story, manages to make it feel real, though. Despite the outlandish plot and the strange and frankly unlikely cast of characters, it all fits together nicely. Mr. Auslander doesn't go for pure shock value and exploits the novelty of discovering Anne Frank in the rural United States or even entertains her getting to the attic as any kind of mystery.
Despite all this, Hope: A Tragedy is an exceptionally well-written and entertainig book that serves as much as a fictional story as well as a sort of introspective into modern society, mainly the need to get away from our very own lives.
Well, it is fun. In fact, it's very funny. Just not in the "Let me tell you a joke"-sort of way. It's funny to the extent where you can't help but laugh at the characters' lives. Overly neurotic here, denying reality there, claiming to be Anne Frank up in the attic. Probably being Anne Frank, too.
Snark, cynicism, sarcasm and outright anger dominate this book. Anne Frank - I'll just call her Anne Frank, because whether or not she's the historical character, that's the name the character has - is upset because she will never write anything better or more significant than her debut novel, the book's main character, Solomon Kugel, is scared of everything and descends into his own self-made madness and it all reads perfectly normal.
Shalom Auslander crafts a completely absurd story, manages to make it feel real, though. Despite the outlandish plot and the strange and frankly unlikely cast of characters, it all fits together nicely. Mr. Auslander doesn't go for pure shock value and exploits the novelty of discovering Anne Frank in the rural United States or even entertains her getting to the attic as any kind of mystery.
Despite all this, Hope: A Tragedy is an exceptionally well-written and entertainig book that serves as much as a fictional story as well as a sort of introspective into modern society, mainly the need to get away from our very own lives.