I have read several other books by Appelfeld and this was not a favorite. It was thought provoking but he has said what he is saying here better in other novels.

I do admire his style though - restrained, elliptical, spare. ( )

I stumbled upon this book quite accidentally at my library, and I'm very glad that I ended up checking it out to read. Applefeld's writing is direct, sharp, and very engaging. I could barely put this book down.

Karl Huebner, a Jew living in Neufeld, converts to Christianity in order to obtain a better job. He's not alone in his conversion; many of the Jews in Neufeld followed a similar path, whether for better opportunities or better living conditions. Few, if any, seemed to convert for religious or spiritual reasons. Initially, Karl views his conversion as freeing. He no longer feels trapped in the "outside," as the faithful Jews are, and he was never particularly devout. But, as events occur that change his life, Karl begins to see his conversion in a different light.

As a Jew myself, this story really resonated with me. I, too, know the feeling of "otherness" and discrimination that often accompanies being Jewish. And I, too, converted to Christianity when I was younger, although I recanted later. I could understand Karl's motivations and the adrift feeling too, as if he was separated from the Christians (who still saw him as Jewish) and his former people (who see him as the "other" now, although many understand why he converted).

None of the people who converted seemed particularly happy with their choice to abandon the Jewish ways. Martin, a lawyer, became a drunk with a string of unhappy marriages. Freddy, a doctor, wore himself thin and was treated shabbily by his patients and wife. And Karl, who finally obtained the position he'd dreamed of for years, felt hollow inside, beginning to see the Catholic priest who had converted him not as a savior (as he once had), but as a predator, trying to eradicate the Jewish presence from Neufeld.

Of course, it's also important to remember the time frame of this story - "two generations before the Holocaust," according to the flyleaf - and the anti-Semitism displayed here. There are several echoes of what, we now know in hindsight, is about to befall the Jewish population in Neufeld, in Austria, in Europe. And the ending is especially foreshadowing in that regard.

Altogether, I thought that this book was excellent, and I am eager to read more from this author. ( )