Every Man Dies Alone
Author:
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Book Type: Hardcover
Author:
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Book Type: Hardcover
Sophia C. reviewed on + 289 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
Every Man Dies Alone is a thoughtful meditation on the age-old if a tree falls in the forest question during wartime Nazi Germany. Rudolph Ditzen, writing as Hans Fallada, chose to retreat as an internal immigrant rather than flee Germany when the Nazis rose to power. Wrestling with maintaining artistic integrity throughout their rule, he wrote this story in three months when given a Gestapo file soon after the end of the war.
The fictionalized working-class couple Otto and Anna Quangel began a defiant postcard writing-and-distributing campaign to wake others up to the horror of their government upon learning of their only sons death in the invasion of France. Other characters, not necessarily typical German citizens, round out this suspenseful cat-and-mouse game as the authorities are desperate to nab the troublemaker. Fallada manages to combine captivating story-telling with making a strong statement about the moral importance of resistance, even if futile, in this poignant story. It is a story about fear as a crippling, inertial force, but one that can be overcome with strength, faith in another person, and courage.
The fictionalized working-class couple Otto and Anna Quangel began a defiant postcard writing-and-distributing campaign to wake others up to the horror of their government upon learning of their only sons death in the invasion of France. Other characters, not necessarily typical German citizens, round out this suspenseful cat-and-mouse game as the authorities are desperate to nab the troublemaker. Fallada manages to combine captivating story-telling with making a strong statement about the moral importance of resistance, even if futile, in this poignant story. It is a story about fear as a crippling, inertial force, but one that can be overcome with strength, faith in another person, and courage.
