The Oppermans

Wow. This blew me away. This is a novel set in 1930s Berlin, following a large German Jewish family in their daily lives. Given the rise of anti-democratic forces in the US and many other countries (including Germany's AfD) now, in the 2020s, it felt apropos.

I was worried that the 90-year-old writing would feel alienating and stilted. Also, a translation! Double trouble. But - amazingly (and I credit the 2022 English translation) - it was, instead, relatable and absorbing. I read the last third in a daily-responsibility-ignoring tear during a weekday morning. It was SO GOOD.

Briefly: We follow the 5 middle-aged Oppermann siblings - but especially the intellectual Gustav, the businessman Martin, their brother-in-law Jaques Lavendel (be still, my heart, Jaques Lavendel!!!), and Martin's son, Berthold, as well as Jaques's son, Heinrich. The scenes of Gustav and Martin's everyday lives prior to Hitler becoming Chancellor - their expectations about their world, politics, etc - well, it was VERY relatable. Gustav, in particular, is a dreamy intellectual who dismisses barbaric politics because, well, SURELY no one takes these thugs seriously?

This novel is also remarkable as a historical artifact. As I was reading, I started wondering, “oh, I wonder what will happen to these characters”. Then I realized... this was written in 1933. So, before the Holocaust. The author, Lion Feuchtwanger, didn't actually know what would happen - though he did understand what was happening in that year (which many many people did not, or at least underestimated). This meta-awareness informed a lot of my reading: here was a clairvoyant voice speaking brave, absolute truth - across time and space. Remarkable!! This book, indeed, was burned by the Nazis - Feuchtwanger was stripped of his citizenship, property, and career: wiki. He eventually emigrated to the US.

Really incredible.