Mendelssohn Is on the Roof (Jewish Lives)

Rating:
Summary: Humor and Pathos Mixed Beautifully in World War II Prague
Review: In short vignettes, the author explores the difficult choices faced by the people of World War II Prague, from Reinhard Heydrich (never named by name) to individual soldiers, civil servants and Czechs and Jews of all stripes. Some episodes are absurd and full of humor, particularly the moment when the workers try to identify which statue on the roof is actually Mendelssohn's (they choose the one with the largest nose and are about to make the maximum possible error when they are stopped in the nick of time). Others are almost painful to read, such as the choices of a Jewish scholar hired to work on the museum built to illustrate the lives of his people; he realizes the purpose is to describe a people who are to be eliminated from the face of the earth.

Unlike many Holocaust novels, this book presents its points in a subtle and wonderful manner. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Rating:
Summary: Fiction parallels history in this work.
Review: Jiri Weil has here a masterpiece, a series of events involving a host of characters. Children hiding in a closet, German soldiers of high and low rank, elderly Jewish council members and scholars. What really chills me was my visit to the Holocaust museum days after finishing this book. The identification papers you draw upon entering that I received were for a man in the exact region of my Slovak grandparents. Before leaving much later that day, I viewed newsreels in the library. They provided actual background for the description of Reinhard Heydrich's assassination, told in detail in Weil's book. I highly recommend this excellent book.

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent novella for everyone to read
Review: This book is amazing in its realism and emotion. The symbolism takes time to understand but when you do the book takes you to another level. The courage of the Jews and Czech people is heartening and brings another diminsion to what is commonly thought about when you think of WW2. An excellent book that I encourage everyone to read.