Books: Lion Feuchtwanger, Jud Süß
Sep. 12th, 2008 10:56 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
donnaimmaculataOh, look! I've managed to stick to my plan for two days!
Jud Süss by Lion Feuchtwanger
An amazing book (or even AMAAAAAZING BOOOOK). An all-time favourite of mine, which I have read several times, despite the fact that it's a 1,000-page long motherfucker of a novel. You might have heard of the Nazi propaganda film of the same name, but it's not quite the same story.
Written in the 1920s and set in the 18th century, during the age of Enlightenment, Jud Süss tells the story of the Jewish financier Joseph Süss Oppenheimer who was the leading banker and financial manager ("Finanzrat") to the Duke Alexander of Württemberg. Joseph Süss Oppenheimer is an actual historical person, and Lion Feuchtwanger used the story of his life to illustrate the rise to dizzying heights of success and the subsequent fall that might have occurred in the life of every Jewish entrepreneur who was more or less at the mercy of his sovereign. In the novel, Joseph Süss is a very worldly man, who enthusiastically takes part in the intrigues and the excesses of the ducal court, but he is naturally always regarded as "the Jew".
There is a nice, poignant passage right at the beginning of the book where Josef Süss and the Jew Landauer, a clerk at the ducal court, regard each other critically; Josef Süss is annoyed that Landauer cultivates the stereotypically Jewish look, which, in his opinion, is unnecessary and only serves to irritate the Christians he works with; Landauer thinks that Josef Süss is naive and rather stupid, thinking that the Christians will ever accept him as their equal. He prefers to gain influence and power while parading his Jewish-ness around provocatively.
Spanning several decades, the book is filled with intrigues, plot twists, historical facts, religious conflicts (Duke Alexander of Württemberg is a Catholic who becomes duke of a Protestant land, which naturally leads to a lot of tension), and a most fantastic cast of characters. None of them is actually likeable (Josef Süss is an unscrupulous, opportunistic and generally unpleasant man), but that's the beauty of the novel. You find yourself rooting for Josef Süss when he sets off to wreak revenge against the Duke (because of a SPOILER which I won't disclose). But on the other hand, Josef Süss had done something despicable, and so he had brought the misfortune upon himself.
Without giving away too much: the book features one of the most chilling rape scenes I've read, which, however, is neither explicit nor graphic. It all happens in the room next door, and we witness the scene from the point of view of a man who loves the woman in question, but is unable to do anything due to diplomatic and political reasons.
On the meta level, the book illustrates the philosophical question of whether it is preferable to lead a life of passive contemplation or a life of active occupation. While Josef Süss stands exemplary for the first life philosophy, his uncle, the cabbalist Rabbi Gabriel, leads a life of solitude, having renounced the world entirely.
Feuchtwanger's use of language is fantastic. He has developed a unique style for this novel, using archaic words and expressions that help build and enrich the Jud Süss universe. The style is expressive and rich in images, which I personally love. (Apparently, it's been subject to a lot of criticism.)
Jud Süss happens to push many of my buttons: it's a proper, long novel I can sink my teeth in, it's got unpleasant, amoral, memorable characters, it's got a realistic depiction of human vices and weaknesses, it discusses questions of religion and philosophy without preaching or moralising, and it's got a beautiful, beautiful language, with proper-length sentences and subordinate clauses (sadly not a matter of course in contemporary novels!). I think it's time for a re-read.
Stay tuned for Confessions of Felix Krull, Confidence Man by Thomas Mann - another book with proper-length sentences and subordinate clauses. (Unless I can think of some Polish book to review first.)
Jud Süss by Lion Feuchtwanger
An amazing book (or even AMAAAAAZING BOOOOK). An all-time favourite of mine, which I have read several times, despite the fact that it's a 1,000-page long motherfucker of a novel. You might have heard of the Nazi propaganda film of the same name, but it's not quite the same story.
Written in the 1920s and set in the 18th century, during the age of Enlightenment, Jud Süss tells the story of the Jewish financier Joseph Süss Oppenheimer who was the leading banker and financial manager ("Finanzrat") to the Duke Alexander of Württemberg. Joseph Süss Oppenheimer is an actual historical person, and Lion Feuchtwanger used the story of his life to illustrate the rise to dizzying heights of success and the subsequent fall that might have occurred in the life of every Jewish entrepreneur who was more or less at the mercy of his sovereign. In the novel, Joseph Süss is a very worldly man, who enthusiastically takes part in the intrigues and the excesses of the ducal court, but he is naturally always regarded as "the Jew".
There is a nice, poignant passage right at the beginning of the book where Josef Süss and the Jew Landauer, a clerk at the ducal court, regard each other critically; Josef Süss is annoyed that Landauer cultivates the stereotypically Jewish look, which, in his opinion, is unnecessary and only serves to irritate the Christians he works with; Landauer thinks that Josef Süss is naive and rather stupid, thinking that the Christians will ever accept him as their equal. He prefers to gain influence and power while parading his Jewish-ness around provocatively.
Spanning several decades, the book is filled with intrigues, plot twists, historical facts, religious conflicts (Duke Alexander of Württemberg is a Catholic who becomes duke of a Protestant land, which naturally leads to a lot of tension), and a most fantastic cast of characters. None of them is actually likeable (Josef Süss is an unscrupulous, opportunistic and generally unpleasant man), but that's the beauty of the novel. You find yourself rooting for Josef Süss when he sets off to wreak revenge against the Duke (because of a SPOILER which I won't disclose). But on the other hand, Josef Süss had done something despicable, and so he had brought the misfortune upon himself.
Without giving away too much: the book features one of the most chilling rape scenes I've read, which, however, is neither explicit nor graphic. It all happens in the room next door, and we witness the scene from the point of view of a man who loves the woman in question, but is unable to do anything due to diplomatic and political reasons.
On the meta level, the book illustrates the philosophical question of whether it is preferable to lead a life of passive contemplation or a life of active occupation. While Josef Süss stands exemplary for the first life philosophy, his uncle, the cabbalist Rabbi Gabriel, leads a life of solitude, having renounced the world entirely.
Feuchtwanger's use of language is fantastic. He has developed a unique style for this novel, using archaic words and expressions that help build and enrich the Jud Süss universe. The style is expressive and rich in images, which I personally love. (Apparently, it's been subject to a lot of criticism.)
Jud Süss happens to push many of my buttons: it's a proper, long novel I can sink my teeth in, it's got unpleasant, amoral, memorable characters, it's got a realistic depiction of human vices and weaknesses, it discusses questions of religion and philosophy without preaching or moralising, and it's got a beautiful, beautiful language, with proper-length sentences and subordinate clauses (sadly not a matter of course in contemporary novels!). I think it's time for a re-read.
Stay tuned for Confessions of Felix Krull, Confidence Man by Thomas Mann - another book with proper-length sentences and subordinate clauses. (Unless I can think of some Polish book to review first.)
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no subject
Date: 2008-09-12 02:06 pm (UTC)Jud Süß was the first novel of Feuchtwanger's I ever read and it got me hooked on the entire ouevre. The only one of his I love love better is the Josephus trilogy; otherwise it has remained a favourite.
no subject
Date: 2008-09-13 10:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-13 03:05 pm (UTC)From wiki:
Die Jüdin von Toledo is a 1955 novel by German-Jewish writer Lion Feuchtwanger. The story focuses on the "Golden Age" of learning in medieval Spain. The novel also describes the affair of Alfonso VIII with the Jewish Raquel in Toledo. In Lion Feuchtwanger's prologue to the story, he mentions that the ballad was originally written by Alfonso X of Castile in regards of his Great-Grandfather (Alfonso VIII).
no subject
Date: 2008-09-14 12:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-14 04:38 am (UTC)Oh, and Felix Krull is an absolute MARVEL, will love to read your review. Mann is so at ease with his writing, you can feel him having fun throughout. Krull made me irresistibly think of Lesage's Gil Blas de Santillane, my favourite pastiche of a picaresque novel. It's also very moving that the second part is set in Lisbon, the port through which the fleeing Mann left Europe to find refuge in America; what a brilliant way to exorcise those circumstances!
no subject
Date: 2008-09-14 04:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-14 07:29 pm (UTC)I read it in German. (In fact, I am planning to post some recs of my favourite German books, because they are sadly underrepresented on this English-language journal.) I've no idea how good the quality of the translation is; according to Wikipedia, the novel was celebrated when it was first released in the US market, but that does not necessarily mean that the translation was high-quality. However, I can imagine that it can work quite well in other languages, too. I don't have my copy on me and it's been two years since I last read it, so I'm not 100% sure, but I think that Feuchtwanger mostly used archaic expressions and speech patterns of the 18th century. (In fact, it made me think of Lessing's drama Emilia Galotti, a famous 18th century bourgeois tragedy.) In the hands of a good translator, the style can be adapted in foreign languages.
I feel I should re-read Felix Krull before I can review it! And sadly, I've never read Gil Blas de Santillane - but then again, I am woefully undereducated in French literature.