I’ve warned them that they don’t understand that machines have their own Being, he said. No vision. No guiding principles.
Vision always trumps machines, said Asher.
Heidegger nodded and told Asher he’d fallen out of the world as recently as a week ago. Elfriede Heidegger had been dishing out stew, the handle had broken, and the ladle fell into the pot. Without the ladle the handle became a ludicrous stick, and eventually the whole kitchen felt tilted. Elfriede got irritated that he wasn’t helping.
Martin, Asher said — as he always did — we’re always in the world. So there’s nothing at all to fall out of.
I know, said Heidegger.
Then why not just live here? said Asher.
Because no one can all the time.
(from Heidegger’s Glasses, page 188 in the ARC)
Heidegger’s Glasses is another novel sure to make my best of 2010 list. Thaisa Frank mingles fact and fiction in a novel set in Germany at the end of World War II that paints a haunting and unique portrait of the Holocaust. In 1920, Martin Heidegger, philosopher and member of the Nazi party “saw his glasses and fell out of the familiar world” (page xvii in the ARC). He looked at his glasses and had no idea what they were or how they were used, and when he had a similar reaction to all the other objects around him, he wrote about it to his close friend (and later his optometrist) Asher Englehardt.
Fast forward about 25 years to a mine converted into the Compound of Scribes, complete with a cobblestone street and a simulated sky that changes from light to dark and back again with each passing day. Adolph Hitler, Heinrich Himmler, and other Nazis had a fascination with the occult, consulted astrologers and the astral plane, and used this knowledge in their war strategies. To conceal all knowledge of the Final Solution, the Jews who were taken to concentration camps were forced to write letters to their loved ones to say they were okay and request that they join them. By the time the letters reached their destination, the sender was most likely dead, and the recipients may have been relocated or killed as well. The Compound of Scribes was part of a secret operation to answer the letters written to those whose lives ended in the concentration camps. The scribes were Jews pulled out of deportation lines or saved from the gas chambers by their ability to speak various languages, as each letter was to be answered in the language in which it was written in order to appease the dead.
Himmler had forbade burning them: he believed in the supernatural with a vengeance, and thought the dead would pester psychics for answers if they knew their letters were destroyed — eventually exposing the Final Solution. Goebbels, who despised the supernatural, wouldn’t burn them for a different reason. He wanted each letter to be answered for the sake of record-keeping so there wouldn’t be any questions after the war. (page 20 in the ARC)
In the compound, readers are introduced to Elie Schacter and her lover Gerhardt Lodenstein, the SS officer in charge. Elie collects the mail to be answered by the scribes, as well as numerous other supplies that come from raided homes, and she helps hide and transport people evading capture and deportation. Lodenstein — who aids Elie’s resistance work — worries about her traveling through the woods at a time when it seems Germany will lose the war, and he knows she has another side of herself that she will not reveal.
All of the tension between Elie and Lodenstein comes to a head when orders are received from Joseph Goebbels, Nazi propaganda minister, related to a letter Heidegger sent to his optometrist, who was sent to Auschwitz and may or may not be dead. Heidegger’s wife grew suspicious when her husband’s letter went unanswered, and the compound is ordered to answer the letter as Englehardt would have answered it and deliver a pair of glasses to Heidegger. The lives of the compound’s inhabitants are jeopardized when a demand is made by the scribe called upon to write the response, Elie believes the orders can be used to get Englehardt out of the camp, and a foolish Major Stumpf takes matters into his own hands.
I’m always looking for something new in a World War II novel, and Frank offers the originality I’ve been seeking in Heidegger’s Glasses. Frank does a brilliant job setting the pace and giving only so much information about the characters at one time, creating tension and compelling me to rapidly turn the pages to find out what happens next. I hope readers will not dismiss Heidegger’s Glasses because there’s a bit of philosophy in it, as Frank writes the philosophical aspect in a way that is easily grasped.
I only wish there were an author’s note separating the fact from the fiction (to satisfy my curiosity) and quotation marks around the dialogue. Other than those nit-picky things, I can’t say anything negative about this book and highly recommend it to readers interested in World War II and the Holocaust.
Heidegger’s Glasses merges philosophy, romance, history, and war into a novel that is both emotional and exciting and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. This clever novel blew me away, from the intensity of the relationships to the sadness of and the meaning behind the forced letters. It’s a novel that stays with you long after you turn the last page.
Thanks to TLC Book Tours for allowing me to participate in and kick off the Heidegger’s Glasses tour. Click here to check out the remaining tour dates.
Courtesy of the publisher, Counterpoint, I have a copy of Heidegger’s Glasses to share with my readers. To enter, you must have a U.S. or Canada address and leave a comment with your e-mail address by 11:59 pm EST on Sunday, Nov. 14, 2010. The winner will be chosen randomly.
**Please note that this giveaway is now closed**
Disclosure: I received a copy of Heidegger’s Glasses from Counterpoint for review purposes. I am an Amazon associate.
© 2010 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.
I love your in-depth reviews, and this is no exception. I already have Heidegger’s Glasses on my TBR/wishlist, and I am so pleased that I will not be disappointed. Fantastic review…so enticing.
Please enter my name in this giveaway. Thank you also for hosting it!
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Thanks, Irene! I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did.
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Based on your review this sounds like a beautifully written book that I would most appreciate. Thank you for hosting the giveaway.
freda.mans[at]sympatico.ca
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Beautiful is a great way to describe Frank’s writing.
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I like that you find it original. It it’s the book for me, that I actually do not know. But then I never know before I try a book
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I have never read about scribes during the Holocaust. I don’t even know if that aspect of the story is true. I’ll have to do some research.
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Wow, Anna, it sounds so good! You are so well read in this area of history; I’m glad you found the originality you were looking for! Great review; thank you so much for being on the tour.
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Thanks, Lisa!
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I’ll be reviewing this one later for the tour. No need to enter me.
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I can’t wait to discuss it with you. Hope you love it as much as I did.
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Anna, your reviews are always so well done and this one is no exception. This sounds like a quite a unique book.
Please enter me in the giveaway. I will post this in my blog’s sidebar.
Thanks!
suko95(at)gmail(dot)com
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Thanks, Suko!
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I loved this book (my review is coming on the 11th) and I too hope that readers aren’t scared off by the philosophy thing or even the Holocaust setting. I thought Frank made such a sad story poignant and bittersweet it a v approachable way — I wanted to savor the sadness but not off myself.
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I’ll be looking for your review! Sounds like we felt the same about this book. Glad you loved it, too!
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I don’t usually read novels taking place during WW2 as you know, but this one sounds really unique and I loved the quote you started your review with.
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Be warned that it’s a sad story. I don’t see how it couldn’t be sad dealing with war and the Holocaust. But it’s definitely worth giving a try.
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Anna—Thank you for the gift of your time, and a review that travels into the world of the book with such insight and care. I actually have written an essay called Imagination and History which talks about what is true and what isn’t. The book came to me many years before I wrote it in the form of 16 pages. And how imagination and truth intertwined was illuminating for me. So I’m happy to send it it on. Thanks so much again for the generous review. My very best, Thaisa
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Thaisa, thanks for stopping by my blog. I’d love to read the essay, and I look forward to your upcoming guest post. 🙂
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Great review, Anna. This does sound like it brings something new to literature of the Holocaust. Do throw my name into the hat for the giveaway. Thanks!
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Will do! It’s now one of my favorites of all the WWII/Holocaust novels I’ve read.
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[…] JD PR NEWS Happy Release Day to Heidegger’s Glasses and congratulations to author Thaisa Frank for your hard work. Check out this fabulous first review on Diary of an Eccentric: https://diaryofaneccentric.wordpress.com/2010/11/01/review-heideggers-glasses-by-thaisa-frank/ […]
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I only read your last line as I have yet to read this one for my TLC stop.
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I’m looking forward to your review! I hope you love the book as much as I did.
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This sounds a wonderful book and thank you for a very good review.
No need to count me in as I am overseas.
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I do hope you have a chance to read it!
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This sounds like a fascinating read. I know exactly what you mean about wanting an editorial or author note separating fact from fiction; I often have that wish when reading books like this. 🙂 eclectic.eccentric[at]hotmail.com
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An author’s note definitely isn’t necessary, since the book is marketed as a novel. But I’m always curious about what’s true and what’s not. I guess that’s a sign of a good novel if the author has blended the two so well I can’t tell. 😉
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Books with a fresh perspective on World War II and/or the Holocaust always grab my attention. It was such a terrible but intriguing time in history, and I have a feeling we’ll be reading and writing about it for quite a while to come.
I’d love to win a copy!
writing.meg [at] gmail.com
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I hope you get a chance to read this one. There are so many facets to WWII that I’m always learning something new, which is why I can’t stop reading about it.
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I really wanted to break my ban on taking on any more review books this month so that I could read this one. For a change I stood strong. And now I’m regretting it. And this is how I end up getting in over my head!
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I’ve been accepting very few review copies lately. Usually it’s not hard for me to say no, but when they’re WWII books or Jane Austen sequels, I admit I’m weak! I definitely couldn’t turn down this book even though I’m still working my way through a backlog of review copies.
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Whoa, this sounds really great. Please count me in.
srfbluemama[at]gmail[dot]com
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Done! 😉
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This sounds like a great pick for my book club. Please enter me, thanks.
ruthiekb72@yahoo.com
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I think it would be great for a book club. Lots of stuff to discuss!
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Wonderful review and with lots of positive comments I’d like a chance to read this one too.
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Thanks, Leslie!
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What a lovely review. Thank you.
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Thanks, Esme!
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Sounds like a great book!
kim(at)bookstorepeople(dot)com
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It is! One of the best I read this year!
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[…] Glasses, which I raved about last week to Diary of an Eccentric. After I mentioned in my review that I was curious about what is fact and fiction in the novel, Thaisa offered to adapt an essay […]
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I had not heard of this before. I would definitely like to read this as I love historical fiction.
seknobloch(at)gmail(dot)com
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I hope you get a chance to read it soon!
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Thank you for including me. =)
tiredwkids at live dot com
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You’re very welcome!
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[…] Monday, November 1st: Diary of an Eccentric […]
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My son is a professor in European history, he wrote his master’s
thesis on Heidegger. I would love to read this book, it sounds like
a good one. I would be interesting to talk to him about it. It would be fun to read it with my book club and have him answer our questions when he come home to visit.
Thanks for the great review.
Shannon
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Oh, I’d love to hear his thoughts on the book!
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This giveaway is now closed. Thanks to everyone who stopped by to read my review! I’ll choose the winner using randomizer.org and announce him/her shortly.
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[…] Heidegger’s Glasses by Thaisa Frank […]
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[…] are other people saying? Diary of an Eccentric, Books & Movies , The Divining […]
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[…] Heidegger’s Glasses by Thaisa Frank Fast forward about 25 years to a mine converted into the Compound of Scribes, complete with a cobblestone street and a simulated sky that changes from light to dark and back again with each passing day. Adolph Hitler, Heinrich Himmler, and other Nazis had a fascination with the occult, consulted astrologers and the astral plane, and used this knowledge in their war strategies. To conceal all knowledge of the Final Solution, the Jews who were taken to concentration camps were forced to write letters to their loved ones to say they were okay and request that they join them. By the time the letters reached their destination, the sender was most likely dead, and the recipients may have been relocated or killed as well. The Compound of Scribes was part of a secret operation to answer the letters written to those whose lives ended in the concentration camps. The scribes were Jews pulled out of deportation lines or saved from the gas chambers by their ability to speak various languages, as each letter was to be answered in the language in which it was written in order to appease the dead. […]
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[…] loved Thaisa Frank’s unique Holocaust novel, Heidegger’s Glasses, so I couldn’t wait to read her new short story collection, Enchantment. There are 30 or so […]
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