This is one of the greatest books I have ever read.It gets a little stiff at times as Rezzori packs copious amounts of philosophical reflection into a tale about pre/during and after WW2 Germany. Rezzori focuses on what makes up the zeitgeist of an era.There were plenty of Germans who had no time for Hitler,but history has forgotten them and the whole of German history has been revised in many ways to give a picture of something inevitable about the rise of facism.But facism was a 'popular' parlour alternative to communism;the effect of the depression on all world politics is overlooked;the Jews were always a convienient European scapegoat... Rezzori looks at the pre war-almost-serfdom(that was doomed to go;to be replaced by what?) and the 'economic miracle' of post war Germany and the 'US' standardization of european culture. The rewards for reading this book are huge.Warm up with "Memoirs of an anti semite" then read this.It ranks with 'Moby Dick' as a huge upward blip in literary milestones.
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