Written while Hans Keilson was in hiding during World War II, The Death of the Adversary is the self-portrait of a young man helplessly fascinated by an unnamed “adversary” whom he watches rise to power in 1930s Germany. It is a tale of horror, not only in its evocation of Hitler’s gathering menace but also in its hero’s desperate attempt to discover logic where none exists. A psychological fable as wry and haunting as Badenheim 1939, The Death of the Adversary is a lost classic of modern fiction.
Hans Keilson, born in Berlin in 1909, published his first novel in 1934. During World War II he joined the Dutch resistance. Later, as a psychiatist, he pioneered the treatment of war trauma in children. He lives in Bussum, near Amsterdam.
Written while Hans Keilson was in hiding during World War II, The Death of the Adversary is the self-portrait of a young man fascinated by an unnamed “adversary” whom he watches rise to power in 1930s Germany. It is a tale of horror, not only in its evocation of Hitler’s gathering power but also in its hero’s attempt to discover logic where none exists. A psychological fable as wry and haunting as Badenheim 1939, The Death of the Adversary is a lost classic of modern fiction.
作者簡介
Born in Berlin in 1909, HANS KEILSON published his first novel in 1934. During World War II he joined the Dutch resistance. Later, as a psychoanalyst, he pioneered the treatment of war trauma in children. In 2008 he received the Die Welt Literature Prize. He lives with his wife in Bussum, near Amsterdam.
