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Panorama
Published for the first time in English, Panorama is a superb rediscovered novel of the Holocaust by a neglected modern master. One of a handful of death camp survivors to fictionalize his experiences in German, H. G. Adler is an essential author—referenced by W. G. Sebald in his classic novel Austerlitz, and a direct literary descendant of Kafka.
When The Journey was discovered in a Harvard bookshop and translated by Peter Filkins, it began a major reassessment of the Prague-born H. G. Adler by literary critics and historians alike. Known for his monumental Theresienstadt 1941–1945, a day-by-day account of his experiences in the Nazi slave-labor community before he was sent to Auschwitz, Adler also wrote six novels. The very depiction of the Holocaust in fiction caused furious debate and delays in their publication. Now Panorama, his first novel, written in 1948, is finally available to convey the kinds of truths that only fiction can.
A brilliant epic, Panorama is a portrait of a place and people soon to be destroyed, as seen through the eyes of young Josef Kramer. Told in ten distinct scenes, it begins in pastoral Word War I–era Bohemia, where the boy passively witnesses the “wonders of the world” in a thrilling panorama display; follows him to a German boarding school full of creeping xenophobia and prejudice; and finds him in young adulthood sent to a labor camp and then to one of the infamous extermination camps, before he chooses exile abroad after the war. Josef’s philosophical journey mirrors the author’s own: from a stoic acceptance of events to a realization that “the viewer is also the participant” and that action must be taken in life, if only to make sure the dead are not forgotten.
Achieving a stream-of-consciousness power reminiscent of James Joyce and Gertrude Stein, H. G. Adler is a modern artist with unique historical importance. Panorama is lasting evidence of both the torment of his life and the triumph of his gifts.
When The Journey was discovered in a Harvard bookshop and translated by Peter Filkins, it began a major reassessment of the Prague-born H. G. Adler by literary critics and historians alike. Known for his monumental Theresienstadt 1941–1945, a day-by-day account of his experiences in the Nazi slave-labor community before he was sent to Auschwitz, Adler also wrote six novels. The very depiction of the Holocaust in fiction caused furious debate and delays in their publication. Now Panorama, his first novel, written in 1948, is finally available to convey the kinds of truths that only fiction can.
A brilliant epic, Panorama is a portrait of a place and people soon to be destroyed, as seen through the eyes of young Josef Kramer. Told in ten distinct scenes, it begins in pastoral Word War I–era Bohemia, where the boy passively witnesses the “wonders of the world” in a thrilling panorama display; follows him to a German boarding school full of creeping xenophobia and prejudice; and finds him in young adulthood sent to a labor camp and then to one of the infamous extermination camps, before he chooses exile abroad after the war. Josef’s philosophical journey mirrors the author’s own: from a stoic acceptance of events to a realization that “the viewer is also the participant” and that action must be taken in life, if only to make sure the dead are not forgotten.
Achieving a stream-of-consciousness power reminiscent of James Joyce and Gertrude Stein, H. G. Adler is a modern artist with unique historical importance. Panorama is lasting evidence of both the torment of his life and the triumph of his gifts.
Hardcover
First published January 18, 1948
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 17 reviews
January 31, 2015
I read an awful lot of books for reasons which I've totally forgotten: perhaps a friend's recommendation, often a Goodreads mention, sometimes a newspaper review or article. This is one of them. I have NO idea why I determined to read this book.
Adler is loosely "defined" as one of the Prague circle writers between the two World Wars, if that means anything to you. German literature between the wars isn't something that I'm well acquainted with, although I've run across the names of several writers which I do have on my long list.
Panorama is a novel, basically biographical. But it's not the traditional novel, which works extremely well in this case. It is actually a series of vignettes on the study of a life, small pieces which not only reflect the author's life experience, but also the culture as well.
It begins with the Panorama. Josef and his grandmother love to go to the panorama whenever it changes "movies." It is a theatre that basically shows what we would call slides to an audience peering through eyeholes. Josef, all of about 6, estimates there must be about 100 slides. When the slides start to repeat, members of the audience leave and others take their places.
The entire novel is a panorama. Sometimes, the idea of a panorama is specifically referred to within the section. But even if it isn't, the reader has a strong sense of the idea of a moving "still life" behind the stories.
Adler uses a sort of stream of consciousness style at times. In certain vignettes, it works better than others. For instance, Josef as a newly-minted PhD (Herr Doktor) arrives at a cultural center to try for a job. The place is chaos and he ends up working part of that same day, getting caught up in the Marxian (as in Groucho) absurdity of everything. Here's a part, only a small part, of a paragraph he uses in describing Josef's trials that day:
"Rumpler then wants to head to his office, and Horn should accompany him, but now there is no holding back Frau Michalik, as she wrests herself away from Schrimple and throws herself at Rumpler, standing in his path and spitting at him, 'Now it's my turn! Only over my dead body, Herr Professor Rapp!' Then the Professor turns completely soft and pats Frau Michalik on the cheek, 'I'm so worried about you, my dear, you seem so upset! I'm not getting any younger either. Dash it all, when people like us have to bend over backward!' Frau Michalik says, 'If only I could speak with just you, then everything will be settled. You are still a human being, Herr Professer Rapp! No one will let me in to see you! My love of animals is misunderstood, it's only a part of my love of people. You already know about my plans for a society for mixed marriage. I have to bring that up in Parliament, I have to get on the radio! To read animal tales!'"
Got that? Didn't think so. But it's great, isn't it?
Adler lived through World War Ii. As a Jew, he spent time in a work camp in Bohemia and in a concentration camp in Germany. But he doesn't dwell on either of these two experiences. They appear to be just as important or mundane as the rest of the episodes.
Whether or not you are interested in literature between the wars, if you like a well-written, philosophical novel, you can't do wrong by picking this up.
Adler is loosely "defined" as one of the Prague circle writers between the two World Wars, if that means anything to you. German literature between the wars isn't something that I'm well acquainted with, although I've run across the names of several writers which I do have on my long list.
Panorama is a novel, basically biographical. But it's not the traditional novel, which works extremely well in this case. It is actually a series of vignettes on the study of a life, small pieces which not only reflect the author's life experience, but also the culture as well.
It begins with the Panorama. Josef and his grandmother love to go to the panorama whenever it changes "movies." It is a theatre that basically shows what we would call slides to an audience peering through eyeholes. Josef, all of about 6, estimates there must be about 100 slides. When the slides start to repeat, members of the audience leave and others take their places.
The entire novel is a panorama. Sometimes, the idea of a panorama is specifically referred to within the section. But even if it isn't, the reader has a strong sense of the idea of a moving "still life" behind the stories.
Adler uses a sort of stream of consciousness style at times. In certain vignettes, it works better than others. For instance, Josef as a newly-minted PhD (Herr Doktor) arrives at a cultural center to try for a job. The place is chaos and he ends up working part of that same day, getting caught up in the Marxian (as in Groucho) absurdity of everything. Here's a part, only a small part, of a paragraph he uses in describing Josef's trials that day:
"Rumpler then wants to head to his office, and Horn should accompany him, but now there is no holding back Frau Michalik, as she wrests herself away from Schrimple and throws herself at Rumpler, standing in his path and spitting at him, 'Now it's my turn! Only over my dead body, Herr Professor Rapp!' Then the Professor turns completely soft and pats Frau Michalik on the cheek, 'I'm so worried about you, my dear, you seem so upset! I'm not getting any younger either. Dash it all, when people like us have to bend over backward!' Frau Michalik says, 'If only I could speak with just you, then everything will be settled. You are still a human being, Herr Professer Rapp! No one will let me in to see you! My love of animals is misunderstood, it's only a part of my love of people. You already know about my plans for a society for mixed marriage. I have to bring that up in Parliament, I have to get on the radio! To read animal tales!'"
Got that? Didn't think so. But it's great, isn't it?
Adler lived through World War Ii. As a Jew, he spent time in a work camp in Bohemia and in a concentration camp in Germany. But he doesn't dwell on either of these two experiences. They appear to be just as important or mundane as the rest of the episodes.
Whether or not you are interested in literature between the wars, if you like a well-written, philosophical novel, you can't do wrong by picking this up.
January 19, 2024
This book is a masterpiece. I can see it isn't for everyone, and the ending I can only claim to understand. And reading it in translation means some of the author's nuance is likely lost. And also I both loved it and found it amazing as a piece of writing.
The novel is a first person stream of consciousness throughout, aging with the protagonist (hero) from age 6 or 7 to maybe late 20s or nearly 30s. It follows Josef from his childhood in Bohemia (Germany) with his parents through youth with his peers through first jobs through labor camp and concentration camp and trying to make sense of liberation from a vantage point in England. Each section is full of feelings, and also ideas.
This isn't a Holocaust book, but a book about a life that includes the Holocaust. That, to me, is unique. The writing and characters and scene setting and humor and insights are all magnificent.
To me, the ending is the struggle of a philosopher trying on theories to make sense of his life as a whole, not only the Holocaust. And in the end he settles on the metaphor of the panorama - that thru memory he has been watching a panorama in which each memory appears for his observation, but through writing he is turning the panorama around. He is running the panorama through which we are viewing his life.
The novel is a first person stream of consciousness throughout, aging with the protagonist (hero) from age 6 or 7 to maybe late 20s or nearly 30s. It follows Josef from his childhood in Bohemia (Germany) with his parents through youth with his peers through first jobs through labor camp and concentration camp and trying to make sense of liberation from a vantage point in England. Each section is full of feelings, and also ideas.
This isn't a Holocaust book, but a book about a life that includes the Holocaust. That, to me, is unique. The writing and characters and scene setting and humor and insights are all magnificent.
To me, the ending is the struggle of a philosopher trying on theories to make sense of his life as a whole, not only the Holocaust. And in the end he settles on the metaphor of the panorama - that thru memory he has been watching a panorama in which each memory appears for his observation, but through writing he is turning the panorama around. He is running the panorama through which we are viewing his life.
December 29, 2017
3.5 stars. I found this book enjoyable and thought provoking, but sooooooooo long. I also found the philosophy heavy sections difficult to get through. In general this book needs to be read attentively, but in a few parts I had to go back and re-read whole pages because my mind had wandered.
December 21, 2017
Monumental
June 11, 2018
Slow and hard to follow.
March 28, 2020
Very wordy and hard to get through but contained the author’s very interesting thoughts and perspectives on his world.
April 26, 2020
This is not really written in stream of consciousness, rather long run on sentences. I did enjoy certain sections, but oh my gosh! so much description! Appeals to a very "literary" audience.
February 18, 2021
Pretty challenging novel to read for a couple of reasons. The first was the nearly stream-of-consciousness style. It was just page after page after page of run on sentences that digressed and deviated from the plot (as it were) and the narrative energy of the book I think suffered a great deal for it. Another issue I had was the detached narration. It was already in the third person but every event, great or small, benign or, literally, the holocaust, was blithely described with the same almost-audible monotone and clinical voice.
Rather than a plot proper, this was a series of chronological vignettes in the life of Josef. Starting as a mistreated child, then to an all-boys school, and on and on throughout his life, until we reach the labor camp to which he was assigned which was so dull its like it was removed from history. I started skimming this book at around page 300 which is not a good sign.
I have the other two books in the "series" but I don't know if I can put up with the voice for that long.
Rather than a plot proper, this was a series of chronological vignettes in the life of Josef. Starting as a mistreated child, then to an all-boys school, and on and on throughout his life, until we reach the labor camp to which he was assigned which was so dull its like it was removed from history. I started skimming this book at around page 300 which is not a good sign.
I have the other two books in the "series" but I don't know if I can put up with the voice for that long.
May 17, 2012
heavy theme but interestingly written - in 10 stand-alone vignettes linked as episodes in the life of the protagonist, Josef Kramer, in between-the-wars Czech republic, ending with his incarceration in a concentration camp and eventual liberation.
October 11, 2016
Death by comma. So many commas that I felt like I was swimming and not reading. One sentence had 16 commas. 16! I didn't make it past page 34. Imagine William Shatner narrating a book with 16 commas per sentence and you know it is time to move on.
December 29, 2015
I only got through half of the book... slow read and nothing about the war to spark enough interest to finish.
February 9, 2014
I had this for 3 weeks from the library but just could not finish it. Maybe I will try again in the future.
December 18, 2016
A remarkable novel, but not an easy read for those expecting traditional sentence and paragraph form. Still, the prose is beautiful and haunting and well worth the effort.
Want to read
March 26, 2011Holocaust fiction
June 8, 2012
Very slow-going but very well-written.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 17 reviews