The Boxer: A Novel

by Jurek Becker, Alessandra Bastagli (Translation)

Released from a concentration camp after the war, Aron Blank looks for and eventually finds the only other surviving member of his family, his son Mark, whom he was forced to abandon when Mark was only two years old. Working first in the black market and later as a Russian interpreter, Aron tries to rebuild a normal life for himself and his son in East Berlin. Decades later, with Mark lost in the Six-Day War, Aron tells his story to a young interviewer—the flow of his poignant narrative occasionally interrupted by their brief exchanges, which are peppered with humor. Written with the understated elegance that brought Becker worldwide acclaim for Jacob the Liar, this is a rare portrait of Jewish life in postwar Germany and a profoundly human story of survival, friendship, and fatherly love.

Genres: Fiction, German Literature, Germany, War

292 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Jurek Becker (* vermutlich 30. September 1937 in Łódź, Polen als Jerzy Bekker geboren[1]; † 14. März 1997 in Sieseby, Schleswig-Holstein) war ein deutscher Schriftsteller, Drehbuchautor und DDR-Dissident.

Jurek Becker (probably September 30, 1937 – March 14, 1997) was a Polish-born German writer, film-author and GDR dissident. His most famous novel is Jacob the Liar, which has been made into two films. He lived in Łódź during World War II for about two years and survived the Holocaust.

Reviews

[Leonie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Der Boxer thematisiert das Thema jüdisches Leben nach den dem zweiten Weltkrieg. Der Erzählstil erinnert an den des Romans Jakob der Lügner, was mir sehr gut gefiel. Nur das Ende kam mir zu plötzlich, einige Seiten mehr hätten dem Roman keinesfalls geschadet.

[Cooper Renner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A different sort of "Holocaust" book in that it focuses on the life of the protagonist in his years after surviving the camps, as he creates a new life for himself, his son and a surrogate wife in East Berlin. Structured as a reporting of the protagonist's account of his life to an interviewer.

[cornelius · Rating 3 out of 5]

„Der Boxer ist ein Roman, dessen irritierender und aktueller Herausforderung sich kein Leser so leicht entziehen wird... ein kluger, kühler, dabei eigenwillig menschlicher Roman, der nicht vorgibt, mehr als die fragmentarische Spiegelung einer schwierigen Lebens zu vermitteln, das sich erschöpft hat, und der gerade darin packt." - Hessischer Rundfunk

[Kitty Fogliano · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book by Jurek that I have read this year. Like the first, the story of the protagonist is told by someone to whom the protagonist related it, in this case an interviewer. The protagonist is a concentration camp survivor in Poland and tells his story, not of his experiences in the camp, but of his life after leaving the camp, living in the Russian-controlled quarter of Berlin. The story is said to be based on the life of Jurek's father. The contrast between the protagonist's perspective and the interviewers' perspectives are very interesting. The book raises questions about how one is affected by persecution, dehumanization, trauma, and suffering, and to what degree one can heal, love, or feel joy and fulfillment thereafter.

[Matilda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ich fühle mich nicht wirklich in der Lage das zu beurteilen, aber ich weiß nicht so ganz wo das Buch hin will, nicht nur weil der Boxpart unwichtiger war als gedacht😄
However, Jakob der Lügner hat mir jedenfalls besser gefallen

[Tom]

Found son after war