El hombre perro

by Yoram Kaniuk, Gabi Martínez (Contributor)

Adán Stein había sido uno de los payasos más populares de Alemania durante los años treinta. De origen judío, fue recluido en un campo de concentración, donde se libró de la muerte a cambio de tranquilizar y entretener a miles de prisioneros que eran dirigidos hacia las cámaras de gas. Ahora Adán es el cabecilla de un hospital psiquiátrico para supervivientes del Holocausto situado en el desierto del Néguev. El constante desafío de Adán a la autoridad del hospital y sus perturbadoras interpretaciones del pasado sacuden la institución y la despiertan de su letargo. Más lúcido que los médicos y más loco que cualquiera de los pacientes, Adán lucha incesantemente por comprender el sentido de un mundo en el que la línea entre cordura y locura se ha borrado irreversiblemente. Esta obra es una de las más significativas novelas hebreas sobre el Holocausto, y la obra maestra de Yoram Kaniuk, uno de los grandes de las letras hebreas actuales.

Genres: Fiction, Israel, Holocaust, War, Historical Fiction, Jewish, Literary Fiction

480 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1968

About the author

Yoram Kaniuk (Hebrew: יורם קניוק) was an Israeli writer, painter, journalist, and theater critic.

Winner of the Bialik Prize for Children's Literature (1991).

Reviews

[Yair · Rating 5 out of 5]

For this, picture the most barren labyrinth imaginable, full of mirrors, dead ends, doors to other doors to other doors, endless staircases, and no exits or entrances. There are no people but there are whispers of voices, small catches in the stretches of hallways and in a random corner here and there, but the only solid walking entity is you, so you assure yourself.

The glass of the mirrors cracks and shatters, the wood of the doors splinters and breaks apart, as well as the metal rusting and breaking down, and finally, the entire structure, whatever it could be classed, house of mirrors, asylum, abandoned this or that,collapses in flames, and it keeps happening, time and again, built up and gone, the instinct screaming at you to be terrified, that what's happening isn't right, is being muffled, drowned and silenced by your growing complacency, and the only slightly disconcerting idea that maybe you belong here.

The five star rating I've given this book isn't, is definitely NOT, a mark of this work's perfection. Firstly, to me, the pursuit of perfection in anything, let alone in art, and especially in literature, is a waste of time, talent, and the reader's time if they're wading through such a work. Okay, that aside, this book is a definite masterwork because of it's splintered and schizophrenic style, and is similarly undercut by that style making it an arduous journey that wrings you completely and leaves you destroyed, not beautifully, but awakened just a bit.

I can see why the blurb on the back of the book compared it to Heller's Catch 22, the two books definitely share the non linearity and lack of cohesion, but whereas Heller could balance the slight levity to great effect in the great horror and darkness of world war, Kaniuk here opts for a different route and casts his characters in total darkness...with the backdrop being the south of Israel in the Negev Desert with a blazingly bright sun that almost leaves no capacity or room for shadows. Nice irony there.

As far as brass tacks all I can say is that Kaniuk is a master storyteller. His use of the nonsensically poetic, and some of the passages in that style, are maddening and beautiful, hearkening back to high modernism and even the best of Woolf and Joyce. Along with that, holding its hand, is the humanity on display. All of the characters though not all explored equally or given enough time in the text, are so passionately constructed in their mental, emotional, and psychological frailties that to call them heartbreaking would be, putting it almost criminally lightly, a disservice.

So, this is a hell of a book, something that stands head and shoulders with the very darkest, and very best, explorations of humanity's dark side along with the potential, no matter how small or even barely visible, potential to reach and connect with another human being, during, after, or before a horrific atrocity, and possibly make ourselves well again, or 'better' whatever the hell that term might mean. Never before have I seen the permanently shattering effect of the holocaust explored so jaggedly, or in such a darkly wonderful way, and I honestly doubt that I ever will again.

Read this book but with a warning: it won't be beach reading, and the answers to the questions given are anything but simple, or even rational and logical, but if you feel like you're ready to begin to understand catastrophe and human suffering, and maybe you want to broaden your empathetic and sympathetic horizons, then you must let this book take you where it may.

[Israel Montoya Baquero · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tengo un serio problema con los escritores hebreos. Ya me ocurrió con Yeshoua, y me ha vuelto a ocurrir con este Yoram Kaniuk; no conecto con ellos, con su tempo, sus temas, sus preocupaciones, su forma de escribir...
Es posible que este libro, tal y como dice mucha gente, mucho más leida y sabia que yo, sea una obra maestra, reconocida tardíamente; que sea una valiente aproximación a la "cuestión judía", a la situación en la que se encontraron cientos de miles de judíos tras conseguir salvarse de los campos nazis; y también es posible que dicha cuestión esté, mágnificamente o no (yo no sabría decirlo), representada en el personaje de Adan Stein y en su caótico y loco mundo dentro del manicomio...puede que todo esto sea así, pero lo cierto es que yo no he podido,o quizás no he sabido, verlo en la novela, la cual, para mi, es un caos y un batiburrillo de frases, personajes y escenas, con más bien poco sentido aparente. Algunos dicen que esto es parte de la maestría de Kaniuk, que escribe, gracias a su experiencia norteamericana, con un estilo literario comparable al jazz en lo musical; bueno, a mi me gusta el jazz y, la verdad, poco de eso he visto en esta obra que nos ocupa...
Y aun así le doy tres estrellas, valoración que la incluye en la categoría de "novelas interesantes" ya que, en algunos momentos si ha conseguido interesarme...que demonios, si he llegado hasta el final, con lo árida que es en ocasiones, es que algunas partes de esta novela son más que salvables. Pero, sobre todo, se lleva las tres estrellas por el final, es carta final que si, que ha conseguido que se me oprima el pecho, que devore las últimas páginas con ansia, y que, casi casi, suelte la lagrimilla...
¿Merece la pena tragarse las casi cuatrocientas páginas anteriores para ese breve, brevísimo, momento de agón casi griego? Eso ya es decisión propia de cada uno...

[Siv30 · Rating 2 out of 5]

בחלק מהפרקים ממש קשה לעקוב אחרי העלילה. הם גולשים למקומות מטורפים של התודעה של אדם, מקומות שלא תמיד יש להם רקע או הסבר. הפרק הנביחה על כל תת פרקיו פשוט היה קשה, לא ידעתי אם אני קוראת ממוחו הקודח של אדם או ממוחי הקודח.

אני ממשיכה לקרוא בכח רק בכדי להבין את הפואנטה של הספר. איבדתי את האוריינטציה, אני לא נהנית מהקריאה, אני לא מוצאת בספר דבר מהפכני מלבד העובדה שהוא הופך לקורא את המח בסלט שנוצר. הוא נע בין העבר להווה ובין המציאות של אדם למציאות האמיתית בצורה שכבר לא ניתן להבין היכן הן נחתכות ואולי זו הכוונה של קניוק להראות כיצד המציאות מתערבבת בשיגעון ובהזיה עד בלי הכר.

קראתי די הרבה ספרים על מלחמת העולם השניה, על השואה, על הטירוף ובהחלט הספר הזה מתעלה על כולם בטירוף שיש בו.

ספר מאוד קשה לקריאה. ברובו לא הצלחתי להבין ולהנות

[Ana Lúcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adam sobrevive ao campo de concentração, tornando-se o “cão” do Comandante, divertindo-o, enquanto a mulher e a filha são exterminadas.
Um livro perturbador, com um humor escuríssimo.
Uma outra visão do Holocausto que nos leva numa viagem tenebrosa.
Num mundo louco, ser louco é a única forma possível de nos adaptarmos.

[Peter Edelman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sontag was right, he's one of the world's greatest writers, possibly a genius.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

זרם התודעה במשקל כבד מדי בשבילי. עצרתי קצת אחרי רבע מהספר

[Shelley Diamond · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wonder if this book was the basis for the lost Jerry Lewis film about the Holocaust called The Day the Clown Cried?

This is a difficult book to read. The setting is a mental asylum for Holocaust survivors in Israel. They have all been driven mad by their experiences in the concentration camps. The story is basically the ravings of one of these insane man, and the interconnected ravings by others in the asylum with him.

Publisher descriptions of the book focus on the lead character's history as a clown in a circus, however, that really is a very small part of the story. I kept expecting that aspect to play a larger role, but frankly, I suspect the publisher was just trying to find something that wasn't totally depressing to say about this book. His former work as a clown probably made his traumatic experience in the concentration camp more surreal and probably exacerbated his mental breakdown into psychosis.

To read and appreciate this book, you must have a high tolerance for pain and suffering. Unfortunately, the concentration camp experience probably did drive many people into insanity and we usually don't want to think about it to such a degree.

I just found out there is a recent film based on this book with the same title Adam Resurrected, starring Jeff Goldblum. I'm curious to see what they did with the story. The film is probably less painful to watch than it was to read the book.

[Sasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't read it

[Luis Cortes Mendez · Rating 2 out of 5]

No sabría definir esta lectura. Entiendo que es un compromiso con la causa judía tras la 2 guerra mundial, pero es una locura y un sin sentido. Las vidas de sus personajes son impactantes y en el fondo muy atractivas, pero hay que desmadejar una locura de hilos en las historias contadas. Multitud de puertas y situaciones que hacen que en muchas ocasiones no haya entendido quien es el personajes de algunos relatos y que papel ocupa cada uno. La redacción de sus locuras se traslada a sus comportamientos y convierte el relato en un sin sentido en el que llegaba a perderme totalmente. Es verdad que esta basado en el impacto psicológico que la guerra ocasiono en cada uno de los habitantes de un psiquiátrico. Tan locos los residentes como los cuidadores.

Una historia que al final me ha resultado decepcionante y demasiado extensa. Lo acabe sin entender si el autor quiere transmitir un hilo con inicio y final o solo plasmar las vidas de unos personajes sin un fin concreto. Lo peor en que lo poco que he llegado a comprender si podría conformar una impactante lectura.

[Noa]

ספר קשה ביותר. אי אפשר ליהנות מהקריאה שלו, זו היא לא קריאה קלה או רציפה או זורמת. זו היא שפה קשה ושבורה, לא מובנת וחסרת פשר והיגיון בדיוק כמו המלחמה שאותה שרדו הדמויות בספר הזה.
זה ספר שצריך להיאבק בקריאה בו, זהו המאבק של התודעה המטורפת והמוטרפת, מאבק על החיים, בחיים, בהבנה, בלתת פשר כלשהו למה שהתחולל בעבר ולמה שקורה בהווה.
ואכן לא לכל דבר יש הסבר, ולא הכול מתחבר וקשור. כל הכאוס של השואה מועבר מתודעתם של המשוגעים.
לא ניתן ליהנות מכך. אי אפשר ולא צריך להבין את הכול. יש פה טראומות שמדממות ומהדהדות מתודעות שבורות ורעועות, ולטראומות האלה אין צורה מוגדרת, אין דיבור מדויק ומאורגן. הן אובססיביות וחזרתיות וקטועות ומעגליות.
ספר שקושר בין טראומת השואה לשיגעון שחוו חלק מניצוליה, אך לא באופן דידקטי ומסודר אלא במלל רב שיש לצלוח על מנת לחלץ פשר כלשהו מהתהום הגדולה של חוסר ההבנה שהיא השואה.

[Leo · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an extremely intensive novel to read, and probably not a book for the casual reader. There are no spoilers here, but reading this novel is like being in the mind of an insane person from beginning to end. Wretching at times, this certainly can be what is there in the minds of people who have suffered physically, but mostly mentally. The crowning achievement of one of Israel's literary masters, Adam Resurrected remains one of the most powerful works of Holocaust fiction ever written. A former circus clown who was spared the gas chamber so that he might entertain thousands of other Jews as they marched to their deaths, Adam Stein is now the ringleader at an asylum in the Negev desert populated solely by Holocaust survivors. Alternately more brilliant than the doctors and more insane than any of the patients, Adam struggles wildly to make sense of a world in which the line between sanity and madness has been irreversibly blurred. With the biting irony of Catch-22, the intellectual vigor of Saul Bellow, and the pathos and humanity that are Kaniuk's hallmarks, Adam Resurrected offers a vision of a modern hell that devastates even as it inches toward redemption

[Stephen Durrant · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a powerful and exceedingly grim work of holocaust literature. The setting is a mental hospital in Israel, generously funded by an eccentric American donor, exclusively for holocaust survivors. The central character, Adam Stein, survived the horror of the prison camps by using his talents as a clown to entertain a German officer. Particularly amusing to the officer was Stein’s imitation of a dog, an act he would so regularly perform that he essentially became a dog himself. Stein is both brilliant and insane, and we spend much of this novel inside his mind, which means I was frequently felt confused or very much adrift. No, I cannot say I “enjoyed” this novel (“There is no future to life, life’s an invention that didn’t succeed” [p232]), nor even found myself pushed forward rapidly toward tbe conclusion, a conclusion that holds its share of surprises. Let’s say that I suffered through “Adam Resurrected”—happy I read it, happy I’m done--while all the time feeling admiration for Kaniuk’s genius in adding significantly, I think, to a body of literature about the holocaust that has already attracted a very large quantity of literary genius.

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm sorry - and I really tried - but I just couldn't finish this book. It took me ages to get to even the half-way point. I would put it down and come back to it ages later... It's not that it's written badly or the story is dull or the characters unbelievable. On the contrary - the characters are fine, the plot held my interest - mostly, and the skill is evident in the author's writing. But this book just didn't really grab me. I enjoyed parts of it, but others would just feel like a chore as I turned the pages.



I look forward to the film adaptation with Jeff Goldblum and Willem Defoe ( I can't imagine them BOTH picking a duff script!) - which I hear is getting soom good early reviews. It just may be that this story will appeal to me more on the big screen? Perhaps I will go back to this book one day.... Don't like to admit I picked a dud but this is near the bottom of my books of the year list...

[Jo Wilkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I see why they say this remains one of the most powerful Holocaust fiction books ever written. The back story of Adam, the main character but certainly not the only compelling one, is so tragic and gut-wrenching. Imagine what you would do to survive the death camps. I listened to the audio book while exercising, and sometimes it was hard to continue without crying on the treadmill. Equally beautiful and terrifying, this book will stay with me. Highly recommend.

[Charles Ellenbogen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The surreal style of this book hooked me right off, but I kept waiting for it to build and never felt like it did. This is an angry rant of a book about how God abandoned the Jews during the Holocaust. Interesting, but not for the classroom.

[Elazar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Take one: I didn't finish this book. It is very well written but too disturbing and depressing for my taste. I don't know how to rate it... Take two: I had to go back and finish this book. Despite the sadness and horror. This is an amazing book. Bravo!

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading the description for Adam Resurrected by Yoram Kaniuk, I thought it sounded pretty straightforward as a Holocaust fiction. The story centers around Adam who was a Jewish circus clown before he was rounded up with others. He was selected and sent aside to provide entertainment to distract newly arriving Jews who would be undergoing selection for work or immediate gassing. The main focus of the book however is at a mental facility in Israel established specifically to help many of the Holocaust survivors deal with the psychological trauma of what they had been through; this included Adam. The author is recognized as one of Israel's literary greats so I had high expectations. But I found the story hard to follow as adults became children or became dogs and, even though I finally concluded that this represented some of the mental issues the patients had (at least that's what I think it was), I found it hard to keep straight. I have read many books on the Holocaust, almost all of them non-fiction, but this one was a challenge. If the author was trying to provide a glimpse into the mind of traumatized Holocaust survivors, that may have happened. There were stretches where I thought maybe it would add some clarity but then a dog or child entered the picture again. Not one I enjoyed reading or feel I learned much from either. Maybe it's just me...

[Jonathan Keren-Klaris · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nightmarish tragicomic theater of Holocaust inflicted traumas played out on a newly built psychiatric hospital in the desert of Arad in Southern Israel.

A schizophrenic framework where characters, time and space constantly swifts from creatures, Nazi-guards, survivors, animals, jazz musicians, circus performers, from Arad, Köln, the camps, Tel Aviv, to New York, from childhood, parenthood, to death, from the past to the present - all with shifting narrators, but all in relation to the protagonist Adam, a former famous German mind reading clown, who survived the camps clowning around, as the others, including his wife and child, walked to the crematories.

Takes place in a distant dreamish daze with a similar atmosphere, although more hectic, of that in 'See Under Love' by David Grossman, another book dealing with the traumas of the Holocaust, but narrated by a child of survivors.

Great commentary on Israeli society with some occasional remarks like: 'The smart Jews emigrated to America or died in Europe. The fools and the heroes are still here. During the day they play strongmen and soldiers, and during the night they cry'

[Meghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

What to say about Adam Stein. Adam Wolfgang Amadeus Johann Christian Philipp Emanuel Stein. Adam Sebastian Stein. Adam Frankenstein Stein. Your only soap, Herr Adam Superman Stein! Adam Emanuel Adameus Adolf Wolfgang Stein. That Cicero Stein. Adam Charlie Stein. Adam Vasco da Gama Stein. Rex Wolfgang Adameus Stein, or Pure Adam, or Pure Pig, or Mr. Sub-human, or a man with an empty conscience, or somebody half-dead half-alive.

Adam Stein was a clown, then a dog, then God’s agent in the middle of the Negev, then a man again. I don’t know how to review this, if you can't tell by now. Kaniuk is a master of nonlinear storytelling. This is a heavy & poignant novel, exploring the psychological trauma endured by Holocaust survivors through some of the most surrealist, carnivalesque language one can muster.

Read this if you’re looking for a book with real literary value. Moreso, read this if you’re looking to ponder bigger questions. Can people ever truly recover from such immense suffering? Why does identity matter to us, as a person, as a people, as a state? If nothing else, it will touch your heart in unexpected ways.

[Noam · Rating 2 out of 5]

ספר הזוי. דווקא הרעיון הכללי של הספר ממש טוב ומשך אותי לקרוא אותו - מכון לריפוי ותרפיה שמיועד לניצולי שואה עם בעיות פסיכיאטריות, כפי שנאמר בספר "שרדו את השואה ועלו לארץ אך נפשם לא הבריאה ונשארה באירופה". אף על פי כן, הוא כתוב בצורה משעממת ומייגעת, וכולל דיאלוגים שלא ניתן להבין מהם את כוונת הדוברים.

[La Lectora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un libro narrado desde el punto de vista de las víctimas que no pudieron soportar el horror y la culpa y perdieron su salud mental . Tierno y duro, trágico y cómico.Un estiloliterario y una trama magistrales que no dejan indiferente.Imprescindible!.

[LRKK · Rating 3 out of 5]

Flashes of brilliance but essentially a noble, if self-indulgent, failure.

[Giuseppe Valenti · Rating 1 out of 5]

Almost impossible to read…..a lot of effort to finish it and cannot say he left something behind

[Maurizio Manco · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Noi recitiamo in uno spettacolo disertato tanto dal regista quanto dall’autore, siamo rimasti soli. Non c’è nessuno cui rivolgersi. Chiedere. Appellarsi." (p. 215)

"Come la morte, anche l’amore ha un lato oscuro, incomprensibile, cieco. Siamo davvero nati per amare?" (p. 425)

[Franziska · Rating 2 out of 5]

Der Jude Adam Stein ist ein Überlebender des Holocaust - als Clown angeheuert, musste er im Konzentrationslager den Kommandanten Klein unterhalten, indem er sich wie ein Hund verhalten und auch entsprechend leben musste.
Einige Jahre später befindet er sich nun in einer hochmodernen Heilanstalt, in der sich auch andere Überlebende des Holocaust befinden, die einen seelischen Schaden erlitten haben. Das Buch beschreibt die Geschichte von Adam Stein, von seinem Leben im Konzentrationslager bis "heute" (allerdings nicht chronologisch). Die große Frage ist dabei: Wird er geheilt werden können?
Die Idee an sich fand ich wirklich gut, allerdings ist das Buch nicht gerade leicht zu lesen. An manchen Stellen erscheint es fast normal, aber dann gibt es teilweise Passagen, die zwar gut den "Wahnsinn" der Patienten verdeutlichen, aber doch relativ anstrengend zu lesen sind, durch viele kurze, abgehackte Sätze, viele Gedankensprünge und einem fliessenden Übergang zwischen Realität und Fiktion. Manche Seiten habe ich dann wirklich einfach nur überflogen, vom Inhalt verpasst man da sowieso nichts weiter. Letztendlich ist das Buch vom Stil sicher große Geschmackssache und wer sich nicht damit anfreunden kann, wird wohl bereits nach einigen Seiten das Buch weglegen...

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book is REAL REAL hard to follow. not in a bad way, you've just gotta keep track and read slowly. it's bizarre to go from reading "life on sandpaper" to this, it's almost like two different (though equally gifted) authors. but you do catch the lady day billy holiday references and kaniuk's obsession with mind readers if you've read both. admittedly i'm too head in the clouds to follow plot lines well so i've been cheating a bit and watching parts of the movie to make sure i'm keeping the story straight.

finally finished this today. it can get a little exhausting at times, but it's worth it to push through. yoram is a rockstar, but i had a really hard time following this plotline. half the time i had no idea what the hell was going on, or who was speaking, or where we were. i get that we're supposed ot feel as disoriented as adam does, but damn! felt like reading a russian novel: i needed a cheat sheet. that being said, the story is incredible, and i definitely burst into tears on the metro north this morning upon reaching the end. reading this book may be a bit of a chore, but it's one worth doing.

[Noam · Rating 4 out of 5]

ספר סוחף, קשה, הזוי ומטלטל, על התמודדות ניצולי שואה בישראל עם מה שעבר עליהם. המוסד לחולי נפש שבו הם נמצאים הוא מפואר ומרשים אבל רחוק מעין, בסוף העולם, כלומר בערד. גיבור הספר, אדם שטיין, עדיין קשור בקליין, מפקדו ממחנה הריכוז, אלא שהיוצרות התהפכו: במקום להיות תלוי בו, הוא זה שעכשיו יכול להצילו. אדם שטיין אולץ להתנהג ככלב במחנה הריכוז, אבל בבית החולים הוא עוזר לנער ששיגעונו הוא זה שהוא חושב שהוא כלב. אז מה ההבדל בין זוועות המלחמה לבין שגעון הדמויות כיום? האם המלחמה באמת נגמרה עבורם?
הספר מגיש לנו עימות סוראליסטי, קומי, עם המציאות של העשורים הראשונים של החברה הישראלית. כאילו שפליני עשה סרט על ניצולי שואה. כשהספר יצא לאור ב-1969 הוא גרם בגלל זה לזעזוע. ביום הוא פשוט נותן המון חומר למחשבה. האם ישראל עדייו דומה למוסד לחולי נפש שמתלבטים עם העבר?

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have the right background to read this book. I know the Bible more than the average person and I have been exposed to the holocause history more than the average person. that is who I would recommend this book to, those who find themselves in those two categories, There is so much shifting back and forth between reality and fantasy I am lkeft not fully knowing which was which. this was worth reading just for David King of Israel and Rex also known as adam. Probably the kind of book Id like or dislike a lot more on the second read.

[Maia Losch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brillante !!! Un libro crudo y difícil de leer, tanto sea por la historia como por la forma en la que Kaniuk eligió para contarla. Aquí no hay atajos, no hay explicaciones en demasía, no hay más lógica que lo ilógico de determinadas situaciones, hay poca esperanza y sin embargo, no hay derrota tampoco.
Probablemente el libro que más me ha impactado hasta el día de hoy, y sin duda el que más me ha exigido de mí misma. Monumental.