My Holocaust: A Novel

by Tova Reich

Maurice and Norman Messer, father-and-son business partners, know a good product when they see it. That product is the Holocaust, and Maurice, a Holocaust survivor with an inflated personal history, and Norman, enjoying vicarious victimhood as a participant in the second-generation movement, proceed to market it enthusiastically. Not even the disappearance of Nechama, Norman's daughter and Maurice's granddaughter, into the Carmelite convent at Auschwitz, where she is transformed into a nun, Sister Consolatia of the Cross, deters them from pushing their agenda. Father and son embark on a tour of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp, which Maurice—now the driving force behind the most powerful Holocaust memorialization institution in America—organizes to soften up a potential major donor, and which Norman takes advantage of to embark on a surrealistic search for his daughter. At the death camp they run into assorted groups and individuals all clamoring for a piece of the Holocaust, including Buddhist New Agers on a retreat, Israeli schoolchildren on a required heritage pilgrimage, a Holocaust artifact hustler, filmmakers, and an astonishing collection of others. All hell breaks loose when Maurice's museum is taken over by a coalition of self-styled victims seeking Holocaust status, bringing together a vivid cast of all-too-human characters, from Holocaust professionals to Holocaust wannabees of every persuasion, in the fevered competition to win the grand prize of owning the Holocaust. An inspiringly courageous and shockingly original tour-de-force, My Holocaust dares to penetrate territory until now considered sacrosanct in its brilliantly provocative and darkly comic exploration of the uses and abuses of memory and the meaning of human suffering.

Genres: Fiction, Holocaust, World War II, Satire, Judaica, Jewish, Humor

336 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Ezra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is brilliant, biting satire that asks deep questions about who "owns" the tragedy of the Holocaust, and pretty much skewers all the different competitors for that ownership. I thought the book was fictional, and it is, but not so much, really. It's horrifyingly accurate to what I experienced as an Eastern-Europe Jewish-history-tourist. This book will make you cringe constantly and also it's incredibly funny (a potential-donor touring Auschwitz asks "Was Auschwitz always wheelchair accessible?").

The first time I read it, I didn't make it all the way through because it started to feel like the whole thing was laid on too thick, but on a second read I enjoyed the whole thing.

I read about this book in The Forward, but it was highly controversial all over the Jewish Press/blogosphere, and Ms. Reich responded to the controversy in the voice of her most cantankerous character. She's so feisty. I hope she writes more novels.

For a nonfiction version of the same information, read Ruth Ellen Gruber's VIRTUALLY JEWISH.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not for the easily offended. This book satirizes the creation of a Shoah business:"the pioneering work of the Jewish people in the creative and conceptual uses of victimhood and survivorship... memorials and museums across the globe as a reward for your persecution, reparations and restitution, and, finally, the greatest prize of all, a country of your own." As I said, not for the faint of heart. Only a Jew could write this; with so many Jewish stereotypes playfully presented, coming from a goy this would be called anti-Semitism. The novel's theme echoes Norman Finkelstein's serious argument in his book The Holocaust Industry, but Reich's sense of humor leaves no sacred cow untipped. The very title tips you off: anyone can lay claim to "MY" holocaust. Not just the Jews get skewered but every other special interest group as well: the African-American Holocaust, the Women's Holocaust ("reflecting the confluence of fascism and misogyny"), the Native American Holocaust ("by extension the Holocausts of all aboriginal and indigenous people everywhere... with special recognition due the Palestinian Holocaust"), the Children's Holocaust, the Gay and Lesbian Holocaust, the Ecological and Environmental Holocausts, the "Herbal Holocaust targeting marijuana and other fruits and vegetables"... you get the picture. Who ISN'T a victim/survivor? Yet Reich's humor raises important questions: why does our culture celebrate victimhood? Can we form a sense of self and community beyond victimization? How can we acknowledge suffering without feeling self-righteous? I admire both the content and the form of this book, its message and the humor with which it is delivered, but I also confess to feeling impatient at times- "All right, all right, I get it, already," as if the joke is repeated once too often. In comparison, I think of Francine Prose's novella "Guided Tours of Hell," which delivers the same satirical punch more concisely. Still, "My Holocaust" forces us to think seriously about the uses and abuses to which we put the Holocaust, the ethics of what we do with other people's real suffering.

[Jill Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot possibly recommend "My Holocaust" ...to anyone who possesses even a shred of good taste. Instead, it is for all of us who adore "non p.c" books and movies (this book makes the original Producers and Blazing Saddles look tame in comparison). Reich skewers EVERYONE, every character; no one is exempt from her savage, satiric pen.

Plus, I am finding out what happened% to one of my all-time favorite characters, Mara Lieb, and her family.

Please do NOT read this book if you are easily offended. If you aren't easily offended by brilliant satire, then enjoy.

[Sara'la · Rating 3 out of 5]

Satirical critique on the commodification and co-option of the "Holocaust". Everyone - and I mean EVERY social group you can think of - is ridiculed.

My reading of it comes at a painfully auspicious time.

My quibble: repetitive and no character plot line. The lack of plot line or resolution felt like the book was written to express an agenda rather than a story.

[Sabrina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to stop reading this book-it was atrocious.

[Masha Shollar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sharp satire and dark humor; the kind of book that has deep rage and a real, salient point underneath the shocking hilarity.

[Heather McAlister · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this more than I should. When you think of it as a surreal, absurdist, postmodern, satirical look at how certain members of the Jewish community have almost commodified the Holocaust to gain sympathy points from the public at large, and certain jerks use it as an excuse to be jerks, and elitist aruging over who was "most" harmed by the Holocaust and thus who has metaphorical ownership over what it is, how it can be defined, and how it can be used... it can be an engaging read. Offensive, transgressive, absurdist, etc. But engaging.

The surrealism comes from characters treating the metaphorical discussion of the Holocaust as a literal business. Not a Holocaust museum, not a Holocaust trademarked intellectual property, just... a business. Anyone who wants to "use" the Holocaust must speak to the business owner, the man who bought and trademarked it.

The absurdism comes from different characters who represent many different mindsets regarding the Holocaust (some hold it as sacrosanct, others treat it as a commodity, some are Holocaust deniers, some think it belongs only to the Jews, some think the Holocaust should be applied to the other groups affected, etc), and the book portrays every single mindset as ridiculous beyond all measure, in order to highlight how meaningless and pointless the arguing over how to define the Holocaust really is at the end of the day.

Whether or not you agree, or whether or not you even think such a portrayal is harmful to Holocaust survivors and their descendants and society at large, will probably determine how much you love or hate this book.

[Therese Zrihen-Dvir · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hello Tova... It seems that we are running straight towards The Banality of Evil... The Shoah has been commercialized as many things on our planet since we cannot expect the world to be as noble and honest as we would wish it to be. There must be a least a few persons with bad intentions and dishonesty drive to use the Shoah for his/her targets.

But, I would sincerely prefer that a person who lost his entire family during the holocaust would refrain from writing a book of this kind and run into its banality.

That’s my opinion of course and I am sorry if it displeases you. I went through hell to correct the harm caused to the holocaust survivors through Mrs. Defonseca’s hoax with her book “Surviving with the wolves” and wrote the true story of a young Jew who truly experienced life with wolves “Les Confessions de Michka” published by Tatamis last year in Paris.

I am not a holocaust survivor, but I live in Israel and met with a great number of them especially in a kibbutz. They deserve our consideration and respect… The least we can offer them.
Cordially,
Therese Zrihen-Dvir

[Bookmarks Magazine]

More than 70 years later, most writers still tread softly when it comes to the six million Jews (and countless others) who died at the hands of the Nazis. My Holocaust is a totally different breed. A shocking, brave satire, the novel digs into those who, in the name of avenging six million deaths, commodify tragedy. Despite her absurd, offensive characters (including a jihad terrorist who gets co-opted by a rabbi), Tova Reich never trivializes the Holocaust: indeed, by presenting the outlandishness of her characters' cheap morality, she encourages readers to ponder the gravity of the Holocaust. "I take no offense in being offended, if the truths revealed enlighten," notes the Philadelphia Inquirer. And with humor and anger, My Holocaust enlightens.

This is an excerpt from a review published in Bookmarks magazine.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic black comedy about the dysfuntional way people remember/deal with/percieve the Holocaust. It was laugh out loud funny with a biting satire on par with Animal Farm. Read it.

[Fulvio Conti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brillante e irriverente, la Reich (moglie di un ex-direttore del USHMM) racconta e prende posizione sullo sfruttamento economico e mediatico dell'Olocausto.
Se fosse stato scritto da un non-ebreo si sarebbe gridato all'antisemitismo, ma il romanzo diverte e fa pensare.

[Guillaume Dohmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating book

Sometimes it seems a bit too long but the subject is a serious one. It is one of the most realistic books I have read on present business of the Holocaust.

[Joshua Jacobs · Rating 1 out of 5]

A satire about commercializing holocaust remembrance. Written by someone profiting on the mass genocide of millions people. And the cover...sickening.

[Marianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, but I really didn't understand a lot of it. I did get the satire, but still, it was weird.

[Kellie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let's explain the two stars. First of all, it wasn't for the "atrocious" satirization of the Holocaust. What Tova Reich had to say didn't offend me as it did many other reviewers but it is the way she said it that lead me to giving this novel two stars. I did enjoy the humor at times, even laughed out loud occasionally. However, there were just so many characters that are not particularly identifiable or like-able and the way Reich bounced around among the characters was confusing and chaotic. I had trouble remembering who some of the characters were especially at the end (though that might have been my fault) because everything became so dragged out and wordy that I found myself skimming just to reach the end.
Speaking of wordy, the writing itself is unnecessarily wordy at times, with long sentences that veer off into unnecessary lines of detail that had my mind wandering and unfocused rather than understanding the point or symbolic meanings she was trying to create.
I went back and forth between a two star rating and a three star but the idea can only carry a novel so far before it becomes important to look at the refinement of the writing and structure.
In reality, I'd give this novel a rating of 2.5-2.7 but because goodreads only allows whole numbered ratings I knocked it down to a two for the overall enjoyment I had while reading it.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

When a book is described, I generally ignore words like "shocking," "clever," and (especially) "irreverent," as these words are so overused as to be meaningless (like "hero" and "genius" nowadays). For this book, though, I would use all three descriptors and mean it. It takes some chutzpah to satirize Holocaust rememberence, which, if you ask me, is a long time coming (4000 years of history and all we ever talk about is this?). True, the satire becomes a little much, and after a while, loses its flavor in light of all the unsympathetic characters and events. Still, what was said needed to be said, even if it ended up a little mean-spirited.

Amongst Reich's criticisms, I particularly appreciated the observation that Holocaust rememberence is a martyrs-cult, and there already exists a martyrs-cult from Judaism - its called Christianity. If you want to worship martyrs, pray to Jebus and his crew - its all the same.

[Dusty · Rating 2 out of 5]

the first couple chapter of this book i was laughing and loving it for being to outspoken and anything goes. but then, i started to hate all the characters, no one was worth paying attention to after the satire got to be too much. i have been to the camps in the middle of a polish november, and it was not the glossy holocause that reich's character messler spends a life promoting. after awhile nothing was funny in this book, just overwhelming sad and disappointing.
the cover is sort of genius though, take a look at it, but unless you have a very thick jewish skin, why read this book?
to hear about the jew meditation leader, the indian wanna be, or the israeli troop leader stealing bone ash? i'm not sure it's worth your time.

[batya7 · Rating 1 out of 5]

CRAP. GARBAGE.

There are some things you can't satirize, the Holocaust being one. Trash. Sacrilege. I'm not just discarding this volume, but making sure it becomes shredded or used for small animal bedding. I ripped it up and put it in the recycling. Nobody should read it again.

Tova, you disappoint me. You're a good writer, but you've chosen a very sore subject. I'm not easily offended as another reader suggested "it is not for the easily offended." This book, however, is crass, opportunistic, and uses ugly caricatures. In these days of Holocaust denial, why give the haters additional ammo?

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

In a blurb for this novel that was so fulsome it begged belief, Cynthia Ozick called Philip Roth a little pisher in comparison to Tova Reich. Hard to know why. The book is occasionally funny, but mostly it's a preachy, one-trick pony: the Holocaust has been hijacked by self-serving idiots of every kind (and Reich illustrates most of them here with sardonic glee). But once we get the point, the book's glibness and lack of sympathetic characters leave us simply bored. Take a pass.

[Michael Austin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a three-star book like no other. I give it five stars for concept--the organizing principle is brilliant, transgressive, funny, dark, comic, and ironic all at once. But I give it one star for execution. The brilliant premise--a Holocaust survivor who sets up a business endorsing other causes in the name of the Holocaust--just doesn't go anywhere. The satire is first rate. The story is forgettable.

[Riv · Rating 1 out of 5]

For some reason, I like satire in movies, and a lot of times in books, but I couldn't get through this... one great line though: when touring Auschwitz and seeing a protagonist in a wheelchair, one character says something like "I love that Auschwitz is wheelchair accessible. Do you think it was always like that? You know, like during the Holocaust?" Otherwise, it was way over the top...

[Tom · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. I thought this was going to kick our modern culture of victimization right in its foibles. Alas, the foibles go relatively unmolested. Otherwise, if you like to make fun of the way immigrants speak English (not an ignoble pursuit in my mind) or need to brush up on your Yiddish, this may be the book for you.

[Kyle Tresnan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really brutal satire about the way people talk about, appropriate, and make money off of the Holocaust.

The satire is heavy and it goes on for way too long. About 150 pages too long. By the end I started to imagine Tova Reich feeling really righteous and snickering "hehehehe I'm so clever and controversial."

[Socket Klatzker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well-- It was gimic I liked for a minute; you know making fun of how married to he nazi holocaust the modern Jewish story has become, but this slightly clever notion began to grate on my nerves and I gave up.

[Apostate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not for the squeamish, I found this book hilariously funny. It exposes two great Truths: 1) there is humor to be found in even the worst of situations & 2) all human groups will have at least a few people who try to exploit their condition for profit or power.

[Cheryl · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book has the dubious distinction of being the only book in my entire life (and I figure I've read about 1000 books by now) that made me so infuriated that I put it in the recycling bin. Take away what you want from that.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm still reading it and will likely write a review of it for the CSM. I'll let you know what I think when I'm done, but so far so good!

[Christina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe I am too dumb to get it or maybe I'm not up to reading it right now, either way I'm just not into it and for that reason it is abandoned. Maybe I will get back to it someday...

[Laine]

very odd. i'll be honest, i didn't make it through this whole one.

[Andrew Fechner · Rating 1 out of 5]

I gave it 200 pages to become interesting. It failed, so I stopped reading it.