Status Updates From Success: Three Years in the...

Feuchtwanger uses the collage technique to give width to his picture of society. Epitaphs for four random Bavarians, repeated mention of the exchange rate of the dollar to the Reichsmark and prices for bread, seemingly unrelated chapters like the one about the successes and failures of Amundsen's polar expeditions.

Feuchtwanger takes a deep dive on the mindsets of the people who support the "True Germans" in the beginning as the Nazi party is called in this book. A fascinating look knowing that this was written before the Nazis took power in Germany. All the opportunists joining the Nazis for various egoistic reasons. Making a career, feeling disadvantaged, using the Nazis to get rid of the communists hindering business.

The case of the sentenced Krüger is not much more than the common thread running through the narration. The viewpoints shift between a lot of characters, showcasing different parts of society. An all encompassing view of Bavaria in the early 1920s. Feuchtwanger depicts the Bavarians as a bunch of dull ignorant backward people. He's showcasing the mindsets leading toward the Third Reich. Written before it even began.

Bavaria 1921. The nationalist conservative forces in power use a controlled judicial system to get rid of disliked opponents. Does that ring a bell?