Gotz and Meyer by David Albahari

Gotz and Meyer

David Albahari

The story of one man's attempt to come to terms with the destruction of his family in the Serbian Holocaust, and to make sure that his students understand that ordinary people made it happen. It's written as one long paragraph, but don't let that put you off - I found that this made it seem as if the narrator was speaking directly to me and I really wanted to hear him. There's plenty of black humour too.

Extract
Naked, they were no longer people, which had an auspicious effect on the firing squad, because it is always easier to kill people who are nothing. And besides, naked people don't run away, mostly they try to shield their genitals and stand still, finding their last defence in a feeling of shame.
Parallels
  • Fires in the Dark by Louise Doughty
  • Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels
  • The Reader by Bernhard Schlink