Look Who’s Back Paperback – May 10, 2016
Author: Visit ‘s Timur Vermes Page ID: 1681449528
Review
“The joke is not on the reanimated Fuhrer, spouting predictably on immigrant and Jews, but on the ironic flippancy of the YouTube generation . . . rollickingly enjoyable.”
“It is 2011 and Hitler is back and going viral in a darkly entertaining satire.”
“Packed with wry, close-to-the-knuckle hilarity, and builds to a gloriously ironic conclusion.”
“Both funny and frightening, this is a subtle, historical study of the commanding nature of a fanatical demagogue, as well as a savage critique of contemporary western culture . . . a powerful and important book.”
“a hilarious, yet poignant look at today’s world through the eyes of one of its most horrific villains . . . the political and social satires translate will through the language barrier as the translator, Jamie Bulloch, did a fantastic job in the writing.”
“thrillingly transgressive”
An Independent Best Books of the Year selection
About the Author
Paperback: 314 pagesPublisher: MacLehose Press (May 10, 2016)Language: EnglishISBN-10: 1681449528ISBN-13: 978-1681449524Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies) Best Sellers Rank: #281,943 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #485 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Satire #1849 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Humor > Satire #3714 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Humor & Satire
Thank you to the author and publisher for the review copy. **3.5 stars***
Summer 2011. Berlin. Adolf Hitler wakes up on a patch of ground, alive and well. Things have changed – no Eva Braun, no Nazi party, no war. Hitler barely recognises his beloved Fatherland, filled with immigrants and run by a woman. People certainly recognise him, though – as a brilliant, satirical impersonator who refuses to break character. The unthinkable, the inevitable, happens, and the ranting Hitler takes off, goes viral, becomes a YouTube star, gets his own TV show, becomes someone who people listen to. All while he’s still trying to convince people that yes, it really is him, and yes, he really means it.
There have already been mixed opinions on this one – basically surrounding the sense or not of writing what is basically a comedy of errors and making one of the most villified characters in history – Hitler – its main protagonist. Before I dived in, I read several online discussions, a few non-spoiler reviews and was intrigued to see just what all the fuss was about…
How did I find it? Well I laughed a lot, sometimes in a vaguely guilty way admittedly. Mainly in the portions that dealt with Hitler’s interactions with the media – where they are assuming he is an impersonator, of course, and he is solidly and absolutely himself. Add to that, especially in the early chapters, his despair at the state of the world – and his discovery of television cookery shows – and the whole thing is ironically amusing.
I can see it would be fairly easy to find a reason to be offended by this book but I see no need.
This is such a hard book to review! Translated superbly by Jamie Bulloch (whose work we have encountered in the Mussel Feast by Birgit Vanderbeke, also set in Berlin) it has a wonderfully fluid writing style. It also has a cover that is so eye catching and raises a few eyebrows when folks catch sight of the stylised hair; and, really, is that the matching moustache? I KNOW the question you are dying to ask and it certainly is who you think it is delineated on the cover! Is this a risky book cover???? Would love to hear what you think!
It’s 2011 and (the real) Adolf Hitler awakens from some unaccounted slumbers and finds himself in a park in full regalia. A newspaper vendor, who has a kiosk in the park, takes him under his wing and soon sets up a meeting for him with a TV production company. They are fully of the belief that this Adolf is clearly a committed Method Actor who takes his art super seriously and pretty immediately they give him a slot on the Gagmez TV show. Adolf’s media presence balloons, just as it did in the 1930s. He soon insinuates himself into the public eye, and his appearances become the hot topic for discussion across society.
In essence this is a satirical look at celebrity and the role the media plays in bringing and then maintaining certain people in the media spotlight. It’s comical side in part stems from Hitler observing 21st century German (and international) culture through the lens of someone who has missed the build up to the modern day for the last 50 years or so. He cannily observes the politicians, there are wry comments about Chancellor Angela being a shapeless old trout; or Putin being a sop to his fellow countrymen by posing without his shirt on (remember those photos?).
Brief synopsis: Hitler wakes up in 2011 wearing his recognizable uniform (a time traveller perhaps?) unaware that the war finished many decades ago. As you can imagine, there is lots of room for interesting ideas to be developed as he wanders around Berlin trying to make sense of his surroundings, the modern technologies readily available, while still holding on to his old values, ideologies etc. Hitler is the narrator and the image that is painted of him is that of the Everyman. The dialogue in some places is reminiscent of Mein Kampf, which lends more credibility to the narrator’s speaking voice.
I can (kind of) see why some people found this work in poor taste and questioned whether it was all right to tackle such a subject for the purpose of satire or comedy. The truth is there is no real need to feel this way. There will always be arguments from both sides. Personally, I am of the belief that we should remember what happened but we should also not lose our sense of humour.
I have read a tremendous amount of literature on the Holocaust and instead of looking at this book as though the author were making fun of something terrible in our human history why not change the perspective and look at it this way: This is a book about Hitler’s perspective of our world today. Surely not such a bad thing. I think that this was the author’s actual intent. It is certainly a clever idea and that alone was reason enough for me to give the book a try.
Yes, Hitler was, and still is, in this novel an ill-mannered, boorish and odious individual, but the world is filled with such people. Not all protagonists have to be likeable.
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