Mendelssohn is on the Roof
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Full of dark humour and bitter irony, this moving novel traces the transformation of ordinary lives during the Nazi occupation of Prague. Weil is a neglected master of European literature, and this is one of only two of his novels to be translated into English.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By Ralph Blumenau
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The novel begins in Nazi-occupied Prague, soon after the invasion of Russia. There are the nine months when "the Butcher of Prague", Reinhardt Heydrich, as Deputy Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia, ruled with naked terror. He saw Bohemia as an ancient German land, had utter contempt for the Czechs and was one of the main architects of the "Final Solution": the Jews were already herded into ghettoes; Theresienstadt had already been turned into a holding area from which many Jews were sent to the gas chambers of Auschwitz. Weil has Heydrich regret that in his present position he could only organize the liquidation of the Jews instead of being able, as before, to participate personally in the violence. After Heydrich was assassinated, the terror intensified even more.
The book portrays the brutality and bureaucracy of the regime; the infighting within the different Nazi authorities; how the Nazis terrify each other almost as much as they terrify the people of Prague, as when an order given by Heydrich could not be immediately carried out. One of these orders had been to remove the statue of Mendelssohn from the roof of the Prague Academy of Music when none of his underlings knew which of the many statues was that of Mendelssohn. Such situations are farcical; but we are left in no doubt that there was never anything funny in the outcome, as we follow the precarious lives of several Jews and Czechs. Many have perforce to collaborate with the Germans and even take some pride in it; others reproach themselves bitterly; a few courageously engage in resistance. As the book progresses, it becomes darker and darker as the farcical elements are left behind. We move to Theresienstadt, where the Germans forced Jews to select other Jews to do terrible things to yet other Jews. And the suffering, there and in Prague, continues right up to the time, in the last pages, when the Soviets drive the Germans out of Czechoslovakia. Some of the Nazis' victims had gone to their deaths bravely, knowing that, though they would not live to see it, the Germans would surely be defeated.
Weil wrote not only as a Jew, but also as a lover of Czechoslovakia.
The book portrays the brutality and bureaucracy of the regime; the infighting within the different Nazi authorities; how the Nazis terrify each other almost as much as they terrify the people of Prague, as when an order given by Heydrich could not be immediately carried out. One of these orders had been to remove the statue of Mendelssohn from the roof of the Prague Academy of Music when none of his underlings knew which of the many statues was that of Mendelssohn. Such situations are farcical; but we are left in no doubt that there was never anything funny in the outcome, as we follow the precarious lives of several Jews and Czechs. Many have perforce to collaborate with the Germans and even take some pride in it; others reproach themselves bitterly; a few courageously engage in resistance. As the book progresses, it becomes darker and darker as the farcical elements are left behind. We move to Theresienstadt, where the Germans forced Jews to select other Jews to do terrible things to yet other Jews. And the suffering, there and in Prague, continues right up to the time, in the last pages, when the Soviets drive the Germans out of Czechoslovakia. Some of the Nazis' victims had gone to their deaths bravely, knowing that, though they would not live to see it, the Germans would surely be defeated.
Weil wrote not only as a Jew, but also as a lover of Czechoslovakia.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By Mia
Format:Paperback
Jiri Weil's novel, full of dark humour and bitter irony, is a collection of vignettes, rather than a continuous narrative, it follows the lives of Jewish and Czech individuals struggling to survive in Nazi-occupied Prague and most inhuman times. There are portrayals of Nazi officials with references to historical figures and a most moving account of life in Terezin. The original Czech version was published posthumously in 1960 and is said to have taken the author 15 years to write. Weil himself feigned suicide in 1942 and managed to survive the war in hiding.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By Alan Rodger
Format:Paperback
I came cross this by accident in the superb Daunt bookshop in London's Fulham Road. I believe the owner was persuaded by a member of staff to republish it as it was out of print.
I could not put it down. It is set in Prague in WWII under Nazi occupation. The authorities notice that on the roof of a famous music hall there is a row of busts of great musicians and one is that of Mendelsohn, the 19th century composer, and, as he was a Jew, he has to go and go, he must, before the top Nazi (unnamed but based on Heydrich) visits the hall. The trouble is that the minions sent to get rid of Mendelsohn have no idea what he looked like and cannot decide which has to go. What ensues is a tale of men of no great intellect but who are rendered even more stupid by extreme orthodoxy allied to fear of criminal leaders - and only a great author can do that with a humour that moves and shows that from the darkest of times there is good.
The writer, Jiri Weil, survived the Holocaust by faking his death and going into hiding. He writes from experience, from history and with dark but human humour. The story moves at pace and is always interesting and I feel it is one of the best I have read in recent times, so much so I had to get his other novel of the time he survived, "Life with a Star".
I could not put it down. It is set in Prague in WWII under Nazi occupation. The authorities notice that on the roof of a famous music hall there is a row of busts of great musicians and one is that of Mendelsohn, the 19th century composer, and, as he was a Jew, he has to go and go, he must, before the top Nazi (unnamed but based on Heydrich) visits the hall. The trouble is that the minions sent to get rid of Mendelsohn have no idea what he looked like and cannot decide which has to go. What ensues is a tale of men of no great intellect but who are rendered even more stupid by extreme orthodoxy allied to fear of criminal leaders - and only a great author can do that with a humour that moves and shows that from the darkest of times there is good.
The writer, Jiri Weil, survived the Holocaust by faking his death and going into hiding. He writes from experience, from history and with dark but human humour. The story moves at pace and is always interesting and I feel it is one of the best I have read in recent times, so much so I had to get his other novel of the time he survived, "Life with a Star".
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dont know
Have not read this e book yet just purchased. That is why I can not make any rating nor review. Because I am interested in this field purchased it.
Published 3 months ago by Szilard Paczer
5.0 out of 5 stars
Funny and moving
Given the nature of its subject matter, this is quite a moving story. It is a tale well told, a nightmare of a farce which gives us some idea what it must have been like to have... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Mr. Edward R. Addison
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful, poignant, unforgettable
I have just finished reading this book and, for the first time in my life, will re-read the same book from the start straight after finishing. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Marco
5.0 out of 5 stars
A powerful novel, well translated
Jiri Weil was one of the most accomplished Czech writers of the 20th century, and it is heart-warming to see more and more of his works appearing in English translation - even if... Read more
Published 15 months ago by A. J. Barber
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