“Like the novels of W.G. Sebald . . . [The Druggist of Auschwitz] will fill you with despair and rage and terrible shame at the infinite ingenuity of human cruelty. By steeling himself not to flinch before the hideous reality of the Holocaust, Schlesak has created a beautiful book.” —David Laskin, The Seattle Times
“That Dieter Schlesak could write this novel in what Adam calls the executioner’s language serves as some small triumph. That he could look at all of this with a clear eye and help the reader to do the same is a major triumph.” —Alan Cheuse, NPR
“A great book that hits you like a fist . . . An unforgettable tapestry of evil . . . [The Druggist of Auschwitz] shows that, as Melville said, the truth is more unthinkable than fiction.” —Claudio Magris, Corriere della Sera (Italy)
“Written in a fluid style with little intervening commentary…The Druggist of Auschwitz is nothing less than a minimally guided tour of hell on earth.” —Booklist
“Retracing the story of Dr. Capesius, in which appear other infamous figures—such as Josef Mengele, the ‘Angel of Death’; Fritz Klein, the ‘Assassin for Good’; and the camp commandant, Rudolf Höß—Schlesak reconstructs the terrifying history of Auschwitz: the trauma of arrival, the torture of the prisoners, the horror of the gassings and cremations. Schlesak writes with a dry style, almost with the distance of a reporter, giving us a powerful testimony on the banality of evil. The Druggist of Auschwitz is a book which confirms that sometimes the truth is more unimaginable than the most horrible fantasy.” —Gaetano Vallini, L’Osservatore Romano (Vatican City)
“Dieter Schlesak not only has created a shattering work of great literary power and authenticity . . . but also sheds light on the relationship between perpetrators and their victims.” —Claus Stephani, David: Jüdische Kulturzeitschrift (Austria)
THE DRUGGIST OF AUSCHWITZ by Dieter Schlesak, John HargravesKirkus Book Reviews
Read the Kirkus Review of THE DRUGGIST OF AUSCHWITZ A Documentary Novel. An exhaustive, dialogic novel of Auschwitz, centering on the role and trial for war crimes of the real-life Victor Capesius, a pharmaceutical-company representative who became SS pharmacist and, despite friendships with Jews and being himself half Jewish, selected victims for the gas chamber and profited from their gold.
- Kirkus Reviews
