The Sonderberg Case

I have the utmost respect and admiration for Elie Wiesel. I do. And I'm embarrassed to say that up until now, I've never read any of his books. Not even Night.

(Although, my embarrassment on not reading Night is probably not as great as the embarrassment of a certain former college president of my alma mater who, upon introducing Mr. Wiesel as a keynote speaker during an event, REFERRED TO WIESEL'S BOOK NIGHT AS A WORK OF FICTION! I kid you not. Mr. Wiesel himself kindly but firmly set this dingbat straight.)

I digress. But that is an unbelievable story, is it not? I mean, can you imagine? I'm not much of a fan of this woman, truth be told.

Anyway, so I had high expectations going into The Sonderberg Case. This short novel is the story of Yedidyah Wasserman, a drama critic living in New York City with his actress wife and two sons. Because of his theatrical background, Yedidyah is assigned by the newspaper for which to cover the trial of one Werner Sonderberg, who is accused of killing his (Werner's) uncle. Werner pleads "guilty and not guilty," setting in motion a series of courtroom scenarios captured by Yedidyah, to much acclaim.

(I was picturing Yedidyah as somewhat of a Dominick Dunne, man-about-town type of character.)

For the first part of the novel, there are passages of writing that were fluid and poetic, almost causing me to slow down and take in the prose. But then it seemed as if the plot became too heavy for what is a less than 200 page novel. In that span, Wiesel gives his reader the Sonderberg trial and the effect it has on Yedidyah personally, as well as on his marriage. He presents some unspoken business of Yedidyah's family history, their experiences and fate during the Holocaust, and the dynamics between Werner and the uncle. There's also the mention of something medically wrong with Yedidyah, which I'm thinking is cancer but we never quite figure out.

It's all a little hard to keep straight. (Oh, and through all of this, the narration changes (often) from first to third person, and back again.) It makes for a choppy story. Perhaps this is because the novel was translated from the French. (If so, this is the second translation from the French I've had difficulty with - the first being The Elegance of the Hedgehog.)

(Cringes and shudders at the memory of that particular book.)

I wanted to like this one more than I did, but The Sonderberg Case failed to win my favor. However, it won't deter me from giving Wiesel another chance by reading more of his work - fiction AND nonfiction - in the future. ( )

A New York theater critic, ill and depressed, is asked to review a sensational murder trial of a young German visitor to NY who allegedly killed his elderly uncle while vacationing.

Yedidyah has always had a keen sense of passion and sensitivity, and loves his family deeply. He has deep connections with his wise and loving grandfather, a Holocaust survivor, his uncle, his wife and sons.

It is his past that has come to trouble Yedidyah. He knows he actually had been adopted by this family; his birth parents, and older brother had been killed by the Nazis. He had been saved by Maria, a non-Jewish family employee, sent to America, where he finds a good home with a loving, thoughtful and educated family.

He dreams about and misses his young parents, and brother. He goes to Europe and finds Maria, who is too frail and sick with heartbreak to understand the significance of the visit. Yedidyah feels he is too late; he experiences intense guilt that it has taken him so long to miss his family.

Ironically, it is meeting Werner Sonderberg, the German suspect in the trial Yedidyah reviewed, that help him understand. The love he has received in abundance from both his biological and adoptive families is the antidote to his malaise, and the only substantive response to the evil of the Holocaust.

This novel is very philosophical, and filled with so much wisdom and compassion. ( )

Sometimes a book can take you by surprise and give you a feeling of overall joy. This book was published in French in 2008, published in English in 2010 (out in America on August 24th).
This is a M a g n i f i c e n t Book.
It's the story of Yedidyah, an American theatre journalist who, by chance, has to follow the trial of a young German, Werner Sonderberg , accused of having killed his uncle. When asked if he pleads guilty or not guilty, Werner answers he's guilty and not guilty. While Yedidyah is trying to find out what's going on with Werner, he also finds out about his own identity, both physically and psychologically.
This is an intriguing story of two men who are struggling with their own questions of guilt, their identity and their past. It's a very dignified, ethical, positive book with a lot of beautiful sentences to think about thoroughly. ( )