After Dachau

Imagine a world several centuries after the Nazis have won WWII, and their racist ideology having triumphed over the entire planet. Here's a world where being human is being white, as not only all the other 'races' have been exterminated but, none even knows any different since the whole of mankind's history has also been rewritten so as to suit such a racist and pro-Aryan view. Now, imagine too reincarnation to be real, and that one can reminisce the memories of a past life no matter how remote in time... What would happen if someone were to remember being Black, that is being the reincarnation of a black person? How would that shaken such a society and world? The answer Daniel Quinn puts forward here is chilling, yet it rings so true show more with how we deal with the dynamic of human history that it's quite unsettling.

Sure, having recourse to the supernatural for the narrative to flow is an easy trick, even if I personally found all that mumbo jumbo around reincarnation quite silly (I am too much of a rationalist for that!). But, I have to say it's entertaining and definitely makes for an absorbing read, captivating right up to the finale. Short, incisive and fast to read, with -above all- a punch line as surprising as it is pertinent, 'After Dachau' truly worth a read. show less

This started out a little slow, interesting but nothing to push me to continue in the first two chapters, and then it took hold of me. I read the rest of the book in one morning. Couldn't put it down. Gripping and fascinating. The whole time I was entranced and couldn't wait to see what came next.

I can't say much about this book without giving too much away, so I'll simply say I really enjoyed it. I found it reminiscent of some early Vonnegut (Sirens of Titan, Cat's Cradle). It's very thought-provoking. Although I could certainly see why some people might not enjoy it as much as I did.

After Dachau is exactly the sort of book that I should love, it’s a reincarnation story about the Holocaust that takes place in a sort of dystopian world. When I was about halfway through I was ecstatic and planning on recommending it to everyone I knew and buying copies for everyone in my family (which is what I did after reading Life of Pi). The book has some wonderful elements, the reincarnation stories at the beginning are fascinating and the scene when Jason asks a group of schoolgirls to explain the Holocaust to Gloria is perfect, but the book begins to go down hill when Jason is kidnapped. First of all, if no one cares then why on earth would there be a need to kidnap Jason to convince him that no one cares. That would indicate show more that someone must care but if the government, for example, does care, then why are they not shutting down the gallery? However, having it end with Jason planning to publish Anne Frank’s diary truly killed it for me. It took a smart commentary on the nature of history and reduced it to something a child could have written... http://yodamarie.blogspot.com/2007/08/after-dachau.html show less

A truly fascinating premise (a world in which the Final Solution truly became final)presented in an interesting way, but without the literary style that could have made this a wonderful book. I found myself spending too much time rewriting individual passages and not enough time thinking about the world in which the book was set. A nice try.

I really had no clue what to expect when I picked this up, but wow, mind blown. This is a book that keeps you on the edge the whole way through.

Following the same philisophical arguments of the Ishamel Trilogy, Quinn moves from transcribing conversations to reccounting actual plot lines. The novel focuses on the idea of reincarnation, altough the author claims to neither dispute nor endorse the belief. He simply wishes to "use it as a vehicle" with which to present his ideas. The underlying theme of the book comments the the accuracy of history, and the degree to which we should believe what we're told. I can epitomize this conecpt by paraphrasing a line from the book:
"What if every detail of our past that we teach our children is a falsehood?"
This is a very frightening concept, but at the same time very possible. I feel that the book did a tremendous job of slowy unraveling show more this theme, while at the same time continuing an enthralling storyline, regardless of its philisophical value.
I reccomend reading the ishmael trilogy prior to "After Dachau", although this is not necessary to understand the book. It does, however, increase the reader's ability to appreciate the novel's underlying theme. show less