A few months back I took Matt Mitrovich aka The Alternate Historian's tip and got myself the book Judenstaat: A Novel to read through. Unfortunately work and school kept me from getting to it until recently. But I finally managed to get around to it so here we go 
Judenstaat: A Novel is an alternate history novel by Simone Zelitch, not to be confused with Der Judenstaat, the theoretical pamphlet by Theodore Hertzel. It has some traits that most alternate history books don't have, combining the AH genre with mystery/detective and to an extent philosophy by looking at what a nation can do to whitewash their history and gain legitimacy. Overall it's been receiving some mixed reviews which I mainly set down to what the individual reader is looking for in the book.
A quick summary, the story is set some time after 1980 in a Jewish state created in Saxony, Germany after WWII. The entire region was separated from the German state and Jews from all over Europe relocated there to basically rebuild it from the ground up (carpet bombing and all that jazz). We follow the life of Judit Ginsberg Klemmer, an archivist and film-maker at the Judenstaat National Museum, whose husband, a Saxon (German living in Judenstaat), was murdered under suspicious circumstances a few years ago. She gets a visit from a shady figure, giving her a message. "They lied about your husband's death". Through the various archive films that she gets her hands on we relive the history of the Jewish state from its founding, through the breakup with America and falling into Soviet orbit, to the current re-liberalization period. We get an insight into the clash between the bundists and the cosmopolitans, the modern Jews and the conservative "blackhats", the Jewish nationals and the second-class citizen Saxons, all deftly combined with Judit's search for the truth. This eventually leads her to discover the grisly history of her country's founding, a history that the older generation knows but doesn't talk about, and a fresh view at figures she was taught to love or hate.
From a content perspective I must say I was incredibly intrigued by the society and lore that Zelitch manages to subtly but abundantly introduce into the book and reader's mind. The historian in me was absolutely thrilled at the seamless way that Judenstaat "clicked" into OTL history, connecting it on several levels. From the culture of the state to the political and social struggles to the history and propaganda, Judenstaat was a smooth read without any hiccups. My Czech historian side was further satisfied by the accurate and yet new and fresh portrayal of the '68 invasion of Czechoslovakia. I also want to praise the author for addressing various important questions which are relevant in today's chaotic situation, including but not limited to historical revisionism, minority treatment, propaganda and geopolitical polarization.
However I cannot give the book full marks. What did I mind? The story. I (and apparently other readers too) often had trouble following Zeltich's "darting" style of writing. She seems to shift from subject to subject almost without warning and without sufficient "bridges" between them with the regularity of a ADHD diagnosee. This is emphasized with her skimming over certain parts of the book and delving into detail in others. This was personified in Judit, the aforementioned main character, whose personality was not just almost absurdly childish but also incredibly irrational and illogical. I can entertain the notion that this collision between me and the book might have been caused by my personal preferences when it comes to what I want to focus on and what kind of people I like, however I am inclined to think otherwise as I usually have no trouble with different personality types in books, hence why I lay the fault at the author's feet in this case. The whole constellation of the book gives off the vibe of the author not being quite sure whether she wants to write an alternate history or a detective novel. Perhaps that's what caused the shortcomings listed above.
Overall I'd give the book a 6/10 rating. For anybody with an interest in history, alternate history or even politics and similar subjects, I'd definitely recommend reading this book as it opens up new horizons and does a stellar job at illustrating a novel alternate history idea. For anybody just looking for a good read, I believe you can go ahead and sit this one out as it likely won't prove to be immersive for you.
To end this, I also want to emphasize that I am perfectly open to the concept of people disagreeing with me when it comes to the above text. It is after all a subjective review and not a scientific analysis. Each to their own
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
Judenstaat: A Novel
by Simone Zelitch
My rating: 6/10
Judenstaat: A Novel
by Simone Zelitch
My rating: 6/10
Judenstaat: A Novel is an alternate history novel by Simone Zelitch, not to be confused with Der Judenstaat, the theoretical pamphlet by Theodore Hertzel. It has some traits that most alternate history books don't have, combining the AH genre with mystery/detective and to an extent philosophy by looking at what a nation can do to whitewash their history and gain legitimacy. Overall it's been receiving some mixed reviews which I mainly set down to what the individual reader is looking for in the book.
A quick summary, the story is set some time after 1980 in a Jewish state created in Saxony, Germany after WWII. The entire region was separated from the German state and Jews from all over Europe relocated there to basically rebuild it from the ground up (carpet bombing and all that jazz). We follow the life of Judit Ginsberg Klemmer, an archivist and film-maker at the Judenstaat National Museum, whose husband, a Saxon (German living in Judenstaat), was murdered under suspicious circumstances a few years ago. She gets a visit from a shady figure, giving her a message. "They lied about your husband's death". Through the various archive films that she gets her hands on we relive the history of the Jewish state from its founding, through the breakup with America and falling into Soviet orbit, to the current re-liberalization period. We get an insight into the clash between the bundists and the cosmopolitans, the modern Jews and the conservative "blackhats", the Jewish nationals and the second-class citizen Saxons, all deftly combined with Judit's search for the truth. This eventually leads her to discover the grisly history of her country's founding, a history that the older generation knows but doesn't talk about, and a fresh view at figures she was taught to love or hate.
From a content perspective I must say I was incredibly intrigued by the society and lore that Zelitch manages to subtly but abundantly introduce into the book and reader's mind. The historian in me was absolutely thrilled at the seamless way that Judenstaat "clicked" into OTL history, connecting it on several levels. From the culture of the state to the political and social struggles to the history and propaganda, Judenstaat was a smooth read without any hiccups. My Czech historian side was further satisfied by the accurate and yet new and fresh portrayal of the '68 invasion of Czechoslovakia. I also want to praise the author for addressing various important questions which are relevant in today's chaotic situation, including but not limited to historical revisionism, minority treatment, propaganda and geopolitical polarization.
However I cannot give the book full marks. What did I mind? The story. I (and apparently other readers too) often had trouble following Zeltich's "darting" style of writing. She seems to shift from subject to subject almost without warning and without sufficient "bridges" between them with the regularity of a ADHD diagnosee. This is emphasized with her skimming over certain parts of the book and delving into detail in others. This was personified in Judit, the aforementioned main character, whose personality was not just almost absurdly childish but also incredibly irrational and illogical. I can entertain the notion that this collision between me and the book might have been caused by my personal preferences when it comes to what I want to focus on and what kind of people I like, however I am inclined to think otherwise as I usually have no trouble with different personality types in books, hence why I lay the fault at the author's feet in this case. The whole constellation of the book gives off the vibe of the author not being quite sure whether she wants to write an alternate history or a detective novel. Perhaps that's what caused the shortcomings listed above.
Overall I'd give the book a 6/10 rating. For anybody with an interest in history, alternate history or even politics and similar subjects, I'd definitely recommend reading this book as it opens up new horizons and does a stellar job at illustrating a novel alternate history idea. For anybody just looking for a good read, I believe you can go ahead and sit this one out as it likely won't prove to be immersive for you.
To end this, I also want to emphasize that I am perfectly open to the concept of people disagreeing with me when it comes to the above text. It is after all a subjective review and not a scientific analysis. Each to their own