In my last post I shared some of my disappointments with the ending of The Kindly Ones, my questions about why Littell sped up the action in the end, presenting us with coincidences and convergences that strain credulity, his intention with including the nose-biting scene?
I agree completely that Max’s repellent sexuality undermined rather than supported the themes of the book.
And was there really a dead body at his sister’s house? That section was so vague and nightmarish that it was hard to tell what was real and what wasn’t. Seems like Clemens & Weser did speak to his sister AFTER they found the papers at her house, because they found and spoke to the twins. Did anyone else read it that way?
Along the same lines, if Littell wanted to use Max’s obsession with his sister as the reason why Max is a loner and incapable of a loving, intimate relationship with others, I get that. But I do find it very puzzling that we get so much of Max’s sexual perverseness. Especially that very drawn out time at his sister’s deserted house. Seems that we would have lost nothing if Max went there to find her, found the house abandoned and stayed there for some time reading the books in the library until Thomas rescues him.
Yes, I agree about the latter 1/3 of the novel. His sister’s house scenes are a lot. And, I feel like the body in the garden was his sister? But there is no closure there. Maybe he had to write Max into an even worse mania than he already had depicted him in order to murder his sister. But did that add anything to the novel? No.
My ignorance of Greek mythology may have me blinded to some of the reasons Littell wrote some parts the way that he did, I can only think.
It was worth the reading experience to learn more about the selection of Jews and the way the Germans thought and “rationalized” it to themselves.
Thanks for this Valerie. We will be posting a final video on the novel soon. Tom Flynn and I discuss the ending and the novel overall. I hope that you and our subscribers will find it interesting.
I agree completely that Max’s repellent sexuality undermined rather than supported the themes of the book.
And was there really a dead body at his sister’s house? That section was so vague and nightmarish that it was hard to tell what was real and what wasn’t. Seems like Clemens & Weser did speak to his sister AFTER they found the papers at her house, because they found and spoke to the twins. Did anyone else read it that way?
Along the same lines, if Littell wanted to use Max’s obsession with his sister as the reason why Max is a loner and incapable of a loving, intimate relationship with others, I get that. But I do find it very puzzling that we get so much of Max’s sexual perverseness. Especially that very drawn out time at his sister’s deserted house. Seems that we would have lost nothing if Max went there to find her, found the house abandoned and stayed there for some time reading the books in the library until Thomas rescues him.
Yes, I agree about the latter 1/3 of the novel. His sister’s house scenes are a lot. And, I feel like the body in the garden was his sister? But there is no closure there. Maybe he had to write Max into an even worse mania than he already had depicted him in order to murder his sister. But did that add anything to the novel? No.
My ignorance of Greek mythology may have me blinded to some of the reasons Littell wrote some parts the way that he did, I can only think.
It was worth the reading experience to learn more about the selection of Jews and the way the Germans thought and “rationalized” it to themselves.
Thanks for this Valerie. We will be posting a final video on the novel soon. Tom Flynn and I discuss the ending and the novel overall. I hope that you and our subscribers will find it interesting.
I am sure I will. Thank you again for introducing me to a very interesting and eye opening novel.