Mendelssohn Is on the Roof

by Jiří Weil

Book Overview

Julius Schlesinger, aspiring SS officer, has received orders to remove from the roof of Prague's concert hall the statue of the Jewish composer Felix Mendelssohn. But which of the figures adorning the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0810116863
• ISBN13: 9780810116863
• Release Date: November 1998
• Publisher: Northwestern University Press
• Length: 228 Pages
• Weight: 1.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.6" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

Did not receive it!!!!!!

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Poignant and worthwhile read

"Mendelssohn is On the Roof" is a worthwhile read that follows the lives of persons (young and old, male and female on both 'sides' of the conflict) impacted by the Nazi 'invasion' of Prague and the country. At times, it is a 'danse macabre' as individuals endeavour to lead 'normal' lives under Nazi occupation. But, ever and always, death hovers about the people - we, the reader, can never shake this reality, and neither can the people whose lives we follow. At times, it is somewhat confusing in what 'locale' the story is taking place. However, this is a story that is well worth the effort it takes to read it. The reader will be moved by the poignancy of the people's struggle and, ultimately, by their resolve to not lose hope even in the face of death.

Really Brilliant

There isn't a "plot" per se. The book is a series of scenes involving a host of Jews, Czechs and Nazis in the Czech Republic during WW@ as the Nazis empty Prague of the Jews. The book is both darkly comic and deeply tragic. It is the best book about the holocaust I've read since it covers the sort of day-to-day lives of the Jews before the camps and also the very effortless translation. It is a quick and easy read but filled with a lot of poignant moments. In particualr what it does well is puts the reader into the mind and thought process of Jews who were victimized by the Nazis not just as victims but also as accomplices. If there is a short coming, it is that Weil uses a lot of the Nazi nomenclature for places and groups and titles for people so readers without a strong knowledge of the Holocaust might be confused by the byzantine number of Nazi offices and organizations (this BTW is a real stregnth of the book for those familar with the system since it highlights how fragmented and fuedal the Nazi state was).

An Excellent novella for everyone to read

This book is amazing in its realism and emotion. The symbolism takes time to understand but when you do the book takes you to another level. The courage of the Jews and Czech people is heartening and brings another diminsion to what is commonly thought about when you think of WW2. An excellent book that I encourage everyone to read.

Fiction parallels history in this work.

Jiri Weil has here a masterpiece, a series of events involving a host of characters. Children hiding in a closet, German soldiers of high and low rank, elderly Jewish council members and scholars. What really chills me was my visit to the Holocaust museum days after finishing this book. The identification papers you draw upon entering that I received were for a man in the exact region of my Slovak grandparents. Before leaving much later that day, I viewed newsreels in the library. They provided actual background for the description of Reinhard Heydrich's assassination, told in detail in Weil's book. I highly recommend this excellent book.

Humor and Pathos Mixed Beautifully in World War II Prague

In short vignettes, the author explores the difficult choices faced by the people of World War II Prague, from Reinhard Heydrich (never named by name) to individual soldiers, civil servants and Czechs and Jews of all stripes. Some episodes are absurd and full of humor, particularly the moment when the workers try to identify which statue on the roof is actually Mendelssohn's (they choose the one with the largest nose and are about to make the maximum possible error when they are stopped in the nick of time). Others are almost painful to read, such as the choices of a Jewish scholar hired to work on the museum built to illustrate the lives of his people; he realizes the purpose is to describe a people who are to be eliminated from the face of the earth. Unlike many Holocaust novels, this book presents its points in a subtle and wonderful manner. I cannot recommend it highly enough.