The Revisionist

by Helen Schulman

Near the end of Helen Schulman's The Revisionist, David Hershleder's estranged wife, Itty, asks "Where have you been? Where have you been all of your life?" This is the question that Hershleder has never even known to ask until, at the age of 39, his life begins to crumble. A neurologist who is terrified of his own patients, a man who prefers research to real people, he has spent a lifetime cutting himself off, even from the ones he loves the most. When Itty, who would "rather be lonely alone ... than lonely with [him] again," finally throws him out, he turns to a private research project of his own in an attempt to deaden the pain. He becomes fascinated by a French Holocaust-denier, Jacques LeClerc, who, in the course of attempting to prove scientifically that the Nazi exterminations never happened, comes to the completely opposite conclusion. What happened, Hershleder wonders, "Why did he believe these lies in the first place, and how did he find the courage to face the truth?" Eventually his curiosity becomes so great that he goes to Paris to seek LeClerc out and ask him face to face.

Identity, denial, and the courage to face the truth are themes that Schulman works skillfully throughout all the relationships and story lines in The Revisionist. David Hershleder's mother was herself a survivor of the Holocaust, a fact that shaped her son's sense of self and relationships with others in ways not even he is aware of. As the story of Hershleder's pursuit of LeClerc unfolds, Schulman moves back and forth in time to reveal key events in his relationships with his mother, his wife, his best friend, David Kahn, and his college sweetheart Jodie, with whom he reconnects in the aftermath of his trip to France. What David actually learns from LeClerc is both mundane and surprising. What the hunt reveals about his own career as a denier and revisionist, however, is the key to Helen Schulman's deftly crafted and ultimately satisfying exploration of how the Holocaust continues to haunt even the present generation and what it means to be a survivor. --Alix Wilber

Genres: Fiction

246 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

meh. Not as good as This Beautiful Life. This book seemed like a personal writing exercise on how to take on Cheever's The Swimmer. Some of the historical information-- like the architects and chemists who prove scientifically that the holocaust did, indeed, happen-- but the main character isn't really likeable enough to sustain his meandering forgetfulness.

[Jeff]

I don't know what I expected from this book, but what I didn't expect was a very plodding tale that could barely deliver on the semi-obsession with a Holocaust revisionist airline. Really feel like I'm striking out lately with the book choices.

[Hallie Cantor · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book, in brief, confused and distorted. It follows the mental path of David Hershleder, a successful neurologist but self-hating Jew extraordinaire, who is tortured by his mother's past (Holocaust survivor who committed suicide) and depressed over the separation from his Gentile wife. Curiosity piqued by a book on a reformed Holocaust denier, he goes in search of the author, an old college friend of his, now a self-isolated eccentric living in Los Angeles. Accompanied by his other college buddy, Kahn, they go off to France to meet the denier and subject of the book. Through his research and obsession, David comes to realize how much he himself had lived with a certain denial in his relationships, which he himself, like the revisionist, twisted around in order to suit his perception of the world.

I was initially drawn in by the vivid writing, although the descriptions of each character or setting were hardly flattering. The sexual scenes were downright vulgar. True, pre-Giuliani New York was dysfunctional, but not everyone walked around like sullen zombies. None of the characters were likeable; they seemed as stereotypically neurotic as the protagonist. Hershleder's final catharsis was disappointing for its lack of any religious awareness or redemption. His fling with an equally repulsive and messed up Jewish friend from camp might have led me to believe that he would ultimately gain insight or appreciation of his faith or heritage. Alas, no. He is still the creepy loser and lost soul to boot. Although this takes place in the mid-1990s, this book seemed dated before it was even written.

[miguel · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was enjoyable at the start, but I wished there were more parts about the 'revisionist' instead of the protagonist's struggle.

[Maya Lang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written, and daring. Fascinating to read this after having read Helen Schulman's other (more recent) work, because this was so different--more experimental, darker somehow. As with her other work, the language is beautiful and lush, the characters memorable. I loved the slice of Manhattan this captures, the perfect time capsule of it (pre-Giuliani New York!). I also loved this for its brave exploration of subject: a Jewish man who becomes obsessed with a Holocaust denier, and the theme of denial more broadly. What speaks to people who have no ability for self-reflection? Who, like Hershleder, shuffle through life blindly? This is an impossible question to tackle, and then to do it through Holocaust denial! It shouldn't work, but it does, which proves that the best authors can pull off anything. There was much to admire here, but what I loved most was the risks the writer takes.

[Angel **Book Junkie** · Rating 3 out of 5]

Truly dark humor. The problem was I loved it. I have gone back and forth between 3 and 4 stars and I really did like it. I think that sometimes revisiting the past is something that is necessary to move forward and this book was really damn cool.