The Inventory: A Novel

by Gila Lustiger

Combining the authenticity of reportage with the emotional intensity of an extraordinary imagination, The Inventory is a profoundly unsettling account of the effects of Nazi paranoia upon every segment of German society. Writing with piercing clarity and searing irony, Gila Lustiger weaves together the tales of ordinary people swept up in a society where brutal oppression and extermination are everyday events.

Amid the routine of daily life—with its flirtations and quarrels, longings and disappointments—the mechanism of persecution spares no one: A renowned opera singer is savagely beaten for suspicion of homosexuality; a mother writes to the Ghetto Administration for a good deal on penknives confiscated from Jewish deportees; a student is tortured by the Gestapo for a vague association with the Young Socialist Workers; a husband files for divorce when his wife shops at a Jewish-owned store. Intersecting stories of common citizens, both sinned against and sinning, reveal uncanny, entwined relationships in a nation where no one remains untouched by suspicion and fear, where respectable housewives become informants and saviors, and children become protectors and abusers.

A masterly display of bravura virtuosity, The Inventory is the final, terrible account of how all—old and young, affluent and destitute, the pampered and neglected—were transformed by oppression and tyranny. Proclaimed a classic in Germany, this unforgettable novel establishes Gila Lustiger as one of contemporary literature’s most important voices.

Genres: Germany, Politics, History, War

310 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Cooper Renner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A powerful book in many ways, but I also did a fair amount of skimming/skipping in the final third. The book could be shorter. What is strongest to me is the first half or so, dealing with the earlier effects of Nazism prior to the war and the “final solution”, especially as it concerns other “undesirable” groups and not Jews alone.

[Gail Spencer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the easiest book to read - due to the format and subject matter. I needed to read it all, though.
I've read several WWII Holocaust books, but this one was disturbing because it covered so many individuals - from both sides of the issue. Too many similarities to today's world and how people are being treated.

[Patrick Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe I just didn't get it, but most of the stories made no sense!

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written novel about Germans in WWII and how living under Hitler affected them. It reads like a series of vignettes, with many intersections between the various lives.