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Schlepping Through the Alps: My Search for Austria's Jewish Past with Its Last Wandering Shepherd
Hans Breuer, Austria’s only wandering shepherd, is also a Yiddish folksinger. He walks the Alps, shepherd’s stick in hand, singing lullabies to his 625 sheep. Sometimes he even gives concerts in historically anti-Semitic towns, showing slides of the flock as he belts out Yiddish ditties.
When New York-based writer Sam Apple hears about this one-of-a-kind eccentric, he flies overseas and signs on as a shepherd’s apprentice. For thoroughly urban, slightly neurotic Sam, stumbling along in borrowed boots and burdened with a lot more baggage than his backpack, the task is far from a walk in Central Park. Demonstrating no immediate natural talent for shepherding, he tries to earn the respect of Breuer’s sheep, while keeping a safe distance from the shepherd’s fierce herding dogs.
As this strange and hilarious adventure unfolds, the unlikely duo of Sam and Hans meander through a paradise of woods and high meadows toward awkward encounters with Austrians of many stripes. Apple is determined to find out if there are really as many anti-Semites in Austria as he fears and to understand how Hans, who grew up fighting the lingering Nazism in Vienna, became a wandering shepherd. What Apple discovers turns out to be far more fascinating than he had imagined.
With this odd and wonderful book, Sam Apple joins the august tradition of Tony Horwitz and Bill Bryson. Schlepping Through the Alps is as funny as it is moving.
When New York-based writer Sam Apple hears about this one-of-a-kind eccentric, he flies overseas and signs on as a shepherd’s apprentice. For thoroughly urban, slightly neurotic Sam, stumbling along in borrowed boots and burdened with a lot more baggage than his backpack, the task is far from a walk in Central Park. Demonstrating no immediate natural talent for shepherding, he tries to earn the respect of Breuer’s sheep, while keeping a safe distance from the shepherd’s fierce herding dogs.
As this strange and hilarious adventure unfolds, the unlikely duo of Sam and Hans meander through a paradise of woods and high meadows toward awkward encounters with Austrians of many stripes. Apple is determined to find out if there are really as many anti-Semites in Austria as he fears and to understand how Hans, who grew up fighting the lingering Nazism in Vienna, became a wandering shepherd. What Apple discovers turns out to be far more fascinating than he had imagined.
With this odd and wonderful book, Sam Apple joins the august tradition of Tony Horwitz and Bill Bryson. Schlepping Through the Alps is as funny as it is moving.
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
13 people are currently reading
250 people want to read
About the author
Sam Apple
6 books52 followersSam Apple is on the faculty of the MA in Science Writing and MA in Writing programs at Johns Hopkins. Prior to his arrival at Johns Hopkins, Apple taught creative writing and journalism at the University of Pennsylvania for ten years. He holds a BA in English and Creative Writing from the University of Michigan and an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Columbia University. Apple is the author of Schlepping Through the Alps and American Parent. His forthcoming book, Ravenous (Liveright, May 2021), is about the German biochemist Otto Warburg and new developments in cancer science. Apple has published shorts stories, personal essays, satires, and journalistic features on a wide range of topics. In recent years, he has primarily written about science and health. His work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Wired, The Los Angeles Times, The Financial Times Magazine, ESPN The Magazine, The MIT Technology Review, and McSweeney's, among many other publications. Schlepping Through the Alps was a finalist for the PEN America Award for a first work of nonfiction.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
December 5, 2011
If the young Woody Allen had been a travel essayist and decided to explore Austria's past and present Nazi heritage accompanied by a wandering shepherd who sings Yiddish folk songs, you'd get something like this book.
Sam Apple presents himself as a canonical New York Jew, neurotically over-analyzing every interaction and comically mishandling the basics of life. He goes to Austria to spend time with Hans Breuer,the Yiddish-singing shepherd who herds his flock over the upper Alps. Along the way he interviews Austrians about the recent (at that time) election that lead to the inclusion of the far-right and possibly neo-Nazi Freedom Party in Austria's governing coalition. Which of course leads to questions about their views of the Holocaust and modern antisemitism in Austria.
During the first third of the book I frequently laughed out loud, but of course as we got deeper into the dark territory, not so much. I can see why it's so popular - Apple's personal and idiosyncratic voice will keep a mainstream reader engaged even as he grapples with the most problematic questions. I have a few problems with some of his stylistic choices, causing me to vacillate between 3 and 4 stars. But in the end, I'm glad he's written this and hope it will stir more questions about what modern racism really looks like.
Sam Apple presents himself as a canonical New York Jew, neurotically over-analyzing every interaction and comically mishandling the basics of life. He goes to Austria to spend time with Hans Breuer,the Yiddish-singing shepherd who herds his flock over the upper Alps. Along the way he interviews Austrians about the recent (at that time) election that lead to the inclusion of the far-right and possibly neo-Nazi Freedom Party in Austria's governing coalition. Which of course leads to questions about their views of the Holocaust and modern antisemitism in Austria.
During the first third of the book I frequently laughed out loud, but of course as we got deeper into the dark territory, not so much. I can see why it's so popular - Apple's personal and idiosyncratic voice will keep a mainstream reader engaged even as he grapples with the most problematic questions. I have a few problems with some of his stylistic choices, causing me to vacillate between 3 and 4 stars. But in the end, I'm glad he's written this and hope it will stir more questions about what modern racism really looks like.
March 18, 2012
I picked this book up because of its cover, then turned it to read its description - and then just had to buy it.
I really liked this book, it was a nice read, informative on one side, but also funny, made me think.
And being Austrian myself, it was also a new perspective. It is interesting to know what other people think about us.
Funny also, that the author might have crossed my way in Vienna...
I really liked this book, it was a nice read, informative on one side, but also funny, made me think.
And being Austrian myself, it was also a new perspective. It is interesting to know what other people think about us.
Funny also, that the author might have crossed my way in Vienna...
September 27, 2012
The story is an interesting concept and like some other great memoirs it interweaves the author's personal journey of self-discovery and realization into a historical context, and here there's the added bonus of the story of Hans Breuer, Austria's last wandering shepherd. I actually really enjoyed the parts of the book that told Hans' story as I've never come across anything like it in other literature, but I was so turned off by the author's insertion of his own crippling self-doubt and neuroses into the rest of the stories about Austria and its past (mainly related to anti-Semitism and Austrian participation and culpability in World War II) that I ended up more angry and annoyed and it completely overshadowed what would have otherwise been a thoroughly emotional, thoughtfully researched, and well-written adventure story on a unique subject.
Sometimes he's aware of his stupidity, as in the passage where he refers to riding the Vienna metro without a ticket and says that "...a small and rather stupid part of me liked the thought that I was cheating the anti-Semitic bastards out of fifty cents." Ugh. As a visitor to ANY city, have some respect. Much of his opinion on the thoughts and actions of Austrians regarding Jews and the responsibility of Gentile Austrians during and post-WWII is sometimes offensive and usually gross. He dramatically laments whether an Austrian woman who slept with him only did it to rid herself of lingering guilt on the behalf of her people. I cringed. I couldn't imagine that someone would actually write something like that when his whole shtick is being offended at Austrian anti-Semitism, but he's completely reverse racist sometimes.
When he does encounter a well-meaning woman at a demonstration who asks about his ethnicity, finds out he's Jewish and warmly embraces him, he brushes it off as "clearly some sort of creepy philo-Semitism". And if there's ever any doubt that maybe his oddity is that he's just a bit Woody Allen-ish, it's wiped out by passages such as one where he describes the shepherd's mother, a former Communist resistance member in Vienna and someone who treated him kindly and allowed him to interview her in her home about a difficult, brave time in her past as someone who could "have been a fullback on a football team of elderly midgets". He's just an asshole and for all his obsession with cultural and interpersonal sensitivity, he's got none of his own to share.
He also makes so many digs at the Viennese and their anti-Semitism that are pretty misplaced, for instance describing a statue commemorating Jewish deaths in the Holocaust and located outside of Albertinaplatz in Vienna which had to be wrapped in barbed wire because, as he tells it, "the Viennese" kept sitting on it. This is in the midst of downtown Vienna, across from the Opera, Albertinaplatz and the Albertina gallery are major draws for visitors, a big tourist information office is directly on the square, amongst a plethora of other major tourist attractions within sight. So I'm going to assume it's not just "the Viennese" who kept sitting on it. Been to the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin? It's not just Berliners who jump from stone to stone, sit on them, pose on them. He just tells this story the way he's chosen to see it and it makes me sad that a lot of people will read it and never know better, or at least examine it from any other angle.
The part that nearly made me close the book was when he had some kind of neurotic breakdown on a train in the Austrian countryside and thought the best way to assuage his guilt might be to press his circumcised penis against the window of the train and let everyone who saw it be, I don't know, shocked and horrified at the sight of a Jew in Austria? It was bizarre, offensive, painfully trying to be humorous and just being uncomfortable and ignorant. I only continued because as an American of Jewish descent currently living in Austria, I thought it best to know what kind of crap he got into in case I ever get the chance to defend our kind and make up for some of his nonsense. I guess more than anything I'm disappointed; I have a similar background and interests in Germany and Austria's dealings with Holocaust acknowledgement and remembrance and I felt so embarrassed by much of what he wrote.
He took what could have been a fantastic and fascinating story of this shepherd, his Yiddish folksongs and connection to Austria's Jewish past and turned it into a cringeworthy cautionary tale about why to never invite the author to interview you. It's hard to even appreciate the history and anecdotes that he presents when he's made himself such an obnoxious, self-centered, and unlikeable narrator. Austria's anti-Semitism and cultural memory and the way it relates to the country's future are deep and fascinating topics, but this book isn't the text to even begin exploring them. Maybe if the author could have kept himself out of it for more than a couple of pages the material might have become something worthwhile. Oh and this is all without mention thus far of the uncomfortable dream sequences he's made up involving real-life characters and vaguely resembling recent situations he's found himself in...yes, dream sequences. Oh that Freud's couch was still available in Vienna so this guy could have a seat.
Sometimes he's aware of his stupidity, as in the passage where he refers to riding the Vienna metro without a ticket and says that "...a small and rather stupid part of me liked the thought that I was cheating the anti-Semitic bastards out of fifty cents." Ugh. As a visitor to ANY city, have some respect. Much of his opinion on the thoughts and actions of Austrians regarding Jews and the responsibility of Gentile Austrians during and post-WWII is sometimes offensive and usually gross. He dramatically laments whether an Austrian woman who slept with him only did it to rid herself of lingering guilt on the behalf of her people. I cringed. I couldn't imagine that someone would actually write something like that when his whole shtick is being offended at Austrian anti-Semitism, but he's completely reverse racist sometimes.
When he does encounter a well-meaning woman at a demonstration who asks about his ethnicity, finds out he's Jewish and warmly embraces him, he brushes it off as "clearly some sort of creepy philo-Semitism". And if there's ever any doubt that maybe his oddity is that he's just a bit Woody Allen-ish, it's wiped out by passages such as one where he describes the shepherd's mother, a former Communist resistance member in Vienna and someone who treated him kindly and allowed him to interview her in her home about a difficult, brave time in her past as someone who could "have been a fullback on a football team of elderly midgets". He's just an asshole and for all his obsession with cultural and interpersonal sensitivity, he's got none of his own to share.
He also makes so many digs at the Viennese and their anti-Semitism that are pretty misplaced, for instance describing a statue commemorating Jewish deaths in the Holocaust and located outside of Albertinaplatz in Vienna which had to be wrapped in barbed wire because, as he tells it, "the Viennese" kept sitting on it. This is in the midst of downtown Vienna, across from the Opera, Albertinaplatz and the Albertina gallery are major draws for visitors, a big tourist information office is directly on the square, amongst a plethora of other major tourist attractions within sight. So I'm going to assume it's not just "the Viennese" who kept sitting on it. Been to the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin? It's not just Berliners who jump from stone to stone, sit on them, pose on them. He just tells this story the way he's chosen to see it and it makes me sad that a lot of people will read it and never know better, or at least examine it from any other angle.
The part that nearly made me close the book was when he had some kind of neurotic breakdown on a train in the Austrian countryside and thought the best way to assuage his guilt might be to press his circumcised penis against the window of the train and let everyone who saw it be, I don't know, shocked and horrified at the sight of a Jew in Austria? It was bizarre, offensive, painfully trying to be humorous and just being uncomfortable and ignorant. I only continued because as an American of Jewish descent currently living in Austria, I thought it best to know what kind of crap he got into in case I ever get the chance to defend our kind and make up for some of his nonsense. I guess more than anything I'm disappointed; I have a similar background and interests in Germany and Austria's dealings with Holocaust acknowledgement and remembrance and I felt so embarrassed by much of what he wrote.
He took what could have been a fantastic and fascinating story of this shepherd, his Yiddish folksongs and connection to Austria's Jewish past and turned it into a cringeworthy cautionary tale about why to never invite the author to interview you. It's hard to even appreciate the history and anecdotes that he presents when he's made himself such an obnoxious, self-centered, and unlikeable narrator. Austria's anti-Semitism and cultural memory and the way it relates to the country's future are deep and fascinating topics, but this book isn't the text to even begin exploring them. Maybe if the author could have kept himself out of it for more than a couple of pages the material might have become something worthwhile. Oh and this is all without mention thus far of the uncomfortable dream sequences he's made up involving real-life characters and vaguely resembling recent situations he's found himself in...yes, dream sequences. Oh that Freud's couch was still available in Vienna so this guy could have a seat.
July 15, 2012
I ordered this book because it was on one of my friend's bookshelves, I am a first generation Austrian born in Israel, raised in Canada and lived in the US for 10 years, and at this stage in my life I am trying to understand my family's and Austria's history. As is said in this book, my generation of Austrians will have had someone in the family with Nazi dirt on them. Sam Apple tries to make sense of this history. I was dismayed to learn how anti Semitic Austria still is, how actively it took part in the atrocities of WWII, how difficult it is to truly move on... YET, we do grow and change and a good friend of German background reminded me that we cannot judge that generation by today's sensibilities. I am struggling to absorb and understand all that I have learned of this humorously written book on a very serious subject. It has been over 70 years since the holocaust but the pain still echos in our souls. It has been 150 years since the Civil War and the end of slavery in the US and we are still struggling.
December 28, 2007
I really enjoy books that follow a person or people. This book followed the author and his "subject" I put subject in quotes b/c while gathering information from him the author and he really became much more than that. I learned about the politics of Austria that otherwise I would not have sought out. It is very interesting.
June 28, 2020
Once more, I'm disappointed by a book that looked awesome at first sight. It turned out to have way less shepherding than I'd expected. And more sex and nudity than I wanted tied in with the Anti-/Philo-Semitism issues. I'm still startled by that and a little disgusted that someone writing about discrimination can go so easily for the old sex=power equation. And for such an amount of stereotyping. On the other hand, that's also part of the charme the book has: it's not just historical facts, but also a personal account with all the flawed impressions of a young, rather prejudiced man who learned a few things on the way. And so did I. The book made me think about a lot of things I don't really want to think about. And some scenes were really funny in absurd ways I appreciate.
July 23, 2024
This could have been an extremely educational and confrontational book, had it not lacked the depth and critical thinking necessary when tackling the complicated paradox that is the Austrian collective memory.
I enjoyed earning about Hans and his family’s life, and the intermissions on Austrian political history (as someone who studied political science in Austria, I learned a lot). What ruined it was the almost juvenile humor and sexual comments, and the unnecessary use of slurs. I understand wanting to make such a topic digestible and not just a dry history book, but this sadly fell short of its goal.
I enjoyed earning about Hans and his family’s life, and the intermissions on Austrian political history (as someone who studied political science in Austria, I learned a lot). What ruined it was the almost juvenile humor and sexual comments, and the unnecessary use of slurs. I understand wanting to make such a topic digestible and not just a dry history book, but this sadly fell short of its goal.
November 11, 2020
This book is about sheep, sex, Yiddish folk songs, and Austrian Nazism. If the combination of those things entice you, then I fully encourage giving this a read.
September 27, 2014
I originally ordered this book, because I wanted to read about life in the high Alps. I'd spent some weekends watching & trying to help my friend to look after 16 cows in a mountain hut, in Austria. I thought there must be some books about that sort of life, so I started searching. Until this day I am convinced, that this book found me.
The funny thing is, I am jewish myself & have been living in Germany for nearly 14 years. This book could have been written about Germany. There are many similarities in the stories Sam tells us and what he finds out about streets, villages, houses ... I often felt like he does in the book. The story is like jewish life : just when you've been laughing so hard that your tears are rolling down your cheeks, you realise that you are crying because life can be so sad. Sam Apples has a very dry humour, hilariously funny and then on the next page he gets you to think hard and try not to sob!
A must read if you are interested in jewish History, want to know more about Austria (and Germany) and a bit about shepherds in the Alps!:) I enjoyed reading the stories about Hans and about his crazy relations in Wien. I thought it was very sad that nowdays people just want get on & forget that they killed 6 million jews. (and a very similar way of thinking,in fact, that's what Germans always tell me if the war gets mentioned.)
If we forget, History will repeat itself. It is as simple as that.
Thank you Sam Apple for writing this book, you spoke my deepest thruth on many of your pages!
The funny thing is, I am jewish myself & have been living in Germany for nearly 14 years. This book could have been written about Germany. There are many similarities in the stories Sam tells us and what he finds out about streets, villages, houses ... I often felt like he does in the book. The story is like jewish life : just when you've been laughing so hard that your tears are rolling down your cheeks, you realise that you are crying because life can be so sad. Sam Apples has a very dry humour, hilariously funny and then on the next page he gets you to think hard and try not to sob!
A must read if you are interested in jewish History, want to know more about Austria (and Germany) and a bit about shepherds in the Alps!:) I enjoyed reading the stories about Hans and about his crazy relations in Wien. I thought it was very sad that nowdays people just want get on & forget that they killed 6 million jews. (and a very similar way of thinking,in fact, that's what Germans always tell me if the war gets mentioned.)
If we forget, History will repeat itself. It is as simple as that.
Thank you Sam Apple for writing this book, you spoke my deepest thruth on many of your pages!
August 31, 2007
Dudes, this book is hilarious, and smart, and you must read it. Sam is a friend and a Michigan grad and a relation of my friends' and a neighbor in Park Slope, and it's more than worthwhile to read about his adventures in Austria and about Hans, the shepherd. I had the wonderful privilege of seeing him read parts of the book in downtown Manhattan along with Hans, who accompanied Sam with yodeling and pictures of him and his loved ones - including the sheep - in Austria. Sam's a true high-embracing* neurotic. Can't wait for his next book.
*Thanks to Ben and Missy for the awesome adjective.
*Thanks to Ben and Missy for the awesome adjective.
July 29, 2010
A surprisingly good read. I had a hard time putting it down. I learned about Austria's unusual positions concerning, Jews, Nazis, politics, WWII and their future.
Sam Apple's biggest hurdle appears to be his neurosis. I wish him the best and I hope it doesn't push his wife over the edge. Geez, he's neurotic! Hans, the shepherd and Sam become friends in part because they are both seriously neurotic but about different things.
Despite all their weirdness, this book is a compelling read. I wish there had been more photos.
Sam Apple's biggest hurdle appears to be his neurosis. I wish him the best and I hope it doesn't push his wife over the edge. Geez, he's neurotic! Hans, the shepherd and Sam become friends in part because they are both seriously neurotic but about different things.
Despite all their weirdness, this book is a compelling read. I wish there had been more photos.
June 27, 2008
I am "rejoinging" my synagogue book club for the summer evening mtgs. and this is the June book. Looks good!
August 18, 2010
Part travel writing, part identity exploration, part history research - and I learned a lot about post-WWII Communist movements in Europe, Yiddish folksongs, and sheep.
December 7, 2023
This was fun and educational to read. Sam takes off on this adventure to follow Hans, the Yiddish singing shepherd in Austria. With all his neuroses, it's amazing Sam was able to make the trip and he finds himself trailing after 625 sheep as they go through villages and farms. Hitler was from Austria and after the war, Austria was not inclined to welcome back the Jews who had been displaced or to provide reparations. Sam is searching for evidence of anti-Semitism in the local villagers he meets and sometimes the results are unexpected.
One time he meets a young man who is unaware of the history of Jewish persecution that occurred in his village. He is innocently ignorant. The moral dilemma Sam faces is whether to destroy his innocence and have him realize his family was complicit with the Nazis. While pondering this, I remembered my own high school history teacher in Missouri who taught about WWII in great detail--how it started, battles, names, etc.; but never mentioned the Holocaust! I was as ignorant as that boy in Austria. It wasn't until I went to college and saw a film showing the bodies and the skeletal survivors that I learned about what happened to Jews during WWII. That was 1970.
One time he meets a young man who is unaware of the history of Jewish persecution that occurred in his village. He is innocently ignorant. The moral dilemma Sam faces is whether to destroy his innocence and have him realize his family was complicit with the Nazis. While pondering this, I remembered my own high school history teacher in Missouri who taught about WWII in great detail--how it started, battles, names, etc.; but never mentioned the Holocaust! I was as ignorant as that boy in Austria. It wasn't until I went to college and saw a film showing the bodies and the skeletal survivors that I learned about what happened to Jews during WWII. That was 1970.
August 20, 2018
My purpose in reading this book was to learn a little about the current attitudes and political views of Austrians. The book certainly gave me a glimpse of that, though the view was through the eyes of a guy who, he would readily admit, has issues. It seemed as though Sam Apple's objective wasn't clear. Did he want to write a book about the shepherd? Did he want to write a book about the current politics in Austria? Did he want to "find himself?" Any one of those themes could have resulted in a great book, but since it bounced around among the three it lost something. Having said that, though, there were some great moments. About the time I'd think I was wasting my time reading it there would be another priceless paragraph or two and my enthusiasm was revived. I think I did get some insight into modern Austrian life of the sort you get from chatting with a really good, honest, self-aware person you might meet in a locals' cafe or on the train. It certainly isn't a complete picture, but it's a start. I'm glad I read it.
June 28, 2023
A journalist from New York shares funny sheep photos as he follows a modern sheepherder and his flock of 625 sheep through Austria. The sheepherder also sings Yiddish folk tunes. The journalist tries to get to the bottom of why someone would become a sheepherder in modern times, and why sing in Yiddish - a language supposed of the past in post-WWII/holocaust Austria. Turns out the sheepherder is very subversive and defiant in living his socialist values and expressing his overflowing emotions in language and song that is all about emotion. The journalist also tries to find the antisemitism in present Austria, goes on a bunch of dates, and is vulnerable in reflecting on his fixations. Considering some of the serious subject matter, I was surprised this was a fun quick page-turner.
May 31, 2024
I had very mixed feelings about this memoir by Sam Apple. I really enjoyed the Yiddish fiddler Hans whom Sam met and walked the fields with Hans as he led his flocks of sheep through the Austrian Alps. I grew up in a Jewish household and my mom and Grandmother were always on the phone together speaking in Yiddish. I love listening to it. But I had a hard time following all the many flashbacks and people he met. There were lots of graphic sexual encounters and think he could have been less explicit about all his relationships. It was a fascinating read for the most part.
May 5, 2022
Content:
#1. Yiddish sheepherding and Austrian countercultural personalities.
#2. A stunning amalgam of the author's neuroses.
#3. A devastating indictment of Austrian antisemitism.
Realistically, #1 could have been a New Yorker article. A detailed public airing of #2--in nobody's best interest. The book is saved by the author's resourceful spadework that exposed the pervasive WW2 cultural mindset still existing in Austrian society. Have things changed since the book's appearance in 2005?
#1. Yiddish sheepherding and Austrian countercultural personalities.
#2. A stunning amalgam of the author's neuroses.
#3. A devastating indictment of Austrian antisemitism.
Realistically, #1 could have been a New Yorker article. A detailed public airing of #2--in nobody's best interest. The book is saved by the author's resourceful spadework that exposed the pervasive WW2 cultural mindset still existing in Austrian society. Have things changed since the book's appearance in 2005?
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January 9, 2022I loved this book. It was a lot of fun to read but its dark side made for an unsual reading experience. The author decided to shadow a working shepherd in Austria, but that man turned out to be a Jew with a Yiddish cultural background. Along the way, staying with him, the author encuntered a variety of Austrians. He decided part of his work was to see what remains of Nazism in that country.
April 10, 2023
i consider sam apple to be quite an instrumental figure in my life, so it was really a joy to read this. he gets a lot of credit for the way i write and so this book felt incredibly familiar to me. long live sam apple!!!
June 28, 2012
Quite an amusing and interesting book. Young and neurotic journalist Sam Apple meets Hans Breuer in New York and decided to go travel with him in Austra. Has is that last wandering shepherd in Austria, taking his flock of 600 all across the country side and through towns and cities. Hans is quite the unusual character, seems like it would be fun to meet him Sam is a young Jewish man who not only wants to get to know Hans the sheepherder (who also sings Yiddish songs wherever he goes), but he also wants to determine the level of anti-Semitism in present day Austria. The book is alternately funny, silly, and serious, and Sam has quite the experience in Austria. I thought it was a well-written and amusing account of a mixture of topics. I agree with another Goodreads reviewer that it almost sounds like a Woody Allen movie.
A few excerpts about the more serious topic of anti-Semitism:
From Chapter Twelve: "It's easy to see why the Romantics were obsessed with the idea of an eternal Wandering Jew. Wandering is a romantic gesture, at once a rejection of the world and a search for something new. And what better metaphor than an eternal wanderer for the loneliness of the human experience, for the elusiveness of the human condition? Then, to top it off, the guy's a Jew. The Jewish wanderer is the Romantic's dream come true, an outsider among the outsiders, a sufferer among the suffering.
I don't know how much of my own romanticizing of wandering and Jewishness had drawn me to Hans. Certainly from the beginning I was fascinated with the metaphorical possibilities of Hans's life. In his shepherding I saw the rejection of modern society in the aftermath of the Holocaust. In his Yiddish songs I inevitably listened for the millions of missing Yiddish voices that should have been singing along."
From Chapter Fifteen, in a discussion about the fact that in 1999, 27% of Austrians had voted for a political party founded by former Nazis, a party with a leader, Jorg Haider, who regularly vilified immigrants and who had a habit of making pro-Nazi statements. The author is interviewing Peter Sichrovsky, a Jew and the son of Holocaust survivors who lost both grandmothers at Auschwitz and who also happens to be Secretary General of Haider's Freedom Party. Sichrovsky says "...if you like it or not, this is the daily political style in Austria, and it has nothing to do with the Freedom Party...I have to accept that the Austrian democracy was built up by ex-Nazis. I don't care about all this. For me it's more interesting to look at what the parties do -- their political program, their political work. The Freedom Party has never done anything anti-Semitic.....This is the atmosphere you have to live with or you leave the country. But concerning the anti-Semitism, racism, and xenophobia, this is an Austrian problem of Austria's postwar history, and the people of Austria have to overcome the situation and work on this problem."
A few excerpts about the more serious topic of anti-Semitism:
From Chapter Twelve: "It's easy to see why the Romantics were obsessed with the idea of an eternal Wandering Jew. Wandering is a romantic gesture, at once a rejection of the world and a search for something new. And what better metaphor than an eternal wanderer for the loneliness of the human experience, for the elusiveness of the human condition? Then, to top it off, the guy's a Jew. The Jewish wanderer is the Romantic's dream come true, an outsider among the outsiders, a sufferer among the suffering.
I don't know how much of my own romanticizing of wandering and Jewishness had drawn me to Hans. Certainly from the beginning I was fascinated with the metaphorical possibilities of Hans's life. In his shepherding I saw the rejection of modern society in the aftermath of the Holocaust. In his Yiddish songs I inevitably listened for the millions of missing Yiddish voices that should have been singing along."
From Chapter Fifteen, in a discussion about the fact that in 1999, 27% of Austrians had voted for a political party founded by former Nazis, a party with a leader, Jorg Haider, who regularly vilified immigrants and who had a habit of making pro-Nazi statements. The author is interviewing Peter Sichrovsky, a Jew and the son of Holocaust survivors who lost both grandmothers at Auschwitz and who also happens to be Secretary General of Haider's Freedom Party. Sichrovsky says "...if you like it or not, this is the daily political style in Austria, and it has nothing to do with the Freedom Party...I have to accept that the Austrian democracy was built up by ex-Nazis. I don't care about all this. For me it's more interesting to look at what the parties do -- their political program, their political work. The Freedom Party has never done anything anti-Semitic.....This is the atmosphere you have to live with or you leave the country. But concerning the anti-Semitism, racism, and xenophobia, this is an Austrian problem of Austria's postwar history, and the people of Austria have to overcome the situation and work on this problem."
May 17, 2012
A friend gave me this book because she said it was a "quirky" and unusual read. She was right.
Some aspects of the story annoyed me, especially the ego-centric soul-searching that the narrator goes through—but that is precisely the point of the work, to share a personal journey. It is clear that the narrator is revealing a period in which he grows, and when his hubris reveals itself in situations, the narrator comments on it. He reveals his own shame and discomfort many times—perhaps too many for my taste. I found myself wearying of the search for anti-Semitism in Austria but was intrigued by the history revealed by the author's ramblings. Indeed, the ramblings with sheep turn out to be only a backdrop for an investigation into human behavior: Obsession, pride, misunderstanding, and multiple attempts to find identity are the core of this story.
Hans, the shepherd whose story begins the tale, serves as a launch into the author's search for his own sense of self. I felt awkward with the author's peevishness but I also related to it in a broad sense. The author's fling with an Austrian girl seemed a bit self-serving until the author reflects on why he might have been attracted to her.
The narrative is occasionally interrupted with Hans' back story as a youth. It is an interesting device, using multiple story lines, but I am not sure how I feel about it. Most of these switches were well placed, but some seemed artificial, as if to elevate a journey into higher literature. It kinda works and yet it seems occasionally too self-evident.
I liked the story and I liked the book as a whole. While reading, I kept recalling parts of Peter Mathiesson's tome The Snow Leopard, one of the best self-discovery stories ever. That alone is high praise.
Some aspects of the story annoyed me, especially the ego-centric soul-searching that the narrator goes through—but that is precisely the point of the work, to share a personal journey. It is clear that the narrator is revealing a period in which he grows, and when his hubris reveals itself in situations, the narrator comments on it. He reveals his own shame and discomfort many times—perhaps too many for my taste. I found myself wearying of the search for anti-Semitism in Austria but was intrigued by the history revealed by the author's ramblings. Indeed, the ramblings with sheep turn out to be only a backdrop for an investigation into human behavior: Obsession, pride, misunderstanding, and multiple attempts to find identity are the core of this story.
Hans, the shepherd whose story begins the tale, serves as a launch into the author's search for his own sense of self. I felt awkward with the author's peevishness but I also related to it in a broad sense. The author's fling with an Austrian girl seemed a bit self-serving until the author reflects on why he might have been attracted to her.
The narrative is occasionally interrupted with Hans' back story as a youth. It is an interesting device, using multiple story lines, but I am not sure how I feel about it. Most of these switches were well placed, but some seemed artificial, as if to elevate a journey into higher literature. It kinda works and yet it seems occasionally too self-evident.
I liked the story and I liked the book as a whole. While reading, I kept recalling parts of Peter Mathiesson's tome The Snow Leopard, one of the best self-discovery stories ever. That alone is high praise.
April 1, 2024
What a different kind of book. It is non-fiction/ memoir sort of that weaves together 1. the current state of life for a wandering Jewish Yiddish Folk singing shephard 2. the history of the shephard growing up in Austria 3. the history of anit-semitism in Austria 4. the history of the author and 5. the current mental state of the author
It made for a very interesting read and made me consider several things
1. how we are all neurotic and insecure-- in this case I loved how much of a hypochondriac Sam is.
2. how much of our attitudes are based on the world we have created in our heads vs. the world as it actually is -- he traveled to Austria to confront anti-semitism and found he actually had to really look for it -- I wonder if he had not had such an agenda if he would have found it at all?
3. how 2 people can grow up in the same place and percieve things so differently -- It just so happens that the author and I went to high school together-- he talks about growing up surrounded by gentiles and I talk about growing up surrounded by Jews -- not necessarily that either was good or bad just about how influential it is on one's paradigm
It made for a very interesting read and made me consider several things
1. how we are all neurotic and insecure-- in this case I loved how much of a hypochondriac Sam is.
2. how much of our attitudes are based on the world we have created in our heads vs. the world as it actually is -- he traveled to Austria to confront anti-semitism and found he actually had to really look for it -- I wonder if he had not had such an agenda if he would have found it at all?
3. how 2 people can grow up in the same place and percieve things so differently -- It just so happens that the author and I went to high school together-- he talks about growing up surrounded by gentiles and I talk about growing up surrounded by Jews -- not necessarily that either was good or bad just about how influential it is on one's paradigm
December 16, 2014
Mein Lieblingssatz: "Wer also zufällig in den Alpen wandert und dabei einem Mann begegnet, der jiddische Lieder singt und einen Hund auf ein Schaf im Regenmantel hetzt, hat keinen Grund zur Sorge." (58-59)
Die etwas verrückt anmutende Reise eines jungen New Yorker Journalisten in die Bergwelt Österreichs, um dort mit einem jiddische Lieder singenden Schäfer umher zu ziehen, ihn zu verstehen, sich selbst und die eigene jüdische Familiengeschichte noch mehr, mehr über die Österreicher, den Nationalsozialismus und Antisemitismus zu erfahren und Liebe zu finden. Das Buch hat mir gut gefallen, die Einträge sind abwechslungsreich und springen von Schafen zu Hüten zu nationalsozialistischer Verfolgung zur österreichischen Hippiezeit zur Oma des Autors zu jiddischen Liedern zu Beziehungsproblemen und wieder zurück zu den Schafen. Besonders die Hypochondrie und große Selbstironie, die in die Erzählung einfließt, ließen mich immer wieder schmunzeln. Trotzdem denke ich, dass man aus dieser außergewöhnlichen Konstellation an mancher Stelle vielleicht noch etwas mehr herausholen hätte können.
Die etwas verrückt anmutende Reise eines jungen New Yorker Journalisten in die Bergwelt Österreichs, um dort mit einem jiddische Lieder singenden Schäfer umher zu ziehen, ihn zu verstehen, sich selbst und die eigene jüdische Familiengeschichte noch mehr, mehr über die Österreicher, den Nationalsozialismus und Antisemitismus zu erfahren und Liebe zu finden. Das Buch hat mir gut gefallen, die Einträge sind abwechslungsreich und springen von Schafen zu Hüten zu nationalsozialistischer Verfolgung zur österreichischen Hippiezeit zur Oma des Autors zu jiddischen Liedern zu Beziehungsproblemen und wieder zurück zu den Schafen. Besonders die Hypochondrie und große Selbstironie, die in die Erzählung einfließt, ließen mich immer wieder schmunzeln. Trotzdem denke ich, dass man aus dieser außergewöhnlichen Konstellation an mancher Stelle vielleicht noch etwas mehr herausholen hätte können.
March 10, 2012
A man goes to a concert to see a Jewish performer. Lo and behold, the man sings in Yiddish and is from Austria. Sam decides to go to Austria and follow the man in his life, and also interview people who lived in Austria during the Holocaust. Did I mention that the singer is actually a wandering shepard? Hans, the shepard, is a bit of a unique individual. He has joined radical groups, has two ongoing relationships and is just a little bit out there. He would have fit in perfectly in Santa Cruz, Ca. Anyways, the book became more about Hans then his ifestyle.
January 30, 2015
A book by a supremely neurotic Jewish writer who pursues and studies an equally neurotic Austrian sheep herder singer. And woven around their encounters is the question of Austrians participation in the WWII Jewish exterminations and the continuing anti semitism of the Austrian population. Interesting potential here but poor SAMs constant concerns regarding his own place in this world and his relation to the people he meets-- read might she sleep with me as one of his primary concerns. Yawn!
September 6, 2015
Author, Sam Apple grows as a person as he travels with Hans, his wife, his mistress and Han's sons, living the way of life of a shepherd. He matures and learns about himself during this experience also. He reminisces about growing up with his grandmother, Bashy. He explores his relationships with women and why they don't workout or last. Like a boy on his Bar Mitzvah journey, Apple returns to New York, a man.
read my review at biteofthebookworm@blogspot.com
read my review at biteofthebookworm@blogspot.com
November 23, 2016
Funny and darker insights into the Austrian way of life. Author, Sam Apple, visits Austria and becomes a 'shepherd in training' with an eccentric Austrian sheep herder named Hans (who has a wife at home and a fellow sheep herding mistress!). Also, the insights into the anti-Semitism still burbling under the surface of Austrian life is revealed by the author with his casual interviews with the Austrian people.
June 30, 2011
Really interesting premise and execution. Apple explores the lingering anti-Semitism in Austria and how that country's failure to acknowledge its role in WW2 has, in some ways, hindered its ability to move forward. The threads of Apple's own Jewish wrestling, the life of the Yiddish-singing shepherd, and the history of anti-Semitism weave together fairly coherently, if somewhat slowly.
April 18, 2013
Well, this is an odd little book! My least fave parts were the author's passages on Nazism, socialism, Stalinism, and all such "isms." (I'm not big on that.) My favorite parts were his descriptions of sheep, his hilariously self-deprecating attempts to herd sheep, to get women to have sex with him, and to get anybody to take him seriously. A funny, quirky book.
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