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Josef Jaeger
Josef Jaeger turns thirteen when Adolf Hitler is appointed Germany's new Chancellor. When his mother dies, Josef is sent to Munich to live with his uncle, Ernst Roehm, the openly-homosexual chief of the Nazi brown shirts. Josef thinks he's found a father-figure in his uncle and a mentor in his uncle's lover, streetwise Rudy, and when Roehm's political connections land Josef a role in a propaganda movie, Josef's sure he's found the life he's always wanted. But while living in Berlin during the film's production, Josef falls in love with a Jewish boy, David, and Josef begins questioning his uncle's beliefs. Complications arise when an old friend of his mother's tells Josef that his mother was secretly murdered by the SS due to her political beliefs, possibly on Roehm's order. Josef confides in his Hitler Youth leader, Max Klieg. Klieg admits he knows a few things, but he won't share them with Josef till the boy proves himself worthy of a confidence. Conflicting beliefs war within Josef until he must decide where his true loyalties lie, and what he really believes in.
396 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 2009
83 people want to read
About the author
Jere' M. Fishback
11 books46 followersJere' M. Fishback is a former journalist and trial lawyer. He writes novels, novellas, and short fiction. He has also written a memoir, "Hydrangeas" appearing in the "Homegrown in Florida" anthology published by University Press of Florida in 2012.
Jere's novel "Josef Jaeger" won first place in the Young Adult category in the 2010 international Rainbow Award competition. And Jere's novel "Tyler Buckspan" took second place in the YA category in the 2013 Rainbow Awards.
In 2014, "Tyler Buckspan" was one of twenty novels chosen by the American Library Association's Rainbow Project as "recommended reading" for teenage LGBTQ readers. "Tyler Buckspan" is now on the shelf at many public libraries through the U.S. and Canada.
Jere's anthology, "Troubling Tales from Florida", is a collection of dark tales Jere' penned over the course of eight years. Included is "Crawford Creek", which won the 2007 "best of conference" award for short stories at the Writers in Paradise conference at Eckerd College.
In December 2014 Prizm Books released Jere's Edgy Young Adult novel, "Becoming Andy Hunsinger", available in both digital and print versions, set in the mid-1970s when Anita Bryant's homophobic "Save Our Children" campaign raged in Florida.
In May 2016, Dark Hollows Press released Jere's novel, "The House on Fremont Drive" which deals with multiple issues: coming of age, homosexuality, child abuse, mysticism, and racism. "The House on Fremont Drive was a finalist in the 2016 Rainbow Awards competition in the General Fiction category.
And in September 2016, Createspace has published Jere's novel, "Dodging a Pearl", a story of addiction and downfall, redemption and love, high-stakes litigation and justice for the wronged.
Jere' lives on a barrier island west of his birthplace, St. Petersburg, FL.
Jere's novel "Josef Jaeger" won first place in the Young Adult category in the 2010 international Rainbow Award competition. And Jere's novel "Tyler Buckspan" took second place in the YA category in the 2013 Rainbow Awards.
In 2014, "Tyler Buckspan" was one of twenty novels chosen by the American Library Association's Rainbow Project as "recommended reading" for teenage LGBTQ readers. "Tyler Buckspan" is now on the shelf at many public libraries through the U.S. and Canada.
Jere's anthology, "Troubling Tales from Florida", is a collection of dark tales Jere' penned over the course of eight years. Included is "Crawford Creek", which won the 2007 "best of conference" award for short stories at the Writers in Paradise conference at Eckerd College.
In December 2014 Prizm Books released Jere's Edgy Young Adult novel, "Becoming Andy Hunsinger", available in both digital and print versions, set in the mid-1970s when Anita Bryant's homophobic "Save Our Children" campaign raged in Florida.
In May 2016, Dark Hollows Press released Jere's novel, "The House on Fremont Drive" which deals with multiple issues: coming of age, homosexuality, child abuse, mysticism, and racism. "The House on Fremont Drive was a finalist in the 2016 Rainbow Awards competition in the General Fiction category.
And in September 2016, Createspace has published Jere's novel, "Dodging a Pearl", a story of addiction and downfall, redemption and love, high-stakes litigation and justice for the wronged.
Jere' lives on a barrier island west of his birthplace, St. Petersburg, FL.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 24, 2017
I think everyone should read this book. A young boy learns the horrors of Nazi Germany firsthand. A powerful read.
December 14, 2022
Informative fun with a few flaws
The eponymous narrator of this coming-of-age story is a fictitious thirteen-year-old nephew of Ernst Roehm, leader of the SA in the newly-born Third Reich, with whom the boy goes to live in Munich following the sudden death of his mother. That the background has been thoroughly-researched is evident from the extraordinary attention to details of the setting. The historical characters mentioned are also convincingly portrayed, which is a fascinating treat in view of the tiresome popular tendency to depict the National Socialist leaders, alone amongst humanity, as absurdly devoid of redeeming features. In the case of Roehm, however, the humanisation may be overdone; he is depicted as more skeptical of anti-semitism and book-burning than the known facts warrant, and there is little sense of his pronouncedly proletarian brutishness.
However, the historically least realistic element of the story is the indifference of almost all the characters to homosexuality. For example, Roehm’s housekeeper, Frau Dexler, a simple Bavarian widow, laughingly tells young Josef the first day they meet that Roehm’s eighteen-year-old chauffeur Rudy is also his lover, “no business of ours, eh?” and expresses surprise at his confusion. Hitler, who in reality called Roehm’s homosexuality “an illness [which] does not interest me as long as he maintains the necessary discretion” (a discretion which apparently required Roehm in his last years to resort to procured youths rather than lovers), is here depicted as cheerfully acknowledging Rudy and letting him join them on his platform at the Nuremberg rally.
The book is most moving and psychologically convincing as a tale of a pubescent boy’s sexual awakening. Exceptionally beautiful and with a natural talent for acting, Josef is brought to Berlin to play the leading role in Quex, a genuinely-made propaganda film about a Hitler Youth. There he meets a slightly older Jewish boy called David, with whom he falls in love, forcing him to lead a rivetingly tense double-life. Despite this, while back in Berlin he is easily seduced by his twenty-year-old Hitler Youth leader Max, an SS officer who enjoys “the company of boys your age”, and then agrees to regular sessions of full sex with him over four months in return for favours, fun, mentorship, and something else. This is to be understood in the light of his long quest for bonding with an older male father-substitute, and indeed the novel is “dedicated to every boy who grows up without his father in his life”.
So far so good, but then the author tries too hard for dramatic effect and loses sight of his hero’s credible emotional state. Though by now pretty sophisticated for his age, Josef is deceived by Max, whom he does not really love and has no reason to trust, into an unbelievably swift and ill-considered volte-face respecting his uncle. Max too becomes implausible in his combination of ruthless deceit and unnecessary candour. Finally, Josef’s emotional response when the horrific truth emerges at the very end is so lame as to undermine what should have been a very powerful climax.
Interesting and enjoyable, but unevenly told in the latter half.
Edmund Marlowe, author of Alexander's Choice, the story of another boy’s sexual awakening, set at Eton College, https://www.amazon.com/dp/191457107X
The eponymous narrator of this coming-of-age story is a fictitious thirteen-year-old nephew of Ernst Roehm, leader of the SA in the newly-born Third Reich, with whom the boy goes to live in Munich following the sudden death of his mother. That the background has been thoroughly-researched is evident from the extraordinary attention to details of the setting. The historical characters mentioned are also convincingly portrayed, which is a fascinating treat in view of the tiresome popular tendency to depict the National Socialist leaders, alone amongst humanity, as absurdly devoid of redeeming features. In the case of Roehm, however, the humanisation may be overdone; he is depicted as more skeptical of anti-semitism and book-burning than the known facts warrant, and there is little sense of his pronouncedly proletarian brutishness.
However, the historically least realistic element of the story is the indifference of almost all the characters to homosexuality. For example, Roehm’s housekeeper, Frau Dexler, a simple Bavarian widow, laughingly tells young Josef the first day they meet that Roehm’s eighteen-year-old chauffeur Rudy is also his lover, “no business of ours, eh?” and expresses surprise at his confusion. Hitler, who in reality called Roehm’s homosexuality “an illness [which] does not interest me as long as he maintains the necessary discretion” (a discretion which apparently required Roehm in his last years to resort to procured youths rather than lovers), is here depicted as cheerfully acknowledging Rudy and letting him join them on his platform at the Nuremberg rally.
The book is most moving and psychologically convincing as a tale of a pubescent boy’s sexual awakening. Exceptionally beautiful and with a natural talent for acting, Josef is brought to Berlin to play the leading role in Quex, a genuinely-made propaganda film about a Hitler Youth. There he meets a slightly older Jewish boy called David, with whom he falls in love, forcing him to lead a rivetingly tense double-life. Despite this, while back in Berlin he is easily seduced by his twenty-year-old Hitler Youth leader Max, an SS officer who enjoys “the company of boys your age”, and then agrees to regular sessions of full sex with him over four months in return for favours, fun, mentorship, and something else. This is to be understood in the light of his long quest for bonding with an older male father-substitute, and indeed the novel is “dedicated to every boy who grows up without his father in his life”.
So far so good, but then the author tries too hard for dramatic effect and loses sight of his hero’s credible emotional state. Though by now pretty sophisticated for his age, Josef is deceived by Max, whom he does not really love and has no reason to trust, into an unbelievably swift and ill-considered volte-face respecting his uncle. Max too becomes implausible in his combination of ruthless deceit and unnecessary candour. Finally, Josef’s emotional response when the horrific truth emerges at the very end is so lame as to undermine what should have been a very powerful climax.
Interesting and enjoyable, but unevenly told in the latter half.
Edmund Marlowe, author of Alexander's Choice, the story of another boy’s sexual awakening, set at Eton College, https://www.amazon.com/dp/191457107X
July 5, 2009
This is a coming-of-age story about a young teenager, Josef, growing up in Germany on the cusp of World War II. After his mother's death, he moves in with his uncle, Ernst Roehm, and Roehm's lover. With Roehm's approval, Josef travels to Berlin to shoot a Nazi propaganda film and while there meets David, the son of a Jewish doctor. A large part of the story deals with Josef's sexual awakening, and potential readers should be aware that while the scenes aren't descriptive, sex does play a very important role in the book.
I found Josef's character to be likable, though at times his lack of self-restraint bothered me. Then again, with his being only thirteen, his sexual actions with different characters were very believable, even if I personally did not condone them. I could understand his motivations, which the author made very clear, and one can see Josef's growth as the story progresses. In the beginning of the story, he speaks of how he isn't one of the Confident Boys at his school, those popular kids whose athletic prowess and swaggering confidence makes them stand out among their peers, but by the end of the book, Josef has grown into a Confident Boy of his own, with his own feelings and beliefs, and a promising future ahead.
The book is peopled with a variety of interesting characters, from Josef's surrogate family to the film's cast with whom he works. One person I wanted to like and didn't was Rudy, Roehm's young lover. I liked him at first, but as the story went on, I didn't much care for his duplicity in character. The more Josef (and thus, the reader) learned about Rudy, the less I liked him. I felt he was an opportunistic jerk who was true only to himself, and his lack of commitment to anyone else bothered me greatly. I wanted Roehm to have invested in a more sincere lover, not one whose intentions changed with the wind. By the end of the story, I felt Rudy deserved what happened to him.
Of all the characters in the book, I was most surprised that my favorite turned out to be Ernst Roehm. It's very difficult to write a fictionalized account of a historical figure, particularly one readers are predisposed not to like, given his notoriety, but Fishback did an excellent job of humanizing Roehm for me. I found myself saddened by his circumstances and, given the documented outcome of the Nazi regime, I hadn't thought it possible to make me sympathize with one of the movement's famous leaders. While I would've liked a different ending for Roehm, his downfall was imminent and well conceived within the circumstances of the story.
The book's ending seemed a little abrupt, but upon further reflection I found it believable given the fact that the main character was a young boy uninterested in politics. The sudden turn of events mirrors the confusion and fear many Germans must have felt during that volatile period in their history. I cheered Josef on at the end, knowing his future lay with the boy he loved.
The accuracy of detail brings 1933 Germany alive for the reader, and the motley crew of characters add human faces to the names we've read about in our history books. Those interested in historical fiction, particularly young adult stories or romances, will thoroughly enjoy this book as much as I did.
I found Josef's character to be likable, though at times his lack of self-restraint bothered me. Then again, with his being only thirteen, his sexual actions with different characters were very believable, even if I personally did not condone them. I could understand his motivations, which the author made very clear, and one can see Josef's growth as the story progresses. In the beginning of the story, he speaks of how he isn't one of the Confident Boys at his school, those popular kids whose athletic prowess and swaggering confidence makes them stand out among their peers, but by the end of the book, Josef has grown into a Confident Boy of his own, with his own feelings and beliefs, and a promising future ahead.
The book is peopled with a variety of interesting characters, from Josef's surrogate family to the film's cast with whom he works. One person I wanted to like and didn't was Rudy, Roehm's young lover. I liked him at first, but as the story went on, I didn't much care for his duplicity in character. The more Josef (and thus, the reader) learned about Rudy, the less I liked him. I felt he was an opportunistic jerk who was true only to himself, and his lack of commitment to anyone else bothered me greatly. I wanted Roehm to have invested in a more sincere lover, not one whose intentions changed with the wind. By the end of the story, I felt Rudy deserved what happened to him.
Of all the characters in the book, I was most surprised that my favorite turned out to be Ernst Roehm. It's very difficult to write a fictionalized account of a historical figure, particularly one readers are predisposed not to like, given his notoriety, but Fishback did an excellent job of humanizing Roehm for me. I found myself saddened by his circumstances and, given the documented outcome of the Nazi regime, I hadn't thought it possible to make me sympathize with one of the movement's famous leaders. While I would've liked a different ending for Roehm, his downfall was imminent and well conceived within the circumstances of the story.
The book's ending seemed a little abrupt, but upon further reflection I found it believable given the fact that the main character was a young boy uninterested in politics. The sudden turn of events mirrors the confusion and fear many Germans must have felt during that volatile period in their history. I cheered Josef on at the end, knowing his future lay with the boy he loved.
The accuracy of detail brings 1933 Germany alive for the reader, and the motley crew of characters add human faces to the names we've read about in our history books. Those interested in historical fiction, particularly young adult stories or romances, will thoroughly enjoy this book as much as I did.
October 25, 2015
2009 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention (5* from at least 1 judge)
September 19, 2020
If ever a book cried out for a sequel, it's this one.
April 1, 2020
I picked this up in the "fictionwise" ebook shop when I was reading "The Book Thief". It was listed under "young adult" so I thought I was safe with this book, but young adult is definitely the wrong listing for this book. This is very much an adult work.
Josef Jaeger lives with his mother in Bavaria, but when she dies he is shipped off to his notorious uncle, Ernst Roehm. He finds himself close to the nazi hierarchy, and he is put forward for a role in a forthcoming movie, "Quex" by Joseph Goebels. One thing leads to another and he finds he is a homosexual like his uncle and in love with a Jewish boy!
On the plus side, this book has some very good research behind it. The movie in question actually exists (you can see clips on youtube), and the writer has tried hard to set the story faithfully within the historical circumstances of the time. When there is talk of politics, the issues discussed are the issues of that time in 1933. The writing is also good.
But I did not like this book. For one thing, I think the writer fails to appreciate how people actually felt about politics at that time. He makes Hitler so Charismatic that Josef practically swoons in his presence and that, I suppose, is meant to show us how charismatic a leader Hitler was - and yet we don't see any of the tensions and deep feeling that Hitler actually played off. Instead all characters just seem to express a lack of interest in politics, and in that way their hands are washed and their characters left unsullied. These are not the gritty realistic people of "The Book Thief". These are cardboard cut out people with no complicity in the rising tide of nazi-ism.
My next problem is the sexual subject matter. Thinking this was a young adult book, I was rather shocked at the very explicit and repeated sexual references. But had the book been categorised correctly as adult fiction, maybe I could have been less surprised. Nevertheless Josef Jaeger just did not act like a 13 year old boy. Rather he acted in the way that 30 something men wish they acted as a boy I think. I will not mention my explicit disagreement here because it all feels rather sordid, but it was deeply un-natural. Moreso was the way that everyone - including devout Jewish parents of another boy - could be so accepting of the homosexuality. The only person to have any objection is the nasty SS man at the end - and he is a cardboard cut-out hate figure. Again, the whole thing was deeply unnatural, and not a little disturbing.
I really cannot recommend this book at all. It is not the best treatment of the period in question. It is not a book that questions attitudes or engenders tolerance. It may be enjoyed by people who like to read about faux 13 year old sexual adventures, but for me it is not a book I am proud to have read.
Josef Jaeger lives with his mother in Bavaria, but when she dies he is shipped off to his notorious uncle, Ernst Roehm. He finds himself close to the nazi hierarchy, and he is put forward for a role in a forthcoming movie, "Quex" by Joseph Goebels. One thing leads to another and he finds he is a homosexual like his uncle and in love with a Jewish boy!
On the plus side, this book has some very good research behind it. The movie in question actually exists (you can see clips on youtube), and the writer has tried hard to set the story faithfully within the historical circumstances of the time. When there is talk of politics, the issues discussed are the issues of that time in 1933. The writing is also good.
But I did not like this book. For one thing, I think the writer fails to appreciate how people actually felt about politics at that time. He makes Hitler so Charismatic that Josef practically swoons in his presence and that, I suppose, is meant to show us how charismatic a leader Hitler was - and yet we don't see any of the tensions and deep feeling that Hitler actually played off. Instead all characters just seem to express a lack of interest in politics, and in that way their hands are washed and their characters left unsullied. These are not the gritty realistic people of "The Book Thief". These are cardboard cut out people with no complicity in the rising tide of nazi-ism.
My next problem is the sexual subject matter. Thinking this was a young adult book, I was rather shocked at the very explicit and repeated sexual references. But had the book been categorised correctly as adult fiction, maybe I could have been less surprised. Nevertheless Josef Jaeger just did not act like a 13 year old boy. Rather he acted in the way that 30 something men wish they acted as a boy I think. I will not mention my explicit disagreement here because it all feels rather sordid, but it was deeply un-natural. Moreso was the way that everyone - including devout Jewish parents of another boy - could be so accepting of the homosexuality. The only person to have any objection is the nasty SS man at the end - and he is a cardboard cut-out hate figure. Again, the whole thing was deeply unnatural, and not a little disturbing.
I really cannot recommend this book at all. It is not the best treatment of the period in question. It is not a book that questions attitudes or engenders tolerance. It may be enjoyed by people who like to read about faux 13 year old sexual adventures, but for me it is not a book I am proud to have read.
August 7, 2023
Is this a plot hole ?
I love the book (except for its tedious descriptions a critic called information dumps), but a warning to all (and not a spoiler) : the propaganda movie Hitlerjunge Quex is real and the novel (narrated by the main protagonist) suggests that the movie is directed and acted by professionals, and that the boy's performance is praised by his colleagues. NOT ! You can find the movie online : it is absolutely awful and the kid is even worse. You've been warned ;)
I love the book (except for its tedious descriptions a critic called information dumps), but a warning to all (and not a spoiler) : the propaganda movie Hitlerjunge Quex is real and the novel (narrated by the main protagonist) suggests that the movie is directed and acted by professionals, and that the boy's performance is praised by his colleagues. NOT ! You can find the movie online : it is absolutely awful and the kid is even worse. You've been warned ;)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 22, 2014
This was a much better book than I was expecting. So good in fact that I read it right the way through in one sitting.
A novel that deals with the early days of the Nazi's rise to power, has been done so many times before, but this one is different on so many levels. All the major Nazi leaders of the time appear at one point or another, with one taking a major role. Yet they are fully fleshed out, but without shying away from the attitudes and actions that we are all familiar with.
Everything is told from the point of view of the title character who moves from a more liberal part of Germany into the heart of the emerging Nazi power base at the home of his Uncle who also happens to be the feared leader of the Nazi's thugs, the SA.
Initially enjoying his new found lifestyle, Josef, ends up the star of a major movie that is little more than propaganda for the Nazi's ongoing battle against the communists. However it is during filming that he falls in live with another boy, who happens to be Jewish.
At the same times he hears news that his mother's death - the reason he moved in with his Uncle - may not have been from natural causes and from there, the story starts to take several different turns at once as Josef starts to question his Uncle's motives, as well as the doctrine he has been promoting. Ironically at the same time as his Uncle's position in the party itself is also been drawn into question with the book ending at "The Night of the Long Knives".
The historic period is very well drawn, without the resorting to needless detail or endless pages of description to slow the stories progress down. Characters are very well drawn, with the strange sensation that the reader could almost find themselves liking some of the Nazis, even with fore knowledge of what they were really like.
A powerful and captivating book, that doesn't pull any punches, or shield the reader from the reality, while containing a vivid and compelling story line.
A novel that deals with the early days of the Nazi's rise to power, has been done so many times before, but this one is different on so many levels. All the major Nazi leaders of the time appear at one point or another, with one taking a major role. Yet they are fully fleshed out, but without shying away from the attitudes and actions that we are all familiar with.
Everything is told from the point of view of the title character who moves from a more liberal part of Germany into the heart of the emerging Nazi power base at the home of his Uncle who also happens to be the feared leader of the Nazi's thugs, the SA.
Initially enjoying his new found lifestyle, Josef, ends up the star of a major movie that is little more than propaganda for the Nazi's ongoing battle against the communists. However it is during filming that he falls in live with another boy, who happens to be Jewish.
At the same times he hears news that his mother's death - the reason he moved in with his Uncle - may not have been from natural causes and from there, the story starts to take several different turns at once as Josef starts to question his Uncle's motives, as well as the doctrine he has been promoting. Ironically at the same time as his Uncle's position in the party itself is also been drawn into question with the book ending at "The Night of the Long Knives".
The historic period is very well drawn, without the resorting to needless detail or endless pages of description to slow the stories progress down. Characters are very well drawn, with the strange sensation that the reader could almost find themselves liking some of the Nazis, even with fore knowledge of what they were really like.
A powerful and captivating book, that doesn't pull any punches, or shield the reader from the reality, while containing a vivid and compelling story line.
August 7, 2014
I love how this book can be totally delightful at times and utterly depressing at others. It really played with my emotions and I was blown away by the ending. This is a great mix of coming-of-age themes and Hitler and Germany in the 1930s. And even I don't know too much about that part of history before the WWII, I still enjoyed the hell of the book and finished it in one single day.
March 28, 2010
This was an interesting story about homosexuality in the Weimar Republic during Hitler's rise to power. This is marketed as young adult literature and has the potential to have an impact on LGBT literature. I wanted to like this one more than I did; it reads a lot like The Perks of Being a Wallflower, in which everything but the kitchen sink gets thrown into the mix and undermines the impact of the story. In this case the love story was unrealistic and far too tailored for a follow-up in a sequel that is no doubt in the works. I'm just not sure that a teenager could keep a secret from his Jewish boyfriend that he is the star of Hitler-approved propaganda films.
April 15, 2011
This is an interesting book that tackles two seemingly opposite topics--homosexuality and nazism. Josef is a young boy who doesn't realize that Nazism will become the destructive force that it ultimately does. He lives with his uncle, an openly gay leader of the Nazi brownshirts. While living with his uncle in Berlin, Josef himself falls in love with a Jewish boy named David. Because of his feelings for David he begins to question his uncle's beliefs.
This is a fascinating novel that deals with so many issues at once. I'd recommend it as a great independent reading book for a mature high school student.
This is a fascinating novel that deals with so many issues at once. I'd recommend it as a great independent reading book for a mature high school student.
August 26, 2014
I feel so ambivalent about this book. I was totally immersed in it while I was reading, but there were so many parts that made me feel uncomfortable and rattled -- and not necessarily in a good way.
I'm still gathering my thoughts on this, but I enjoyed the experience of reading it so much that I thought it deserved 4 stars.
I'm still gathering my thoughts on this, but I enjoyed the experience of reading it so much that I thought it deserved 4 stars.
September 20, 2009
A compelling coming-of-age story. Definitely not a cliched story of teenage love, and not just because the main character is gay. The distance in the narration took a little getting used to, and the ending was more open-ended than I would have liked, but I really enjoyed this book.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews