Klaras Nein

by Soazig Aaron

Sie ist Mitte Zwanzig und hat unvorstellbares -Leid erfahren. Klara war 29 Monate lang in Auschwitz. 29 Monate, die sie nie wird vergessen können. Das behutsame Porträt einer Frau, die gegen ihren Willen ins Leben zurückgeholt wird.

Genres: France, Holocaust, Fiction, World War II, Historical, Historical Fiction, War

190 pages, Paperback

First published May 16, 2003

Reviews

[Anne Fraser · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is difficult to rate a book that deals with this kind of subject. (The experience of a woman in a concentration camp and the effect it has on her life) There was a great deal I admired about the writing, but the structure of the book distanced me- sometimes I was confused as to who was who. If something pulls me out of a book, it means that for me, it doesn't work as well.

However, this was a brave and at times absorbing look at concentration camps from a different angle and therefore worth a read

[Pete Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes it seems that any new fiction centred on Auschwitz is required to offer up new horrors previously untouched upon and Soazig Aaron has certainly attempted to go down that route too, somewhat in the tracks of William Styron’s Sophie’s Choice. In this case I’m not sure it was necessary, but as the point of Refusal is to focus on some of the after-effects of the horror, perhaps you can’t really do that without the inclusion of a few graphic scenes as flashbacks. In Refusal much of the evil of Auschwitz happened to Klara Schwarz-Roth, a German-born Parisian Jew, separated from her daughter and sent there where she was forced to learn many of the darker aspects of survival, which also prevent her from properly rejoining the world upon her release. Klara is a fascinating and eloquent character, if also deeply scarred and deeply scary. Even though the story is told through the eyes of her pre-war friend Angélika, Klara takes centre stage throughout. This is one of those books that won’t let go and is, even with Klara’s self-imposed and self-limiting options for her future, defiantly difficult to argue with.

[Elizabeth Best · Rating 4 out of 5]

I struggled to figure out who was who, it usually is a problem when a book is written in diary form. Apart from that issue, the book was cleverly written and heartbreaking. It's always hard to remember that even though this story is fiction, it's not far from the truth at all.

[Vandermolen Aurélie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Journal écrit par Lika, amie et belle sœur de Klara déportée à Auschwitz et qui est de retour à Paris après avoir déambuler à travers l Europe en août 1945.

Lika essaye de raconter de façon fidèle ce que sa belle soeur lui dit (même si je trouve que par moment ce que dit Klara semble incohérent, part dans tous les sens)
Mais également ce que ressent la famille lors du retour à la maison d un déporté qui a subi toutes ses horreurs.

Ce journal montre à quel point il est difficile de parler et d exprimer le calvaire qu on vécu les déportés.
Et que ces personnes reviennent totalement différentes et changées (ce qui est normale)

Un livre touchant et poignant

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has had a number of comparisons to Sophie’s Choice and, although very different and much shorter it’s easy to see why. It does well to remind the reader that the aftermath of tragedy is a lot more complex than we may see from its immediate aftermath and that ‘victims’ do not just revert to the people that they were beforehand.

In the form of a diary, it can also be a bit confusing as the author doesn’t immediately fill in the gaps to explain the characters’ relationships but again I have come to appreciate this kind of narrative form a bit more, as it is more reflective of the partial stories that we have of the people that we know in real life.

[Anthony Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a short (180 pages), imaginative account of how a survivor of Buchenwald tries to come to terms with her trauma, and how her friends in France try to help her and are in turn affected by her. It is a stark narrative, combining the nigh-normality of those who have avoided deportation with the highly charged, fractured, frayed interior life of Klara Schwarz-Roth, the survivor. Klara’s friend, Angélika, is the first person narrator who, one could say, is trying not only to record what she is hearing from Klara as a witness statement, but also to clarify (or Klarify – is there a jeu de mots in Klara’s name?) for herself what it is her friend has been and is going through .

There are certain difficulties associated with who’s who among Angélika’s family and friends, although one could argue that because the narrative is first person, the narrator is not imagining that it will be read by anyone other than herself. Nevertheless, the reader has to work hard to establish how the small social circle of the novel works, or just ignore it. I don’t think it matters too much.

I found this novel difficult, and can’t say I got as far as liking it. It’s subject matter is serious, but although I took it seriously and was impressed not only by the authorial control of both the narrative, the diary/journal form and the psychological intensity of Klara’s reflections on her experience, but also by the vividness of two or three episodes of unexpected violence, I was not engaged by it as a whole. I think this was a result of two things.

The first was a certain intent earnestness in tone. I have noted in the past that some French novels have this effect on me: there’s a demanding intellectual focus that I’m not sympathetic to. I distinguish this from writing that makes intellectual demands on you. I think in the case of the former the writer is asserting that you should attend carefully to what they have to say because they require you to understand that it’s important. The latter – writing that makes demands – has a manner that invites you to give it attention without making you feel put upon.

The second difficulty I had was not unrelated. The second half of the novel in particular contains several long passages in which Klara is expressing her responses to her experience which I found quasi-philosophical and too hard to process, and that kind of writing is, again, not one I find my mind is tuned to.

So: my difficulties, I think, are mine, rather than ones connected with a lack of the author’s skill or intention.

One feature of the text that will remain with me, however, is the emphatic conclusion in which the damage inflicted on Klara by her suffering in Buchenwald is presented, I thought, as irremediable. It was a sobering moment.

[Hester · Rating 4 out of 5]

Middle class Klara has finally returned to Paris after surviving the horror of Oswiecim. Her refusal to speak German , her native language , symptomatic of the story of her survival both in the camp and afterwards in the chaos of Europe . Klara has the ability to refuse , to say a solid No to the world she was thrown into but this stance brings the sacrifice of her compassion and kindness , forcing her to turn into another person entirely .This person knows how to survive and it's not pretty . The novel is in the form of a diary kept by her sister in-law , another survivor but by deliberate concealment and subterfuge , name change and bribery , who has in her care Klara's young daughter . The contrast between the friend's experiences , especially the importance of intimate friendship and family in times of uncertainty, highlights the deep and lasting damage done to Klara that seems to put her beyond help.

It's often hard to grasp who is who, as the diarist is not writing for an audience but as a witness. Over a period of a month the terrible damage done to Klara reveals itself in scraps of conversation . Klara remains resolute that to survive is to move far away and to isolate herself as she understands that she is broken and potentially dangerous .

In a deeply moving final section the word abandonment hit me in the face . Only the survivors of such places know what that does to you and the damage it ignites. To be abandoned . Sadly , in the turmoil of the current refugee crisis , it's a lesson we have quickly forgotten .

[Susu · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Es sei denn, daß die Romanschriftsteller, die Dichter der neuen Generationen den Mut finden, sich an dieses Gebiet der vergangenen Realität heranzuwagen, die unerschöpfliche Wahrheit der Vernichtungserfahrung mit den Mitteln der Fiktion herauszuarbeiten."

In der Form eines Tagebuches wird beschrieben, wie eine Rückkehrerin, Überlebende aus KZ, von einer Freundin erlebt wird - ein Versuch, die innere Wahrheit der Erfahrungen in Worte zu fassen und hörbar zu machen. Intensiv zu lesen

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a difficult book to read, and not just because of the subject matter. It was a bit disjointed and never got into much of a rhythm but in parts it was very poignant. I particularly enjoyed the part towards the end when she returns to her mother's flat. That was very telling. I don't think it wil appeal to all people but I liked it.

[Mariona Folguera Blasco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Malgrat ser una novel·la, coincideixo per complet amb la reflexió que hi fa Semprun al pròleg: l’obra està impregnada d’una versemblança i una cruesa autèntiques. La Klara sobreviu, torna dels camps nazis, i ha de fer front a la difícil situació d’haver de tornar a la vida ‘normal’.

[Vicky Meister · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eine fiktionale Erzählung, die sich aber nach ganz viel Wahrheit anfühlt. Lest es unbedingt, auch wenn die Rohheit der Emotionen an manchen Stellen kaum auszuhalten ist.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Niet mijn resensie maar die van een ander waarop ik niet kan verbeteren
In fictieve dagboekvorm doet Angelika van juli tot half september 1945 verslag van de terugkomst uit Auschwitz in Parijs van haar schoonzus Klara. De verschrikkingen van 3 jaar kampleven hebben Klara lichamelijk en geestelijk gebroken. En al herstelt zij fysiek dankzij de goede zorg van Angelika, haar ziel is onherstelbaar geschonden. Categorisch weigert Klara te vragen naar het lot van haar man en haar 4-jarig dochtertje. Zij emigreert naar de V.S. zonder haar kind, dat zij niet wil belasten met haar oorlogsverleden, nog te hebben gezien. Dit aangrijpende romandebuut van de auteur (1949, Rennes), voormalig boekhandelaarster in Parijs, wordt ingeleid door Jorge Semprun en is bekroond met de Geschwister-Scholl-Preis 2004. In onopgesmukte taal en in een razend knappe vertelstructuur wordt de pijn van overleven niet zo zeer beschreven als wel onuitwisbaar getoond. Daarin is het werk verwant met dat van auteurs als Duras, Kertesz, Konrad, Primo Levi en Minco. Gebonden; kleine druk.

(Biblion recensie, C.H.M. Beijer)

[Leen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ook op de achterflap kan je lezen dat er slechts weinig, of tot dan toe zelfs géén, fictieboeken over de tweede wereldoorlog en zijn concentratiekampen is geschreven. Tot dan toe zouden alle verhalen over die zwarte bladen uit de Europese geschiedenis biografisch, of alleszins gebaseerd op waargebeurde feiten zijn. Met dit boek is het niet zo: de schrijfster heeft alles uit haar duim gezogen. Toch lijken de personages en de gebeurtenissen realistisch: Klara die haar dochter niet wil terugzien omdat ze haar niet alle liefde zou kunnen geven die ze verdient, omdat ze die liefde in het kamp is kwijtgeraakt; Angelika en de anderen die de oorlog nog vrij goed zijn kunnen doorkomen dankzij invloedrijke connecties; Klara die haar buren afmaakt omdat zij zonder scrupules het appartement van haar dode ouders hebben ingepikt… Het was een bizar boek, ingewikkeld met de verschillende namen van de personages die Angelika niet bepaald aan de lezer voorstelt, waardoor je zelf maar moet uitzoeken wie-nu-ook-weeral-wie-is, maar ontroerend mooi.

[The Book · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very subtle (which I don't usually relish) but so thought-provoking. It made me comtemplate; what do we say yes to in life when we should say no, and where do we compromise when we don't have to? (Klara's revelations about Ulli in particular added new dimensions to this subject; very powerful). And, as ever with Holocaust fiction, how can people surrender their compassion and responsibility so readily and allow such awful treatment of other people?

[Zazou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Een hartverscheurend boekje over Klara, die het concentratiekamp heeft overleefd en probeert om in de "gewone" wereld een nieuw bestaan op te bouwen.
Haar verhalen worden opgetekend door haar schoonzusje Lika.

Geen vijf sterren, omdat er veel namen in voorkomen die de lezer zelf maar moet zien te plaatsen en dat nam voor mij toch wel iets van de concentratie weg om dit boek te kunnen lezen.

[Danny Fahey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this short, brutal tale of a woman who survived Auschwitz.

[Avi B · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

It's a difficult book to rate, it was really harrowing in places and made me feel quite emotional. Books on this subject are never easy and this was no exception.

[Ronel Mick · Rating 3 out of 5]

i like the way the book was written, just like our thoughts when we try to remember all that was said.