727. Schindler's Ark

Schindler's Ark
Thomas Keneally
1982
Around 380 pages

Crossover episode! Schindler's Ark's movie adaptation is naturally on the 1001 movie list. As usual, the book is much better than the film, and avoids some of the more heavy-handed symbolism (ahem, above).

This novel tells the story of Oskar Schindler, self-made entrepreneur who finds himself saving Polish Jews from Nazis. Basically he is Batman. Schindler is presented as a flawed womanizer with a drinking problem. Keneally also tells the story of the forced labor camp outside town, Płaszów, and of Amon Göth, Płaszów's commandant.

The only way to not drown in a sea of misery that we live in a world capable of committing the Holocaust, is to focus on stories like Oskar Schindler. He's not a Mr. Rogers-type, and Keneally thankfully does not try to paint him that way. But what a soul. I'm not surprised he did well with the ladies.

Keneally is a great storyteller and weaves fiction and non fiction well.  Looking forward to more non fiction novels!

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Won the Booker Prize.

A carbon copy of Schindler's original 13-page list, initially thought to be lost, was discovered in 2009 in a library in Sydney, Australia.

UP NEXT: A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro