DEATH OF THE ADVERSARY by Hans Keilson (fic)

Hans Keilson was born in 1909 and died at age 101 in Amsterdam where he lived and worked.  He is considered by many to be one of the world's greatest writers.  By the nature of its subject matter, his books are dark and not easily absorbed.  Keilson's parents died in Auschwitz, and he managed to escape to Holland in 1936 where he joined the underground. After he emigrated, he continued his study of medicine and pioneered the use of psychoanalysis in treating war trauma in children.

 A few years back I read his "Comedy in Minor Key" which equally affected me.  Keilson grew up with the rise of National Socialism in Germany, and this book is semi-autobiographical.  He deals with the dangers and finality of National Socialism in a very different manner than most books which cover this subject.
"Death of the Adversary" was not published in America until 1962 and was recently reissued. In this book, he delves deeply into the mind and motives of a man he calls his "enemy" and "B" but he never mentions him by name.  Eventually the reader realizes he is referring to Hitler. He also never mentions the words Nazi and Jewish. He fights the battle with his enemy in the secret recesses of his mind. He illustrates a mutual deadly attraction the main character has with his enemy by incorporating into the story a Russian fable of the strange attraction between deer and the wolves which hunt them.  As for his own experience he says, "I could not give him up;  I needed him. His existence meant my destruction in the near future, that much was certain.  But his sudden death, or some other event that would have robbed me of his threatening presence, would equally have destroyed me.  Between us two, ties and obligations had come into being, perceptible only to those whose share in the things of this world lies in suffering. A strange and questionable share, perhaps; but who can break the community that secretly establishes itself between the persecutors and their victims?"

Self-deception is the theme of the book, and the contradictory thoughts brought on by denial. Why do people stay in dangerous situations when they know the inevitability of the ending that awaits them? At another point in the novel, the main character states, "Self-deception is the pleasantest form of lying.  It is a panacea for all personal ills and injuries, it can heal even metaphysical wounds."

"Death of the Adversary" is an exceptional work by a great writer.  Because of its dark subject-matter and its delving into the deepest recesses of the main character's mind, it is a book that will not interest a number of readers.  If you are fascinated by the workings of the psyche, it most likely will be of value to you.