The Writer
Author: J. C. Maetis
Genre: Historical Fiction
Start the Press for The Writer
I was approached by the author of this book: J. C. Maetis to write a book review, to generate some interest in the book and hopefully it gets published. After reading the book, I really hope that my review will encourage the publishers. There are a lot of books around 1938, it is a dark time in history and there are many stories that arise from that era. We read romance in the bleakest time in Germany/ Austria, or the heart wrenching tragedy befalling families. But The Writer is unique in a way that it has everything, and gives them an equal weight.
The Story
The book is in first person point of view, and you will have the view of a few men. It starts with a prologue, set in 1942 in Lublin. You don’t really know who he is, except that he’s being hauled into jail with the other Jews. You can hear the desperation in his thoughts, trying to survive this ordeal, while knowing well that odds are not very good. Then the story moves back in time to 1938, where unrest is brewing.
Mathia Kraemer is the first man you encounter in a peaceful day, sitting with his friend Johannes Namal in a cafe. It was the start of change, when a SS officer appears and demands that Jews show themselves. As the story progresses, I learn that there are 3 men, protagonists of the story. The Writer shifts mainly between the three, they are: a Jew, a half- Jew and an Austrian. The format of the story works well for the book. It is easier to get a better view with the struggles of three different perspectives instead of one. This is one of the very few that features point of views of three different characters in the divisive era.
The constant threat of death looms, yet the writers continue to write. Like the synopsis in the book, one indeed has to write if he wants to stay alive. The other tries to help save lives by writing. The whole book shows how words can deliver more than an escape. In times like 1942, it can deliver hope as well as a stab to the back.
Verdict
If there is a petition to urge the publishers to sign a book, I will sign for The Writer without a doubt. There can never be enough stories about the Holocaust, because it has to remind future generations the atrocity done. We are at risk of doing it again, and hence this book will remind everyone that all humans have a basic right. We all need to remember that just because we are different does not mean we can discriminate others.
Update on The Writer
The author will be publishing this work in Feb 2023 under the name The Vienna Writers Circle. It is exciting for everyone who is keen on reading the book, hopefully I will have a link soon.
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