Jonathan Littell

The Kindly Ones Jonathan Littell

Maximilien Aue, who would rather have studied literature than the law, graduates as a doctor of jurisprudence in Berlin just after the Nazis come to power in Germany. He joins the SS and begins a new life as a Nazi official. Through him, we experience the horrors of the Second World War as he is present at the Battle of Stalingrad, Auschwitz, and Cracow. He visits occupied Paris and lives through the chaos of the final days of the Nazi regime in Berlin. Through this dark and disturbing character, The Kindly Ones offers a unique experience of this tumultuous, tormented period of history, narrated from the point of view of the executioner rather than the victim.