What if instead of creating Israel, a Jewish state was formed in part of Germany for European Jews? The main character is an archivist/historian who works on documentary films in the imaginary country. ( )

The idea behind this novel sounded promising: the creation of the Jewish State in Europe rather than where it was actually done. I slogged through slightly more than 50 pages and then employed the Nancy Pearl Rule of 50 and gave up. Life is too short to waste my time reading bad books. I found the writing inaccessible and incomprehensible. I consider myself to be an intelligent person, but this book requires someone of far greater intellect than myself to understand and enjoy it. ( )

Simone Zelitch’s new book, Judenstaat: A Novel (Tor Books, $25.99), takes the Philip K. Dick route: She imagines that, to punish the Nazis, a Jewish nation was created—but in Saxony instead of the Middle East. Like The Man in the High Castle, there’s a search for the truth; young librarian Judit Klemmer, who is in charge of making a documentary for the country’s 40th anniversary. But her research leads her into a morass of conflict, as anti-Semites in neighboring Germany, Czechoslovakia and Poland vie with native Saxons who want their land back and radical “black-hat” fundamentalist Jews to see who can tear the country apart the fastest. That’s not to mention the suspicious death of Judit’s husband, adding a mystery on top of mysteries. A fascinating look at what never was, Judenstaat tells us a great deal about human nature and the persistence of bigotry.

Reviewed for the Sacramento News & Review, 7 July 2016: https://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/same-as-it-never-was/content?oid=21399965 ( )