Bigsby explores the blurred line between memory and the literature of the Holocaust terrain in what begins as an elegy to W. G. Sebald (Austerlitz, The Emigrants), whose works walk the same line between fact and fiction. Bigsby devotes a chapter apiece to a seemingly diverse group of writers on Holocaust themes, including Anne Frank, Primo Levi, Arthur Miller, Tadeusz Borowski, and Elie Weisel. Along the way, Bigsby explores such vital questions as whose memories are to be given over for posterity; what defines a “true” memory; who retains the right to pass on his or her memories; and whether the integrity of any memory, especially of such an unforgettable, indescribable set of experiences such as the Holocaust, can be truly preserved as it is recorded. Indeed, Bigsby’s chapter on Anne Frank’s diary and the ramifications of its various iterations and interpretations in book, stage, and film is worth the purchase of this book alone.
Although a familiarity with some of the writers described in Bigsby’s work will help the reader, Bigsby’s own intimate knowledge of the texts he describes makes them accessible even to the novice. The book is not light reading, but extremely valuable to those who value Jewish history and its preservation.
