Marek-Mordechai Greenstein was the kind of man who always knew how to get
along. In Warsaw before World War II, he was known as "Mottel the Brute" on
account of the services he provided to a wealthy Jew. He made a good living and
was successful with women until history forced him into the ghetto and the camps.
Arriving in Israel during the War of Independence, Marek becomes a fighter
and a war hero. But then a man from his past recognizes him: he was a Kapo
in Majdanek and Auschwitz, and badly abused the Jewish prisoners in his care.
Arrested and sentenced to prison, he is later released into a life almost total
seclusion.
The book begins when Marek, now a pensioner, travels abroad for the first
time, to Indonesia. This group vacation gives him a rare opportunity to experience
human contact once again, and he has romantic experiences with Dora and with
Nava, the pretty tour guide.
But his horrific memories do not subside. On the contrary, the exotic scenery
enhances their sharpness. And these flashbacks, intertwined with his holiday
experiences, force Marek and the readers to confront questions of justice,
morality, forgiveness and compassion.
Despite Kapo Marek`s past and his difficult personality, it is
hard not to like him, and this is the author`s greatest
achievement.
Maariv
The moral dilemmas and the inconceivable yet very
realistic depictions remain with the reader long after he
has finished the book.
Channel 7 TV
Shows us the moral split in a man`s heart which threatens
to overpower him.
Haaretz
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