The Conversion, by Aharon Appelfeld (1998)
In the years before World War II, Karl Hübner was living in a small town in Austria. He worked in the municipal office, but, because he was a Jew, knew that he wouldn’t be able to rise any higher in his job. He, thus, converted to Christianity solely to advance his career. Prior to his decision to convert, he had visions of his mother telling him that it would be okay to convert for job advancement. Most of his close classmates from school had already converted, thus he was simply taking steps to conform to the norms of his town and for social acceptance.
Karl, now a Christian, does, indeed get the promotion. He is surprised to learn, however, that the promotion did not bring him the happiness that he envisioned. Karl and his school friends learn that conversion to Christianity does not social acceptance in a country that fears Jews. They are often reminded that the conversion did not truly make them non-Jews. Although Karl was brought up in a secular Jewish home, he did absorb its values. He has a strong moral code and stands up for injustice. When he sees Jews being mocked and abused, he calls out the abusers.
Karl lives with his housekeeper, Gloria. It was not clear to me whether or not Gloria was Jewish, but she maintains the Jewish rituals and traditions that she learned from Karl’s mother. She observes the High Holidays each year, which at first surprised the newly converted Karl.
Spoiler alert: As antisemitism increases in their Austrian town, Karl decides to return to the home of his parents. He resigned his job, sold his house and traveled to Rosow. Sadly, antisemitism is everywhere. Although Karl and Gloria were initially very happy in their new location, the local peasants ultimately burn down their house with them in it.
Read: June 6, 2021 (First Read: March 16, 2008)
3 Stars
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