Max

Reviewed by: Sheila Dube - Springvale Public Library, Springvale, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: August 3, 2017

Review

The novel was originally published in French. This translation is by Penny Hueston. This is historical fiction based on the little known Lebensborn Project that the Hitler regime orchestrated as a way to breed an army of perfect Aryan children. Women with Aryan suggested body features were mated, consensual and non-consensual, with SS soldiers to create a vibrant, young army of young Nazis children. Max, the narrator, is born into this project. As a toddler, he assists in the befriending and kidnapping of children who are then forced to attend a school to make them into perfect German children. When his life intersects with Lukas, a Jew who infiltrates the school and is able to take some physical revenge, Max is challenged to find a slightly more humane look at the real abuse and devastation that result from the war. The standout feature and possible issue of controversy is the clearly mapped thinking of the Nazi regime and the obsessively indoctrinated narrator to the white supremacist, anti-semantic Aryan way of thinking. Although Max is first a fetus and then a toddler, his narration pans as an adult voice with its purpose to only please the Fuhrer. He discourses in a mature, analytical way on sex, breastfeeding, body eliminations, rape, and executions as each subject is twisted and glorified into the propaganda line the children are being taught. Readers will need to patiently read through the obsessive, horrific Nazi propaganda and sexual fixations of the fetus-to-toddler Max, as well as, the minute details of the physical and psychological abuse inflicted on prisoners and the Lebensborn children, in the first two parts of the book before connecting with the developing story line where Max's solid Nazi stance is cracked. The poverty, devastation and confusion the people felt as the war came to an end is vividly portrayed. The author provides back matter about the historical events and the real individuals involved. Readers will most likely seek more information about this tragic program. Suggested for mature high school readers or adults.

Overall Book Score: very good