FSG (US) and Hesperus (UK); translated from German
A lost Holocaust classic by a German-Jewish resistance hero, first published in 1947 and never before translated into English.
Comedy in a Minor Key, a penetrating study of ordinary people resisting the Nazi occupation and a dark comedy of wartime manners, tells the story of Wim and Marie, a Dutch couple who hide a Jew they know as Nico during WWII. When Nico dies of pneumonia, how will Wim and Marie dispose of the body without getting posthumously caught? This novella shows Hans Keilson at his best: deeply ironic, penetrating, sympathetic, and brilliantly modern.
"[Keilson's novels] are masterpieces, and Hans Keilson is a genius... [one] of the world's very
greatest writers."
—Francine Prose (review / podcast)
Rave review on NY Times Book Review front page (pdf / podcast) /
Keilson's story and how I rediscovered his books in The Believer /
Daily Beast / Adam Kirsch in New Republic / Expatica (with video) /
Amazon / Powell's / reviews
