| Abstrakt: |
The novel 'Atonement' ('...') was written in 1967, the period significant for the writer: this was the single, though relative period of advance. On the one hand, already in its title the novel refers to the authorís favourite topic ñ that of atonement, awareness of oneís sins and redeeming them. On the other hand, the text produced in the 1960s conceptually differs from those written later. One of the major differences is related to the authorís perception of the concepts of the mundane and everyday life. In the general context of the Jewish theme as treated by Gorenstein in his works, the topic of Holocaust has received a rather specific interpretation. Gorenstein intentionally assumes the description of single exceptional events instead of depicting mass massacre of Jews. The murder of the doctorís family is not a fact of Nazi policy but a personal, illogical, and unjustified initiative of Assyrian. Gorensteinís novel is about crime and atonement. Crimes are represented in the novel in all their diversity. Nobody is void of sin in the novel. The world is undergoing the ten Egyptian punishments. However, the logic of the novel develops not in the wake of but in spite of the history of liberation from the Egyptian captivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
