After Dachau

By Daniel Quinn

“A rare moral thriller in the tradition of Fahrenheit 451,” this stunning work from the author of Ishmael is set in a white-washed alternate world where Nazis won the war (Village Voice)
 
Daniel Quinn, well known for Ishmael—a life-changing book for readers the world over—once again turns the tables and creates an otherworld that is very like our own, yet fascinating beyond words. Imagine that Nazi Germany was the first to develop an atomic bomb and the Allies surrendered. America was never bombed, occupied, or even invaded, but was nonetheless forced to recognize Nazi world dominance. The Nazis continued to press their campaign to rid the planet of “mongrel races” until eventually the world—from Capetown to Tokyo—was populated by only white faces. Two thousand years in the future, people don’t remember, or much care, about this distant past. The reality is that to be human is to be Caucasian, and what came before was literally ancient history having nothing to do with those then living.
 
Now imagine that reincarnation is real, that souls migrate over time from one living creature to another, and that a soul that once animated an American black woman living at the time of World War II now animates an Aryan in Quinn’s new world—and that due to a traumatic accident, memories of this earlier incarnation assert themselves.
 
Compared by readers and critics alike to 1984 and Brave New World, After Dachau is a new dystopian classic with much to say about our own time, and the dynamics of human history.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Mar 1, 2011
• ISBN: 9781581952407

Reviews for After Dachau

[bookwyrmm_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really had no clue what to expect when I picked this up, but wow, mind blown. This is a book that keeps you on the edge the whole way through.

[kraysaulis · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This started out a little slow, interesting but nothing to push me to continue in the first two chapters, and then it took hold of me. I read the rest of the book in one morning. Couldn't put it down. Gripping and fascinating. The whole time I was entranced and couldn't wait to see what came next.

[azrowan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I've become very fond of Quinn's writing and this didn't let me down. This was an easy quick read that kept me hooked until the end.

[giglio5danny · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Following the same philisophical arguments of the Ishamel Trilogy, Quinn moves from transcribing conversations to reccounting actual plot lines. The novel focuses on the idea of reincarnation, altough the author claims to neither dispute nor endorse the belief. He simply wishes to "use it as a vehicle" with which to present his ideas. The underlying theme of the book comments the the accuracy of history, and the degree to which we should believe what we're told. I can epitomize this conecpt by paraphrasing a line from the book:"What if every detail of our past that we teach our children is a falsehood?"This is a very frightening concept, but at the same time very possible. I feel that the book did a tremendous job of slowy unraveling this theme, while at the same time continuing an enthralling storyline, regardless of its philisophical value. I reccomend reading the ishmael trilogy prior to "After Dachau", although this is not necessary to understand the book. It does, however, increase the reader's ability to appreciate the novel's underlying theme.

[nickdreamsong · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

A truly fascinating premise (a world in which the Final Solution truly became final)presented in an interesting way, but without the literary style that could have made this a wonderful book. I found myself spending too much time rewriting individual passages and not enough time thinking about the world in which the book was set. A nice try.

[alexlubertozz-893592 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I can't say much about this book without giving too much away, so I'll simply say I really enjoyed it. I found it reminiscent of some early Vonnegut (Sirens of Titan, Cat's Cradle). It's very thought-provoking. Although I could certainly see why some people might not enjoy it as much as I did.

[jacketscoversread · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

My friend Helen recommended After Dachau by Daniel Quinn to me, so I checked it out. When I told her I had finished it today, she said she had never got around to reading it.I saw a lot of potential with the story of Mary Anne Dorson but Quinn chucks that to the side in favor of a confusing story line. Plus, the middle of this book is not very good. By the end Quinn has pulled it all together and it finishes fairly strong.However, I felt no connection to the characters, the writing is overly simple and he doesn’t fully develop his ideas.