Fateless or Fatelessness by Imre Kertész
"Fateless" is a harrowing account of a Hungarian Jewish boy's experiences in Nazi concentration camps during World War II. The protagonist is sent to Auschwitz, then Buchenwald, and finally to a factory in Zeitz, enduring brutal conditions and witnessing unimaginable horrors. Despite his experiences, he maintains a detached, almost indifferent perspective, focusing on the mundane aspects of life in the camps, which further highlights the absurdity and horror of the situation. The novel explores themes of identity, survival, and the arbitrary nature of fate.
The 477th greatest book of all time
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- Published
- 1975
- Nationality
- Hungarian
- Length
- Short
- Pages
- 190-240
- Original Language
- Hungarian
- Avg User Rating
-
(2.0)
- Alternate Titles
- - Sorstalanság
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This book is on the following 10 lists:
- 27th on Big Read (Hungarian) (Hungaria)
- 31st on 100 Best Novels, in Translation, Since 1900 (CounterPunch)
- 3289th on Our Users' Honorable Mention Favorite Books of All Time (The Greatest Books Users)
- 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (The Book)
- 100 Books, 100 Companions (Zeit Online)
- A Century of World Literature 1925 - 2025 (Der Spiegel)
- Harenberg Buch der 1000 Bücher (Harenberg Buch der 1000 Bücher)
- PEN Translation Prize (PEN America)
- The Bigger Read List (English PEN)
- Zeit Literaturkanon (https://www.librarything.com/award/335/ZEIT-Literaturkanon)