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"He entered my life in February 1932 never to leave. Since then, it has been more than a quarter-century, more than nine thousand tedious and purposeless days, which the absence of hope has rendered all equally empty - days and years, many of which as dead as the dry leaves on a withered tree."
This is the beginning of the masterpiece "Reunion" by Fred Uhlman, a German painter, and Jew. It is the story of Hans Schwarz, a Jewish boy in whose class, halfway through the year, arrives Konradin von Hohenfels, scion of an ancient noble family from Stuttgart (where the story is set) long in decline. Over time, Konradin does not bond with anyone in the class except Hans. The latter has a very romantic view of friendship, certainly reminiscent of that mix of love and friendship, the Greek "filia," typical of antiquity (just to give an example, the famous filia between Achilles and Patroclus). Although deprived of the amorous side, the relationship between the two boys is very close, and in certain points of the very short book, they seem like real lovers. For Hans, this special relationship is everything he ever wanted, and he experiences during those few months the most beautiful moment of his life. Meanwhile, however, Nazism poisons the environment, the anti-Semitic ideas, never truly dormant, resurface with some insistence. Konradin is fascinated by Hitler (whom he knows personally) and, while not really discriminating against Hans, is forced, in official situations, to show a certain indifference towards him. The young man suffers a lot from this, and his relationship with Konradin begins to cool. Simultaneously, Hans's parents, understanding the dramatic future of the Jews, send their son to America. Hans will want nothing more to do with Germany but will never forget Konradin. I will, of course, not reveal the ending, but I assure you it is of absolute beauty.
"Reunion" is considered, as Arthur Koestler writes in the preface of the edition whose cover I included, a "minor masterpiece", both for its brevity and the subdued and "wintery" tones of the story. Uhlman's being a painter spills into his way of writing, with which he manages to define all the nuances (forgive the paradoxical play on words) of the characters' personalities and the situations they face. As I was saying, it is a "wintery" book (although set for the most part in summer), due to the nostalgia that permeates every single word of this beautiful work, which, I assure you, can be read in one breath. Spend two hours on this book; you won't regret it.
The edition I have (which is the "school" one, complete with exercises at the end of each chapter!) has a very useful introduction that retraces the socio-political situation of 1930s Germany and notes that clarify the numerous expressions in the German language and the citations of Greek authors' names. I recommend getting this edition precisely because it frames the work in its context, enhancing its content. To see the story, that piece of history, from another point of view.
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