‘Everybody could see that this man was not a “monster”, but it was difficult indeed not to suspect that he was a clown,’ wrote Hannah Arendt of Adolf Eichmann, in Eichmann in Jerusalem. Indeed, Eichmann was certified as ‘normal’ by half a dozen psychiatrists. On more than one occasion in Martin Amis’s troubling new novel one of its main characters, the fictionalised commandant of a thinly disguised Auschwitz, declares himself ‘completely normal’.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Easter flash sale:
10 issues for $1
Subscribe this Easter and get the next 10 issues of the magazine, plus website and app access, all for just $1.
- Weekly delivery of the magazine
- Unlimited access to spectator.com.au and app
- Spectator Australia podcasts and newsletters
- Full access to spectator.co.uk
Unlock 3 articles a month
Available from the Spectator Bookshop, £14.99. Tel: 08430 600033
You might disagree with half of it, but you’ll enjoy reading all of it. Try your first month for free, then just $2 a week for the remainder of your first year.
Comments
Easter flash sale: 10 issues for $1
Join the conversation with other Spectator Australia readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.
CLAIM OFFER 10 issues for $1Already a subscriber? Log in