A láthatatlan hang

Written over the last two decades, the essays in this collection speak to what it means to be Jewish-historically, theologically, ideologically, philosophically-within the context of the Holocaust and the disintegration of Communism. George Konrád, a Diaspora Jew, espouses Zionism, he tells us, as one who might, if he chooses, move to Jerusalem, just as he might, if he chooses, move to Paris. Konrád, one of Europe's preeminent essayists and novelists, covers much ground in The Invisible Voice, from German collective guilt to assimilation, from the Diaspora Jew to Israel and Palestine. He discusses the participation of Jews in the "nationalist and Communist experiments," and the issue of forcing collective guilt on the Germans. He looks at European integration and how the Jews fit into it, and what their conduct should be. Should they work toward assimilation or separation in order to survive? These are thoughtful and provocative essays.