Memoirs of an Anti-Semite

In these five ironic, evocative stories Gregor von Rezzori brilliantly recreates not only the life of one man but also the evolution of Central Europe from 1919 to the present. The protagonist's anti-Semitism--a birthright and a curse--forms the common thread of these stories as he becomes involved with Jewish friends and lovers and, ultimately, a Jewish wife. He emerges as a surprisingly sympathetic character--an inexperienced young man who becomes a mature artist (the compassionate yet merciless narrator of the witty, moving stories) and a man who finally discovers himself in relation to his loyalties, his prejudices, his memories--back cover.