Summary of The Emperor of Lies
“The Emperor of Lies” is a historical novel about the Jewish people in the ghetto of Łódź, a city in central Poland, during World War II. The novel describes the horrific living conditions within the ghetto and focuses on the role of the Jewish Council (the ‘Judenrat’) and its controversial leader Chaim Rumkowski.
Reasons to read The Emperor of Lies
“The Emperor of Lies” is a challenging but important book that delves into the moral complexities of evil and the atrocities by Jewish leaders against their own community. The novel explores themes of abuse of power and collaboration for reasons of life preservation. It was awarded the August Prize in 2009 (the highest literary prize in Sweden), and its French translation won the Prix Médicis étranger in 2016. Another novel set in the ghetto of Łódź is Jurek Becker’s “Jacob the Liar” (“Jakob der Lügner”), which was awarded the Heinrich-Mann Prize in 1971 and turned into a film with the same title, starring Robin Williams.
Setting: Łódź (Poland)
Original title: De fattiga i Łódź
Year of publication: 2009
Nr of pages: 592
