First published 2007
Maximilien Aue, a former Nazi officer of French-German heritage, sets down his memories of World War II in an unrepentant confession. He participated in the Holocaust's darkest chapters, witnessed the brutal fighting at Stalingrad, and helped organize concentration camps until Germany's final collapse. Aue narrates these experiences without seeking forgiveness or expressing regret for the atrocities he committed. His account forces readers to confront the psychological mechanisms that drive ordinary people to commit extraordinary evil. The novel takes its title from Greek mythology, referencing the Erinyes, vengeful goddesses also called the Eumenides or Benevolent Ones, who pursued those guilty of crimes. Through Aue's cold, detailed recollections, the story examines how individuals become complicit in systematic dehumanization and mass murder during wartime.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, 21st-century
Vibes: dark, emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: unreliable-narrator
Setting: Germany, Stalingrad, France
Period: World War II
896 pages · Paperback · Dom Quixote
Content warnings: gore, violence