Address Unknown is an epistolary novel written by Kathrine Kressmann Taylor in New York in 1938.
The story is composed only by letters between two long time friends. Max is a German Hebrew who lives in the States while Martin is a German who lives in Monaco with his family. The story starts in 1932 and finishes in 1934.
The first letters are very friendly; they talk about their family, their business because they manage an art gallery together in the U.S.A, they also talk about Griselle who is Max’s sister. She’s an actress and in Germany she hopes to find her way and success... They have a lot of things in common and there is no falseness between them.
But at a certain point Martin starts to join the Nazi politic in Germany. He is proud of Hitler, of the German history and he starts saying that Hebrews are a trouble, a sore spot so they can’t be treated with kindness. In Martin’s opinion it’s necessary to behave like that.
Max doesn’t want to believe that his friend is so cruel, so “doer”. He cannot accept his thoughts. He thinks that Martin is acting like that because of censorship and controllers but at the end he understands that Martin has changed. He asks Max to stop writing because obviously Max is a Hebrew and a German patriot can’t have anything in common with Jews. Max is worried for her sister and we can see how the relationship between the two friends has become colder, more formal and less friendly. The turning point begins when Martin writes that Griselle is in danger but he can’t help her because of the storm troopers. Later he announces that Griselle is dead.
From this letter Max continues to write short letters in which he talks about business with numbers, names and colours. He always alludes to a common religion and to family members. The story ends tragically and in my opinion with an unexpected event.
In my opinion this short novel is really suitable for this publication because it is a good inspiration for many reflections about friendship but also about the Second World War. Everybody knows that the 27th of January is the international Holocaust Remembrance Day and this little book is perfect for the topic.
One of the main themes and probably the most important one is the beginning of the Second World War. It talks about what was happening in Germany before the start of the war. In New York, where it was first written, no one knew what was going on in Germany. It was a sort of warning to Americans and it says that this could actually happen to anyone in any State with that kind of politics.
I’d like to focus my analysis on the theme of friendship that is really important in the novel. In 1932, at the beginning of the story, Max and Martin are bound by a close and truthful friendship. But then their friendship evolves, changes and becomes a sort of hatred. Griselle’s death is the drop that overflows the vase. After that event, between the two men there’s no more friendship. At the end we can see how it has changed. Max has delivered Martin to Nazis achieving his goal of revenge. He has used Martin’s words against him, he has used his own ideology against him. At the very end Martin turns out to be a victim of his own ideology.
I was shocked to see how their friendship has changed and how it has become a cold picture of hatred.
Elettra Bernardi 3EL