The Execution: The writing is unbelievably gripping. A lot of people do believe that this is a novel, not an autobiography because Sajer is able to describe himself and his sourroundings in a way that draws the reader into his mind and actions. This is a big difference to a lot of autobiographical accounts on the war: You're not detached, you're with them. This makes for a frightening read and you're not sure whether to fear and cheer for the Wehmacht or not. This is very unorthodox and I found it therefore to be very intense.
One Warning: Sajer does not ommit anything. And truly, fighting in Russia was hell and some of the scenes he describes are so unbelievably gruesome and beyond any humanity that one wonders if such things really happened.
Is it real? A lot of people have questioned whether Sajer is real or/and if he really has seen all he writes about. Question 1 can be answered positively: He is a well-known cartoonist in France, publishing Comic Books on WWII under the name of DIMITRI (check and order at www.amazon.fr). He never tried to hide, but never gave in depth interviews on the book (at least not in english). Has he seen it all? Hard question to answer, sometimes me too thought that he overdramatizes a lot, but I grew up in post-war Germany and spoke with a lot of eastfront fighters and can tell you that all of these things Sajer describes have happened like this frequently - not as an exception.
Essential reading for any human being.
