Life Goes On

This "stunningly accomplished" debut novel, first published in 1933, "gives a haunting portrait of Germany between the two world wars" ( Publishers Weekly). In Life Goes On, Hans Keilson tells the story of Herr Seldersen—a Jewish store owner modeled on his own father—and the troubles that he and his family encounter as the German economy collapses and politics turn rancid. The book was banned by the Nazis in 1934. Shortly afterward, following his editor's advice, Keilson emigrated to the Netherlands, where he joined the Dutch resistance during World War II. Life Goes On is an essential volume for readers of Keilson's later work. At the age of one hundred, Keilson told The New York Times that he would love to see his first novel reissued, and translated as well. "Then you would have my whole biography," he told them. He died at the age of one hundred and one.