The Spinoza Problem

Starred review from March 1, 2012
As much intellectual exploration as novel, Yalom's latest (The Schopenhauer Cure, 2005, etc.) fictional foray into philosophy connects Baruch Spinoza and an agent of the Holocaust. The Nazi is Alfred Rosenberg, historical figure, war criminal sent to Nuremberg's gallows, and philosopher-manque and self-styled intellectual catalyst of German fascism. As a schoolboy, Rosenberg latched onto Houston Stewart Chamberlain's racist theories. Rosenberg also worshiped Goethe, though he couldn't understand Goethe's appreciation of Spinoza. Thus, The Spinoza Problem. "Never able to cleanse his mind of the image of the great Goethe genuflecting before the Jew Spinoza," Rosenberg migrates to Munich, writes for a propaganda sheet and befriends Hitler. In chapters shifting between Spinoza and Rosenberg, Yalom unfolds the dual narratives in clear, straightforward language, following Spinoza as he rejects religious superstition and embraces rationalism while simultaneously sketching the history and social milieu of Jews who fled the Hibernian peninsula for Holland. Spinoza's conversations with the fictional Franco Benitez, a refugee from Portugal, bring the philosopher to life as he suffers excommunication (cherem), befriends scholars like Franciscus van den Enden and lives "an unencumbered life of contemplation." Characterizing Spinoza as "the supreme rationalist," one who "saw an endless stream of causality in the world," Yalom makes the philosopher accessible to a popular audience. He also does a credible job of imagining how the intellectual connection between Goethe and Spinoza would have befuddled the narcissistic Rosenberg, who was trapped in the belief that there are "higher things than reason--honor, blood, courage." Yalom ends with Spinoza interacting with patrons and Rosenberg on the gallows, followed by an epilogue and an addendum explaining the novel's impetus and construction. Imaginative and erudite.

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March 1, 2012
Why was Nazi leader and propagandist Alfred Rosenberg so obsessed with the seventeenth-century Jewish philosopher Baruch Spinoza? After the German invasion of Holland during WWII, Rosenberg's storm troopers raided the Spinoza museum in Amsterdam and stole his entire library in hopes of discovering an answer to Rosenberg's Spinoza problem. A fervent anti-Semite since his teenage years, Rosenberg was steadfast in his belief in the cultural superiority of the German people but was dismayed to discover that his idol, the poet Goethe, held Spinoza in high regard. Spinoza himself had issues with his Jewish faith and was cast out from his community at the age of 23 for what they perceived as heresy. In this book, the author, a psychiatrist, explores this strange juxtaposition of two historical figures with strongly held beliefs and totally different ideas of right and wrong. Although this book is seemingly being marketed as a historical thriller, in reality, it is more of a psychological examination of two diametrically opposed personalities separated by 300 years of history. Recommended for large fiction collections where historical biographies are popular or where there is a high demand for titles for book-club discussions.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)