Look Who's Back
A satirical novel about Hitler's return to modern Germany.
Look Who's Back is a German satirical novel by Timur Vermes, published in 2012 by Eichborn Verlag. It imagines Adolf Hitler waking up in 2011 and navigating modern society, becoming a media celebrity. The novel was adapted into a German film of the same name in 2015.
Quick Facts
- Author
- Timur Vermes
- Language
- German
- Genre
- Satire
- Publisher
- Eichborn Verlag, de
Facts from the source article.
Plot
In 2011, Adolf Hitler wakes up in a vacant lot in Berlin, unaware of events after 1945. He interprets modern Germany from a Nazi perspective, mistaking Turks for allies and Wikipedia for a Viking reference. Recognized but not believed to be real, he is taken for a comedian or method actor. After appearing on a variety show called Whoa, dude!, his angry rants go viral on YouTube. He gains celebrity status, sues the newspaper Bild into praising him, and is attacked by Neo-Nazis who think he mocks Hitler. He ultimately uses his popularity to re-enter politics.
Characters (including main, supporting and recurring)
The main character is Adolf Hitler. Supporting characters include Joachim Sensenbrink, Frank Sawatzki, Madam Carmen Bellini, Vera Krömeier, The Man at the Kiosk, and Ali Gagmez. In the 2015 film adaptation, Sensenbrink's first name was changed to Christoph, Sawatzki's to Fabian, Krömeier's to Franziska, Bellini's to Katja, and Ali Gagmez was replaced by Michael Witzigmann.
Publication
The book was priced at €19.33, referencing Hitler's rise to power in 1933. By March 2014 it had sold 1.4 million copies in Germany and been translated into 41 languages. An English translation by Jamie Bulloch was published in April 2014 by MacLehose Press. The German audiobook, read by Christoph Maria Herbst, was released on 14 September 2012 and sold over 520,000 copies by May 2014. Herbst had previously played a Hitler-based character in two comedy films. The British audiobook, read by Julian Rhind-Tutt, was released on 3 April 2014. A feature film premiered in Germany on 8 October 2015, starring Oliver Masucci as Hitler and directed by David Wnendt. A BBC radio drama premiered five days earlier, starring David Threlfall as Hitler.
Critical reception
Gavriel Rosenfeld in The Jewish Daily Forward described the novel as 'slapstick' with a 'moral message', but noted it risks glamorizing what it condemns, allowing readers to laugh with Hitler. Cornelia Fiedler in Süddeutsche Zeitung suggested the book's success may owe more to its protagonist than literary merit, and called Vermes' assumption that readers would agree Hitler deserves mockery 'surprisingly naive'. Jason Steger in The Sydney Morning Herald interviewed Vermes, who said the way Hitler is seen today has little to do with the real figure, and that most people would not think they might have found him attractive if they had lived then.
More in German Science Fiction Novels
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced