Books: Writing About the Unspeakable

Survivors and historians recall the years of the Holocaust

The best now, after so much has been set forth, is, perhaps, to be silent; not to add the trivia of literary, sociological debate, to the unspeakable.

—George Steiner, Language and Silence

A special poignance clings to the critic's plea, so reasonable only 16 years ago. Today the option of silence is lost in the collision of melodrama and documentary. The Holocaust has been the subject of a top-rated TV miniseries, of William Styron's bestseller Sophie's Choice, Lina Wertmuller's film Seven Beauties and Arthur Miller's...

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