Look Who's Back

By: Timur Vermes

Narrated by: Julian Rhind-Tutt

Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

Look Who's Back is a cutting satire on modern media-bloated, celebrity-obsessed society, seen through the eyes of Adolf Hitler.

Adolf Hitler wakes up on a patch of open ground, alive and well. It is the Summer of 2011 and things have changed - no Eva Braun, no Nazi party, no war. Hitler barely recognizes his beloved Fatherland, filled with immigrants and run by a woman.

People certainly recognize him, albeit as a flawless impersonator who refuses to break character. The unthinkable, the inevitable happens, and the ranting Hitler goes viral, becomes a YouTube star, gets his own TV show, and people begin to listen. But the Fuhrer has another program with even greater ambition - to set the country he finds in shambles back to right.

With daring humor, Look Who's Back is a perceptive study of the cult of personality, of how individuals rise to fame and power in spite of what they preach.

©2012 Timur Vermes (P)2018 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Hilarious . . . The appeal of the story is our our own reaction to a monster's view of how we live today. And being chilled by our own empathy with his disgust toward the media, politicians, government and, of course, technology . . .Vermes could have made the star of this book anyone from history. He's really telling us about ourselves." (Esther Cepeda, Washington Post syndicated columnist)

"Very funny . . . The frisson of reading Look Who's Back comes from its seamless transition from Borscht Belt one-liners to disturbing invocations of the legacies of Nazi rule. Mr. Vermes gives us a bracingly double-sided Hitler-the arresting public speaker and astute negotiator who loves dogs and small children, and also the fanatical champion of political violence, global tyranny and ethnic cleansing . . . Translator Jamie Bulloch helps by providing a glossary at the close of the book, but what people will remember is his perfect rendering of the ridiculously orotund, yet oddly compelling, manner of Hitler's speechifying." (Sam Sacks, The Wall Street Journal)

"A hilarious, yet poignant look at today's world through the eyes of one of its most horrific villains . . . the political and social satires translate will through the language barrier as the translator, Jamie Bulloch, did a fantastic job in the writing." (Seattle Post Intelligencer)

A wonderful but sobering book

Easily the most unique work of fiction I have ever seen! And a very sobering cautionary tale about how someone like Hitler could once again take power, even in our modern society.

Excellent

Especially if you’re a history buff. If you’re familiar with Hitler biography and German history of the 20th century through the end of WWII, you should really enjoy this. References to real people and events come fast and furious, without explanation until the translator afterward. I was aware of most, though not all, and really enjoyed the author’s obvious research and the way it fed into the wonderful satire.

FANTASTIC

A TRUE MUST, A work of brilliance!!! The story, the author, the narrator are all fabulous.

Great book!!!

I gave the book a chance after seeing a lot of hateful comments and gave it a chance anyway and I'm so glad I did!!

Julian Rhind-Tutt's performance pops

Controversial fiction that made me laugh out loud. It took a little while to figure out what was going on, but the idea is simple enough. The humor is ridiculous at times and the timing and reading of the punch lines were hilarious. Then there is the tension in the story line where I found myself hoping that Hitler would make it through the trials and tribulations portrayed. That's probably not so great but it does provide a context to understand how the historical Hitler and Nazi party got away with the horrible mass murders that they committed. The fanatical abuse of power is a much more slippery slope than we like to think and in that respect this book is profoundly relevant, not because it portrays a monster as a monster, but because it portrays people believing the monster is outrageously funny and not seeing the threat he harbors.

Really good and funny story

story was a pretty good. I kept getting brought back to reality though when the reader was giving supposedly German people eanglish accents which was super annoying.

Surprised others found this 'hilarious.'

The concept is interesting. There is a chuckle to be had here or there, but I didn't really view this as a comedic story at all. Maybe more of a warning.

Adolph Hitler mysteriously awakens in the modern era in Berlin, being the same age he was in 1945.

Any of the humor rises out of his impressions of the modern world. But at the heart of it, it's about the Führer bent on reestablishing the National Socialist German Workers' Party", or Nazi Party. People see him as an actor/comedian doing an amazing impersonation. They think his strict dogma is part of the joke. As a comic, whose humor is seen in the ridiculous political and racial policies of the Third Reich, he gains popularity through an appearance on a TV show. By the end, he has his own show, and a broad audience listening to his political ranting. 1933 all over again.

Hilarious? I dunno.