My Holocaust, TOVA REICH. HarperCollins, $24.95, (336p) ISBN 978-0-06-117345-5
In
this merciless satire on the American glorification and commodification of
victimhood (the first chapter of which appeared in this magazine), every
group vies for the distinction of having suffered the most. As one of the
characters (the president of Holocaust Connections Inc.; slogan: “Make Your
Cause a Holocaust”) observes, “Everyone wants a piece of the Holocaust pie.”
Reich, whose husband once was the director of the Holocaust Memorial Museum,
writes with intense authority and relentless humor, so that this bitter
poison goes down like sweet butter.