Leslie Epstein

King of the Jews Leslie Epstein

This masterpiece of black humor has taken its place among the great classics of Holocaust literature. Set in Poland, it is the story of I. C. Trumpleman, the indiscreet director of an orphanage. When the Germans invade and the Jewish community is forced into a ghetto, Trumpleman is chosen as the head of a Judenrat, granted the power to decide who will live and who will starve. By turns a con man, charismatic leader, and merciless dictator, Trumpelman reveals himself as an extraordinarily complex protagonist.

King of the Jews continues to be an extraordinary vision of occupied Poland, and offers stunning insight through the trappings of history to questions of equal moral complexity today.