Reunion

In little more than a hundred pages, a lingering glimpse of Stuttgart Gymnasium life in the Thirties and the abruptly severed friendship of two teenage boys. Hans Schwarz, remembering this inscribed episode, skillfully conveys the sweaty set of the classroom - academic competition, small cliques, nicknames like Pigface, Smelly, and Muscle Max. Into this arena comes Graf yon Hohenfeis Konradin, a boy of noble bearing from a family with an illustrious 1000-year history. Schwarz, virtually friendless, tentatively seeks him out; they become fast friends ( Castor and Pollack ), spouting poetry, arguing the mysteries of the universe, and resolving the world's problems with the intensity and pristine devotion of adolescents. Then, at the opera, Konradin, seen with his august parents, snubs Schwarz; Hans confronts him later, and Konradin confesses to his mother's virulent anti-Semitism: I've had to fight for every hour I've spent with you. Their friendship fades, and Schwarz, very much alone, endures vicious hostility at school. Before Hans' cautious parents ship him to the US, Konradin sends him a letter endorsing Hitler and naively assuring Hans a place in Germany once the Fuhrer's mission is completed. Author Uhlman counters Schwarz' adult reserve with the richness of memory-pastries, schoolboy antics, forest scenery - and a bitter avowal of loss and betrayal. Hans also finds some vindication years later when he discovers which of his taunting schoolmates died for the cause and, in the Gymnasium listing, what happened to Konradin: implicated in the plot to kill Hitler. Executed. A subtle, deceptively simple excursion into the coils of adolescence, surprisingly fresh despite the familiarity of the scene. (Kirkus Reviews)