# Look Who's Back

By Timur Vermes

Profile: https://hahafiction.com/books/look-who-s-back-99d14279/

Adolf Hitler wakes in Berlin in 2011, with his ambitions intact and his surroundings transformed. People assume he is an exceptionally committed impersonator. As online audiences and television producers take an interest, he discovers that being mistaken for a comedian offers a route back to influence.

## What makes it funny?

A Goth secretary sees an entertainer where the narrator sees familiar political associations. He approves of her black clothes because they remind him of SS uniforms; she assumes she is dealing with someone who knows he is making a joke.

### The comedy at work

The dangerous misunderstanding keeps the satire moving: Hitler means what he says, while the people broadcasting him congratulate themselves on recognizing irony. Vermes directs the joke toward an entertainment culture willing to turn extremism into a successful act.

### Try this if…

Readers interested in provocative political comedy and media satire may find the premise more compelling than the narrator is agreeable. Totally Dublin praised the treatment of extremism but felt that the central joke could become overextended.

### Good to know

Hitler narrates in the first person and retains his fascist and antisemitic beliefs. The English edition is translated from German by Jamie Bulloch.

## What to expect

- Genre: Contemporary & literary
- Kind of humor: Dark comedy · Satire · Situational comedy
- The atmosphere: Irreverent
- Format: Novel
- Length: 384 pages

## A few distinguishing details

- A dictator mistaken for his own impersonator
- Media satire built on a lethal misunderstanding

## Sources & further reading

- Publisher: [Publisher](https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/timur-vermes/look-whos-back/9781782067832)
- Review: [Independent review](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/look-who-s-back-by-timur-vermes-trans-jamie-bulloch-book-review-9236022.html)
- Book information: [Guardian Bookshop edition](https://guardianbookshop.com/look-whos-back-9781782067832)
- Publisher: [Publisher editions](https://www.hachette.com.au/timur-vermes/look-whos-back)
- Review: [Totally Dublin review](https://www.totallydublin.ie/more/print/book-review-timur-vermes-look-whos-back)