A fascinating work by a fascinating artist. Those familiar with the famous filmmaker will scramble to read this. will be ordering for my library!

“Our tasks are to remain invisible, to deceive the enemy, to be ready to do seemingly dishonorable things while keeping safe in our hearts the warrior’s honor.” ~ Werner Herzog, The Twilight World.

Although German filmmaker Werner Herzog has produced, written, and directed over sixty feature- and documentary films, The Twilight World is Werner Herzog’s debut as a novelist.

As the Imperial Army prepares to withdraw from Lubang Island, Philippines in December 1944, Japanese intelligence officer, Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda, is ordered to hold the island until the army returns. At first, he is with three other soldiers, but one-by-one they succumb to the jungle. They ignore leaflets announcing the Japanese surrender, technological advances such as jet aircraft and tubeless radios and Onoda mistakes American planes and ships en route to Korea and Vietnam as proof that WW II rages on. In 1974, he is discovered alone in the jungle by an eccentric wanderer hunting for yeti (you can’t make that up) who tells the soldier the war has been over for nearly thirty years. 

This could have been such a great book. The true story of Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda is tragic, yet remarkable. Imagine living in the wilderness not knowing World War 2 has been over for twenty-nine years! Onodo surrendered his sword in 1974 after believing he had been singularly defending Japanese territory against the United States. His is a fascinating story, but the book was tedious. It has a surreal quality like Herzog’s films, and not at all my style. Thankfully, the novella was only 144 pages, so the time investment was minimal. I supplemented the book with audio, but it seemed peculiar to have a book set in Japan read with the director’s own thick German accent. 3 stars.

** Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy of this book. The opinions expressed are my own.

Excellent, and not at all what I expected. I was thinking this would read like an unproduced screenplay, but instead it's told introspectively from the protagonist's viewpoint. Also, it's an extremely quick read; I finished it in two sittings.

“Time, time and the jungle. The jungle does not recognise time. They are like two alienated siblings who will have nothing to do with each other, who communicate, if at all, only in the form of contempt.”

It's Herzog and jungles, so you know it's going to be at the very least interesting. I had actually seen the 2021 movie on Onoda, "Onoda - 10,000 nuits dans la jungle" (unfortunately not directed by Herzog!). At three hours, it's an immersive behemoth of a film, focusing on the story of Onoda, in an almost documentarian manner.

THE TWILIGHT WORLD is the opposite of this: it's an extremely breezy read, not a word wasted, shining lights on specific aspects and knowledge Herzog has of the events. Of course, it's typical Herzog-- a person on the edge of society, an intriguing life story, and the tragedy of it all. It's not a straightforward account of what happened, like the Harari movie, instead a somewhat dreamlike account, non-fiction yet fiction, prose yet poetry.

The story of Hiroo Onoda remains absolutely fascinating. I would like to call this a somewhat nuanced take on his character, though not entirely. Both the film and this book have clearly alluded to his messed-up mental state, but I've seen very few honest discussions of his actions.

To many, the story of Onoda's persistance in his twilight world is a beautiful example of unfaltering commitment and dedication. But I don't see it that way. To me, it's a *warning* against such extreme devotion. Onoda had many, many opportunities to realize and accept the reality of the war being over. He killed many innocent civilians, terrorised countless people, and wasted over 30 years of his life... and for what?

He was ultimately regarded as a hero upon his return to Japan. Sure, he was a "bad-ass" in the way that he persisted all that time, managing to hide and survive despite the many military sweeps, police attacks and other attempts by the Japanese government to hunt him down. It's a celebration of mental illness and murder, glorification of someone who was clearly mentally unwell.

Anyway- I reecommend this novella for all fans of Herzog. Can't believe I'm the first person on the internet to review this book!

3.5, rounded up to a 4.