by Hans Keilson
First published 1996
A young man in 1930s Germany finds himself compulsively watching an unnamed political figure gain power. He cannot look away from this adversary, even as the man's influence spreads and darkens the country around him. The observer tries desperately to find rational patterns in what he sees, to discover some underlying logic that might explain the growing menace. But reason fails him. He remains trapped by his own fascination, helplessly drawn to study the very force that threatens to destroy everything he knows. Written by Hans Keilson while he hid from Nazi persecution during World War II, this psychological portrait captures the horror of witnessing evil's ascent. The young man's obsession becomes a mirror for anyone who has ever tried to understand the incomprehensible, to find meaning in chaos, or to make sense of humanity's capacity for destruction.
Genres: fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, psychological-thriller
Vibes: dark, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Germany
Period: 1930s
217 pages · Paperback · Fischer
Content warnings: violence