
Europe Central
2005
First Published
3.97
Average Rating
858
Number of Pages
In this magnificent work of fiction, William T. Vollmann turns his trenchant eye to the authoritarian cultures of Germany and the USSR in the twentieth century. Assembling a composite portrait of these two warring leviathans and the terrible age they defined, the narrative intertwines experiences both real and fictional—a young German who joins the SS to expose its crimes, two generals who collaborate with the enemy for different reasons, the Soviet composer Dmitri Shostakovich laboring under Stalinist oppression. Through these and other lives, Vollmann offers a daring and mesmerizing perspective on human actions during wartime.
Avg Rating
3.97
Number of Ratings
3,048
5 STARS
40%
4 STARS
32%
3 STARS
16%
2 STARS
7%
1 STARS
5%
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Author

William T. Vollmann
Author · 30 books
William Tanner Vollmann is an American novelist, journalist, short story writer and essayist. He lives in Sacramento, California with his wife and daughter.