"A gripping, sharply observed story - it's one heck of a read."
The Director is one of those rare novels that pulls you in from the first page and keeps tightening its grip in the most delicious way.
Reimagining the life of celebrated Weimar-era filmmaker G. W. Pabst during the rise of Nazism the book blends historical facts with fictional storytelling.
The story opens in Hollywood, where Pabst has fled Europe and tries to revive his career, only to struggle with creative conflict, artistic pressure, and a sense of alienation.
As war breaks out and Austria falls under Nazi control, Pabst returns home out of familial duty, trapping himself and his loved ones in a morally fraught environment.
Faced with impossible choices and mounting pressure from the regime, he reluctantly becomes complicit, accepting propaganda-film commissions from the Nazi film ministry to survive and protect his career.
What unfolds is a haunting exploration of the cost of artistic compromise: betrayals, moral corruption, fractured relationships, and the painful disintegration of ideals. It's a story about art, complicity, and survival under tyranny.
I was tense, curious, unsettled, and completely invested. The kind of book where you find yourself thinking about the characters long after you’ve put it down. Kaufman has crafted a clever, layered story with characters who feel real enough to recognise, and flawed enough to root for or recoil from, sometimes at the same time.
It’s a gripping, stylish, and propulsive story. One heck of a read.
From 'one of the brightest, most pleasure-giving writers at work today' (Jeffrey Eugenides), a visionary tale inspired by the life of the 20th century film director G.W. Pabst, who left Europe for Hollywood to resist the Nazis and then returned to his homeland with his wife and young son and began making films for the German Reich.
| Primary Genre | Historical Fiction |
| Other Genres: | |
| Recommendations: |
From 'one of the brightest, most pleasure-giving writers at work today' (Jeffrey Eugenides), a visionary tale inspired by the life of the 20th century film director G.W. Pabst, who left Europe for Hollywood to resist the Nazis and then returned to his homeland with his wife and young son and began making films for the German Reich.An artist's life, a pact with the devil, a novel about the dangerous illusions of the silver screen.G.W.
The Director features in the following genres: Star Books, Fiction in translation, General Fiction, Historical Fiction, Individual film directors, film-makers, Biographical fiction / autobiographical fiction, Fiction in translation, Historical Fiction
Paperback, Hardback. £19.80, down from the £22.00 cover price. In Stock.
The Director was written by Daniel Kehlmann and published by riverrun an imprint of Quercus Publishing
The Director has 333 pages
£19.80, reduced from £22.00. In Stock.
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