THE DIRECTOR

The impact of this powerful novel is heightened by Golden Voice narrator Nicholas Boulton's keen understanding of its author's purposes. Kehlmann's episodic multi-perspective imagining of the wartime career of Austrian director G.W. Pabst is technically a satire, but it registers as more of a horror story. Pabst, a leading European director, discovers Greta Garbo and Louise Brooks. But when he immigrates to Hollywood, he is misused and rejected. Returning to Vienna just as war breaks out, Pabst and his family become trapped, and are menaced by a succession of well-rendered Nazi zealots and toadies. Captured most memorably is Nazi filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl, a monster of dominance and self-regard. This is not a narrative for lengthy or casual listening--or one easily forgotten. D.A.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2025]