Book Review--The Dark Room

A Different Side of World War II by Rachel Seiffert

Dec 28, 2008

In this fictional book written as three short novellas, the author explores how three German citizens were affected by the events of the 1930's and 40's.

World War II is arguably one of the most-documented global conflicts in history. Books and movies about the fight between Germany, Italy, the United States, Japan, England, France, and so many other countries abound, detailing battles, heroes, villains, and victims.

The Holocaust, the well-known term for the genocide of more than six million Jews by the Germans during the War, is a particularly popular topic for writers and movie-makers. Survivors of the War describe their painful past in books such as Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel’s Night, while other authors attempt to capture the atrocities in fictional books such as Bernhard Schlink’s The Reader .

Despite the proliferation of books and movies about the topic, most focus on the leaders of the War, such as Adolf Hitler, and the victims, those killed or forced to work in the concentration camps. Rachel Seiffert, however, takes a different approach in her novel The Dark Room. In this fictional book written as three short novellas, the author explores how three German citizens were affected by the events of the 1930’s and 40’s.

Review

Seiffert’s exploration begins with the story of Helmut, a physically disabled teenager working as a photographer’s assistant in Berlin in the 1930’s. Through his camera lens and somewhat naïve thought processes, readers learn how a young man attempts to survive when his home city is attacked, he can’t find his parents, and he is forced to fend for himself.

Lore, a young teenage girl, and her efforts to care for her siblings after their parents are both taken into Allied captivity, is also chronicled. Readers follow the young children as they struggle to journey to Hamburg from Bavaria after the German surrender through several occupied zones to find their grandmother.

Lastly, Micha, a young teacher beginning his family in the late 1990’s is featured as he explores his family’s history and attempts to reconcile what is now known about the War with his family’s own role in history.

In her first novel, Rachel Seiffert manages to capture the difficult human emotions that arise when war, murder, and national pride are at stake. Without diminishing the impact of World War II on others, she reveals some information on what life was like for German citizens, who were also victims of a different sort, as they deal with the fear, grief, rage, and confusion that War and its aftermath can evoke. Not only does Seiffert offer a new viewpoint on the events of the War with a subtle and honest approach, but her writing also forces readers to consider the full spectrum of those affected and question their own reactions and feelings about War.

Book Information

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