The Dark Room
Synopsis
What has it meant to be German in the twentieth century? What has it meant to be the child of German parents, the daughter of members of the Nazi party, the grandson of a grandfather who was in the Waffen SS, the father of a German child? The Dark Room tells the stories of three ordinary twentieth century Germans: Helmut, a young patriotic photographer in 1930s Berlin; Lore, a twelve year old girl who crosses Germany in 1945 with her siblings after her Nazi parents are seized by the Allies, and, half a century later, Micha, a young teacher obsessed with what his grandfather did in the war.
Author Biography
Rachel Seiffert was born in Birmingham in January 1971 but has spent most of her life in Oxford and Glasgow. Rachel Seiffert is the daughter of a German mother and Australian father. She spent most of her life in Oxford and Glasgow and was bullied at school for being a ‘Nazi’ so had a strong sense as a child that being German meant being bad. The Dark Room is her first novel and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and won a Betty Trask Award in 2002. Her second book was a collection of short stories, Field Studies (2004). She now lives in London.
