The Zone of Interest

By: Martin Amis

Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE

AN NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

From one the most virtuosic authors in the English language: a powerful novel, written with urgency and moral force, that explores life-and love-among the Nazi bureaucrats of Auschwitz.

"A masterpiece . . . Profound, powerful, and morally urgent . . . A benchmark for what serious literature can achieve." -San Francisco Chronicle

Martin Amis first tackled the Holocaust in 1991 with his bestselling novel Time's Arrow. He returns again to the Shoah with this astonishing portrayal of life in "the zone of interest," or "kat zet"—the Nazis' euphemism for Auschwitz. The narrative rotates among three main characters: Paul Doll, the crass, drunken camp commandant; Thomsen, nephew of Hitler's private secretary, in love with Doll's wife; and Szmul, one of the Jewish prisoners charged with disposing of the bodies. Through these three narrative threads, Amis summons a searing, profound, darkly funny portrait of the most infamous place in history.

An epilogue by the author elucidates Amis's reasons and method for undertaking this extraordinary project.

©2014 Martin Amis (P)2024 Tantor

Narrator is amazing!

well it got such glowing reviews I should have known it would dissapoint. while the writing is slick and breezy the story lines are.... I actually can't think of a word to describe it, but nonexistent is about as close as it comes.
Just not muy cup of tea (the style).
the point trying to be made and several of the observations of German character were painted well.
I won't listen again. not a classic.
oh, and don't bother with the movie either... yhe overly long, drawn out shots make you want to throw something at the tv

Phenomenal book; phenomenal narrator

I was never a fan of latter-day Amis (I loved his early work) but this was terrific -- poignant, witty, searing, and all the rest of it. I'm at the epilogue right now and quite distraught that it's over, so I'm just going to go in for a re-listen.
Narrator Matthew Lloyd Davies brought what could have been a difficult narrative(s?) to life. He hit the perfect balance -- didn't overdo it (like so many narrators do), clearly did his research in terms of pronunciation and character consistency, and, well... All I can say is thank you.