title: Death in Rome
author: Wolfgang Koeppen
description: First published in 1954, Koeppen's novel is a genuine lost classic, a penetrating examination of the angst, anguish and anger that infected Germany after WWII. The novel's vehicle for exploration is a clan living in postwar exile in Rome that pushes the definition of an extended family to its limits. The group consists of elder statesman Gottlieb Judejahn, a former high-ranking SS officer; his brother-in-law Friedrich Pfaffrath, who also held Nazi office; and their respective sons, Adolf Judejahn, a Catholic priest, and Siegfried Pfaffrath, a composer of serial music. According to Hofmann's excellent introduction, "these four represent the four principal areas of German achievement, or the four quarters of the riven German soul: murder, bureaucracy, theology and music." As both archetypes and individuals, they provide Koeppen with fertile ground for his extended meditations on war, art, religion and the transformations that affected both German society and the world immediately before and during WWII. The family members rarely interact with one another, but there are several significant scenes when their paths cross, most notably during a concert featuring Siegfried's work and when both Gottlieb and Adolph Judejahn pursue a Jewish barmaid named Laura who works in a gay Roman bar. The rich reservoir of Roman history (in which Germans have had a presence since Alaric the Goth) serves as a perfect backdrop for Koeppen's observations, and the fate of Gottlieb Judejahn as he pursues the barmaid is perhaps the ultimate metaphor for the postwar fate of the Nazis. This startling title shows Koeppen to be every inch Gunter Grass's equal in analyzing the intellectual side of Germany's rise and fall, and richly deserves a new level of visibility. (June)Forecast: Advance buzz is proclaiming this a dark horse stunner. NYRB readers are the core audience, but look for broader popularity and strong sales and a long backlist life if reviewers anoint it a classic of modern German literature.
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  # Immortals Crowned by the French Academy: Conscience, v2
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Hector Malot
  
  
  This page copyright © 2001 Munsey's.
  
  
  http://www.munseys.com
  
  BOOK 2.
  
  
    
  CHAPTER XI. THE INSTRUMENT OF DEATH
  
  
    
  CHAPTER XII. THE CRUCIAL MOMENT
  
  
    
  CHAPTER XIII. DISTRACTION
  
  
    
  CHAPTER XIV. THE EXAMINATION
  
  
    
  CHAPTER XV. A NEW PLAN
  
  
    
  CHAPTER XVI. THE SMILES OF FORTUNE
  
  
    
  CHAPTER XVII. PHILLIS'S FEARS
  
  
    
  CHAPTER XVIII. A GRAVE DISCUSSION
  
  
    
  CHAPTER XIX. THE KNOCK AT THE DOOR
  
  
    
  CHAPTER XX. A TIGHTENING CHAIN
  
  
    
  CHAPTER XXI. "REGARDING THE CAFFIE AFFAIR"
  
  
    
  CHAPTER XXII. NOUGAREDE'S BRIDE
  
  
    
  CHAPTER XXIII. STUNNING NEWS
  
  
  
      This etext was produced by David Widger—widger@cecomet.net
  
  
  
  
  
  ## BOOK 2.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ### CHAPTER XI. THE INSTRUMENT OF DEATH
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
    
  When, after two hours' sleep, Saniel woke, he did not at first
  
  
  think of this knife; he was tired and dull. Mechanically he walked
  
  
  about his room without paying 