The Architects (European Classics) [Paperback]

Stefan Heym (Author), Peter Hutchinson (Foreword)

Book Description

Series: European Classics | Publication Date: January 6, 2006

Written between 1963 and 1966, when its publication would have proved to be political dynamite-and its author's undoing-this novel of political intrigue and personal betrayal takes readers into the German Democratic Republic in the late 1950s, shortly after Khruschev's "secret speech" denouncing Stalin and his methods brought about a "thaw" in the Soviet bloc and, with it, the release of many victims of Stalinist brutality. Among these is Daniel, a Communist exile from Hitler who has been accused of treachery while in Moscow and who now returns to Germany after years of imprisonment. A brilliant architect, he is taken on by his former colleague, Arnold Sundstrom, who was in exile in Moscow as well but somehow fared better. He is now in fact the chief architect for the World Peace Road being built by the GDR. In Daniel, Arnold's young wife Julia finds the key that will unlock the dark secret of her husband's success and of her own parents' deaths in Moscow-and will undermine the very foundation on which she has built her life. A novel of exquisite suspense, romance, and drama, The Architects is also a window on a harrowing period of history that its author experienced firsthand-and that readers would do well to remember today.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Fiction on this subject could only be attempted by someone whose desire for truth was absolute and who could publish his work in another country and another language. In the 1950s there was only one writer in the German Demorcratic Republic who was in this position."
-Peter Hutchinson, from the foreword

About the Author

Stefan Heym (1913-2001) was the author of more than a dozen novels. After escaping the Nazis, joining the United States Army, and obtaining U.S. citizenship, he returned to East Germany in the 1950s. His novels The King David Report (1997) and The Wandering Jew (1999) are also published by Northwestern University Press.

Peter Hutchinson is vice-master of Trinity Hall, Cambridge University, in England.

Product Details

• Paperback: 344 pages
• Publisher: Northwestern University Press; 1 edition (January 6, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810120445
• ISBN-13: 978-0810120440
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 7.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,497,222 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A literary snapshot of East Germany after Stalin, July 5, 2009

By 

Yaakov Ben Shalom - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Architects (European Classics) (Paperback)

This novel is set in 1956, the start of destalinization, which began with Nikita Khrushchev's secret speech at the 20th party congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The book is about the incomplete destalinization process in East Germany. Other themes include the perniciousness of the informer system under Stalinism and the betrayal of own's own artistic principles for careerist success.

It is a great snapshot of a moment in German history. For those who are interested in literary representations of East German history, I would highly recommend this book. Additionally, this book can be quite the page turner at times, even if it is overwritten. (The political discussions can be a bit much, but they, too, are part of the story. And some of the characters are loathsome, including the main character, or annoying, including his five-year-old son.)

The translation is not so great. Sometimes it is very good, but many times it's not. (For more information on the translation, see my additional comment.) The book also contains some anachronisms, such as mentioning the Lipsi dance, which was only introduced in 1959.

Despite these problems, this book is definitely worth reading.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A dud from a famous writer, October 22, 2007

By 

Stephen G. Esrati (Dayton, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Architects (European Classics) (Paperback)

Stefan Heym tried to make a soap opera out of Nikita Khrushchev's secret speech to the Communist Party congress. Heym's method was to serve up a socialist collective of East German architects who were working on a Soviet-backed project called the World Peace Road. They talk a lot about Marxism Leninism and their collective, but suppress history.
When one of their colleagues returns from 16 years in the Siberian gulag, the lead architect fears that he may spill the beans about an act of personal betrayal.
There is an attempt to set up a love triangle and to stir jealousy and envy into the collective's pot. But it all falls flat. They talk too much. The child who keeps popping into the picture is a repulsive little idiot.
(The road, by the way, is presumably in Potsdam, but Heym never says so. There is nothing like it in Potsdam.)