Europe Central - William T. Vollmann

In his newest work, Vollmann presents a mesmerizing series of intertwined paired stories that compare and contrast the moral decisions made by various figures associated with the warring authoritarian cultures of Germany and the USSR in the 20th century. nA daring literary masterpiece and winner of the National Book Award nIn this magnificent work of fiction, acclaimed author William T. Vollmann turns his trenchant eye on the authoritarian cultures of Germany and the USSR in the twentieth century to render a mesmerizing perspective on human experience during wartime.

Through interwoven narratives that paint a composite portrait of these two battling leviathans and the monstrous age they defined, Europe Central captures a chorus of voices both real and fictional-- a young German who joins the SS to fight its crimes, two generals who collaborate with the enemy for different reasons, the Soviet composer Dmitri Shostakovich and the Stalinist assaults upon his work and life.n