Europe Central

Europe Central

Front cover, hardback edition.
Author	William Vollmann
Language	English
Genre	Historical fiction
Publisher	Viking Press
Publication date	2005
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (hardcoverandpaperback)
Pages	832 pp
ISBN	0-670-03392-8
OCLC	56911959
Dewey Decimal	813/.54 22
LC Class	PS3572.O395 E97 2005

Europe Central(2005) is a novel byWilliam T. Vollmannthat won the U.S.National Book Award for Fiction.

Plot

Set inCentral Europeduring the 20th century, it examines a vast array of characters, ranging from generals to martyrs, officers to poets, traitors to artists and musicians. It deals with the moral decisions made by people in the most testing of times and offers a perspective on human actions during wartime. Vollmann makes use of many historical figures as characters such as revolutionaryNadezhda Krupskaya,composerDmitri Shostakovich,artistKäthe Kollwitz,film directorRoman Karmen,poetAnna Akhmatova,SS officerKurt Gerstein,activistsRosa LuxemburgandKarl Liebknecht,as well as German generalFriedrich Paulusand Soviet generalAndrey Vlasov.

In an afterword, Vollmann admits that while the book is heavily researched and mostly features real people, the work should be regarded as fiction. He calls it "a series of parables about famous, infamous and anonymous European moral actors at moments of decision." Though largely true to history, a number of anecdotes or details are created by the author, such as the "imaginary love triangle" between Shostakovich, Karmen, and Elena Konstantinovskaya.

Reception

TheTimes Literary Supplementwrote that Vollmann "has turned to the historical novel and made it his own, fashioning a work which is cinematic in scope, epic in ambition and continuously engaging, [showing] that he is one of the most important and fascinating writers of our time."

TheNew York Times Book Reviewdescribed it as his "most welcoming work, possibly his best book… part novel and part stories, virtuoso historical remembrance and focused study of violence."

External links

• "The Bumbling Shostakovich,"essay onEurope Centralby Ted Gioia (Fractious Fiction)