New novel 'The Director' explores an artist's responsibilities in a time of trauma

New novel 'The Director' explores an artist's responsibilities in a time of trauma

A powerful new work of fiction, rooted in real events, explores the role of the artist in times of crisis. "The Director" by Daniel Kehlmann is resonating deeply with the challenges of our own time. Senior arts correspondent Jeffrey Brown has the story for our arts and culture series, CANVAS.

The Director by Daniel Kehlmann, translated by Ross Banjamin

In the early 1930s, Georg Wilhelm Pabst returns to his native Austria (renamed Ostmark by the Nazis). He had spent an uncomfortable period in Hollywood where his lack of English shuffled him to lesser roles in the studio. His pride as one of Germany’s great film directors damaged, he, his wife Trude and his son Jakob (not his real name) arrive at the family home to find that the caretaker has embraced Nazism. Hitler has seized full power.  The p…