The Area of Interest
The area of interest -or The Zone of Interest, from its original title in English— is a historical novel written by the late British author Martin Amis. The work was first published on 28 August 2014 by Jonathan Cape. Later, thanks to its commercial success, it was translated into several languages, including Spanish, being marketed by Anagrama in 2015.
Despite the aforementioned success that The area of interest has managed to maintain - both with critics and with many of his readers - Some people have been really uncomfortable with this story. Esto because the context in which it is set and the plots it tells frame one of the most terrible events that the West has experienced in contemporary times.
Synopsis of The area of interest
Back to the Holocaust
This novel by Martin Amis once again demonstrates that The author does not hesitate to address controversial issues. This time, returns to the terrible Holocaust, a matter I had dealt with before en the arrow of timeHowever, on this occasion the writer takes a surprising turn and gives the lead voice to the executioners of the concentration camps and gas chambers.
At the same time, Amis does not give up on making readers uncomfortable with a good dose of black humor. In this sense, the novel begins with the arrival of young Galo to an extermination camp to work on the activation of a factory built with slave labor. However, upon arrival, the boy falls in love with Hannah, the wife of the grotesque commander Paul Doll.
The machinery of cruelty
A fourth member is added to this strange and dangerous triangle: the Sonderkommando Szmul, one of those Jews who collaborated with the executioners in the repression, apprehension and murder of their own. As aberrant as it may seem, the novel develops a love story between the protagonists of barbarism, which is a perfect framework for investigating the horrors committed by man.
In this sense, it is worth asking ourselves: what are we capable of doing when we discover who we really are? How can we possibly accept the consequences of our actions? and other questions that Martin Amis will answer in this satire designed to mock the Nazis, their deep-rooted beliefs and questionable personal habits.
One of Martin Amis's greatest works?
Despite the reluctance of certain critics regarding The area of interest, the novel was met with praise in the United Kingdom and the United States. In fact, Many portals have stated that it is one of the author's best literary works., representing his thesis regarding human evil in times of crisis, as well as the indolence of international entities.
The history It is told in the first person by three men: Angelus Thomsen, Paul Doll and Smzul. The first is a Nazi officer and nephew of Martin Bormann, whose hobby is seducing women. The second is the camp commandant. And the third is the leader of a gang of Jewish workers who have to find and dispose of the bodies of people murdered in the gas chambers.
Psychological profile of the narrators
Smzul
This is the character who keeps the book honest.This is because he is represented as a man capable of perfectly doing that which for many is unthinkable, which is why he carries the characteristic of "useful fool", because he acts against his own, even knowing the fate that awaits them.
Thomsen
This case is a little more complicated than the previous one, since The initial motivations of this character lie solely in the desire to sleep with Hannah., nothing more and nothing less. Furthermore, he does not seem to react too much to his surroundings, and only appears in the foreground at the end of the novel.
Doll
Like many other Amis characters, Doll is a brute who has no self-awareness, not even to realize how pathetic he really is. The author does some of his sharpest work through this element, especially by highlighting the absolutely terrifying banality of Nazi evil: Amis turns Doll into a dangerous clown who becomes a tyrant by owning the circus.
About the Author
Martin Amis was born on August 25, 1949, in Swansea, United Kingdom. The author had a brilliant start in British Literature, winning the Somerset Maugham Prize in 1973. He also He was presented with the opportunity to collaborate with magazines such as Times Literary Supplement, New Statesman y The Observer. Despite this, Amis remains considered one of the best writers of his generation.
Also He went on to become a lecturer at the University of Manchester, where he taught creative writing.His narrative matured during the crisis of 73 and the collapse of the welfare state, as well as the decline of Cuba and other left-wing alternatives associated with the USSR following the conservative turn of his own country, something that stands out in his novels.
Other books by Martin Amis
Novels
- The Rachel Papers — Rachel's book (1973);
- Dead Babies — Dead Children (1975);
- Success — Success (1978);
- Other People — Other People: A Mystery Story (1981);
- Money — Money (1984);
- London Fields (1989);
- Time's Arrow: Or the Nature of the Offence — The arrow of time or the nature of the offense (1991);
- The Information — The information (1995);
- Night Train — Night Train (1997);
- Yellow Dog — Stray Dog (2003);
- House of Meetings — The house of meetings (2006);
- The Pregnant Widow — The Pregnant Widow (2010);
- Lionel Asbo: State of England — Lionel Asbo: The State of England (2012);
- The Zone of Interest — The Zone of Interest (2015);
- Inside Story — From within (2020)
Non-fiction
- Invasion of the Space Invaders (1982);
- The Moronic Inferno: And Other Visits to America — The Moronic Inferno: And Other Visits to America (1986);
- Visiting Mrs Nabokov: And Other Excursions — Visiting Mrs. Nabokov and other excursions (1993);
- Experience — Experience (2000);
- The War Against Cliché: Essays and Reviews — The war against cliché: essays on literature (2001);
- Koba the Dread: Laughter and the Twenty Million — Koba the Dread: Laughter and the Twenty Million (2002);
- The Second Plane — The Second Plane: September 11, 2001-2007 (2008);
- The Rub of Time: Bellow, Nabokov, Hitchens, Travolta, Trump. Essays and Reportage — The Touch of Time. Bellow, Nabokov, Hitchens, Travolta, Trump and other essays (1986-2016).
Other works
- Einstein's Monsters — Einstein's Monsters (1987);
- Two Stories — Dos historias (1994);
- God's Dice (1995);
- Heavy Water and Other Stories (1998);
- Omnibus — Amis Omnibus (1999);
- The Fiction of Martin Amis (2000);
- Vintage Friends (2004)