the scoundrel factory (Salamander, 2022) is a huge novelistic work of almost 1000 pages of extension. Its author reviews in it some of the most transcendental and personal events of World War II through his narrator character, Koja Solm.
Chris Kraus wanted to prove to his disbelieving family that his grandfather had been a member of the Nazi SS. For this he did a research work and wrote an essay that ended up becoming a novel thanks to the author's great inquiries. It is a work of fiction very worked and careful, a whole trip to the Second World War.
The Scoundrel Factory: A Journey to World War II
Koja Solm and the Nazi image
Koja Solm is a rare character. It could be said that peculiar and with a life that is less than interesting. In 1974, in a hospital in Bavaria, and with a bullet embedded in his head, he begins to tell his story, one that goes back a long time.. His interlocutor is a young pacifist named Basti, while Solm was a former spy at the service of the Reich Defense Office. Yes, Solm was a Nazi agent, whose brother Hubert was also a member of the SS. The Nazi ideology had permeated with much more fervor in his brother than in him. However, it's hard to justify a character like Koja Solm. But the narration is measured by him and his character, open, whimsical and quite charming, make him difficult to classify and calibrate.
Many of the things he did cannot be justified, but they can be understood by the time and context. Or that's what Chris Kraus tries to do, trying not to get sentimental. remind yourself that Solm's character has a lot of the author's grandfather, who learned that his relative had been an agent of the Nazi organization Schutzstaffel (SS).
This unexpected event could have greatly affected him due to the close relationship he had with him. Moreover, the title of the novel, the scoundrel factory, presents the idea that the novelist wants to convey about his character, that of a scoundrel, rather than that of a criminal. The same is true of many others who participated in the Nazi movement. Because the novel shows what happened, after the war was over, with these agents who were involved and promoted, at least with their actions, Nazi ideas. And for this the author relies on his sense of humor, perhaps because of the challenge it entails. whiten the image of some of these people.
A very personal novel
the scoundrel factory It is a book that goes a long way due to its length and the intensity with which the events are narrated. It is a story full of intrigues that fascinate the reader with each new page. The most interesting, and at the same time incredible, is the true story that can be hidden in the plot. A fictional novel that serves to recount family battles and an excellent chronicle of the Second World War. The novel has, in turn, much of an audiovisual work, like a series or a great legendary movie.. Which does not detract at all from the narrative quality or the literary interest of a good novel. Maybe you get to conquer the best of both worlds.
The rhythm is sensational, typical of an epic novel that is well spun and contextualized. In addition to the historical boast, it is a very personal novel because of how it began, in the search for truth in the person of the author's grandfather. The characters are enigmatic and the capacity for transformation and metamorphosis of some of them exceeds the imagination of the reader. Especially if we remember the protagonist, who is a Nazi, although he is not convinced or a fan of these ideas.
Conclusions
the scoundrel factory is a family chronicle that describes the years of the last century and with special relevance the events of the Second World War and the following years. From a hospital bed, the scoundrel Koja Solm, thrillingly narrates a transversal story that covers several scenarios and countries throughout its almost 1000 pages. It is a book that also crosses genres and is peppered with humor, heroics, love, spies, politics, and history. Special mention must be made of the author's investigative work, which, together with his narrative ingenuity, will be capable of captivating the most demanding readers.
About the Author
Chris Kraus was born in Göttingen (Germany) in 1963.. He is a filmmaker who worked as a film scriptwriter and director. He trained at the German Film and Television Academy in Berlin (DFFB). His films stand out Shattered Glass (2003) Four minutes (2006) the flowers of yesteryear (2016), and the documentary work Rosakinder (2012). However, he has also cultivated his writing in the field of literature and published his first book in 2002. the scoundrel factory It is the third of four novels written by the author so far.