The novel Death in Rome is the story of a handful of people carrying the legacy of the Hitler regime – as victims and as perpetrators. They meet in Rome – the city of Caesar, Mussolini, the pope – a few years after the end of World War II, reviving in a haunting atmosphere, against the backdrop of the Eternal City, the grim past of German fascism. With sharp language and penetrating psychological insight, Kepen outlines the politically charged history of the disastrous German past, highlighting the hollow nationalism and bankrupt ideology of Nazism, as well as its destructive consequences on the psyche of those who experienced its horror. At the same time, however, it brings to light the yearning for catharsis and change, in a work that is a landmark in German post-war literature.
Very interesting! Worth reading.