Goethe Book Club
Goethe Book Club: The Silent Death (2009), by Volker Kutscher

2018 translation by Niall Sellar

Tue, 06/14/2022
6:30 PM Eastern

Online

A book club discussion of The Silent Death / Der stumme Tod (2019) by Volker Kutscher, translated into English by Niall Sellar in 2018

Read and discuss works by German authors in this series hosted by the Goethe-Institut Washington. All books can be read in English translation or in the German original; our discussion will be in English.

Please Note: In order to participate in the online discussion (carried out over Zoom), registrants must obtain access to the novel on their own. Hard copies of the novel can be ordered through multiple vendors online; the eBook is also available for download to Kindle, iPad, and other digital reading platforms.

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Der stumme Tod / The Silent Death, by Volker Kutscher

March 1930: The film business is in a process of change. Talking films are taking over the silver screen and many a producer, cinema owner, and silent movie star is falling by the wayside.

Celebrated actress Betty Winter is hit by a spotlight while filming a talkie. At first it looks like an accident, but Superintendent Gereon Rath findsclues that point to murder. While his colleagues suspect the absconded lighting technician, Rath’s investigations take him in a completely different direction, and he is soon left on his own.

Steering clear of his superior who wants him off the case, Rath’s life gets more complicated when his father asks him to help Cologne mayor Konrad Adenauerwith a case of blackmail, and ex-girlfriend Charly tries to renew their relationship—all while tensions between Nazis and Communists escalate to violence.

Source: MacMillan
Register
Volker Kutscher (1962-)

Volker Kutscher studied Philosophy, German, and History at the Universities of Wuppertal and Cologne. He worked as a newspaper editor before writing his first novel in 1996. He received the Berlin Crime Fiction Award, Reinickendorfer Krimifuchs. He lives in Cologne with his family.

Niall Sellar (1984-)

Niall Sellar studied German and Translation Studies in Dublin, Konstanz, and Edinburgh. He lives in London and works as a translator and teacher of modern languages.

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Discussion of the novel will take place virtually via Zoom on Tuesday, June 14, at 6:30pm Eastern. Please RSVP via Eventbrite in order to receive discussion prompts and the Zoom invite link.

Discussion prompts from the facilitator (facilitator TBA) will be emailed to all participants RSVP'd via Eventbrite in advance of the discussion. The Zoom invite and additional directions/tips for accessing the Zoom discussion will be emailed to all participants no less than 48 hours before the discussion begins. The discussion will take place in English.