The Architects

by Stefan Heym

It is 1956, and Daniel Wollin returns to East Germany after sixteen years of Soviet imprisonment. A brilliant architect, Daniel is taken in by his former colleague, Arnold Sundstrom, who has become hugely successful since their exile in Moscow. Together, the two men work to redesign the nation for the Communist future. But with Daniel's arrival, Arnold's young wife, Julia, begins to uncover the lies that hold her marriage together and the mystery behind her own parents' deaths in Russia many years ago. A novel of political intrigue and personal betrayal, The Architects tells a story of love and friendship in a world governed by surveillance and mistrust. 'Totally absorbing . . . Stefan Heym is, by any measure, a literary phenomenon.' - Times Literary Supplement'Heym was unique in the history of European literature.' - Telegraph'A leading figure in the East German literary scene.' - Tony Judt'A splendid find, a compelling drama.' - Will Wiles'Brave, vivid and uncompromising, a chilling portrait of a man and a society struggling to find traces of humanity in themselves and others as their world comes under threat from life-shattering secrets and the tightening grip of brutal ideology.' - Chloë Aridjis, author of Book of Clouds

Genres: Fiction, German Literature, Germany, Novels

340 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Jake Goretzki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up in Daunt books in Marylebone, seeing a pile of copies of it superbly merch'd on a table in the corner, emblazoned with TLS quotes about its brilliance.

What a peculiar choice for a reprint. At best, it's an interesting GDR artifact, set in a pretty fascinating period (post *that* 1956 speech). At points, it has the potential of a low level thriller. It's also obviously strong on the public vs private, the tight political game of favourite and out-of-favour and the ghastly charade of socialist realism.

So far, so good.

What I struggled with was the morality. Stefan Heym isn't satirising or trying to deflate the overarching idea. Stalin's bad, sure - and, comrades, awful things were done by him. But the revolution and the dictatorship of the proletariat - that's fine. Forget ye not: this writer went back to the GDR. All of which left me cold and actually irritated me at times for its careful posturing and, frankly, hypocrisy.

Odd on the language front too. He wrote it in English, but it's full of idiosyncratic Germanisms that soon set you bemoaning an imagined sloppy translater. 'Mishmash' instead of 'chitchat'; 'no skin off my back'; 'stop yammering', etc. Ganz komisch.

[Angela Kitchen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't finish this.... The potential was there but in the end I did not care about it

[Kathi S · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoy the story and the theme of architecture in it. But i absolutly hated the very last page of the book and what conclusion we got there.

[Alexandra]

Dnf

[Val · Rating 2 out of 5]

The novel is set in the Deutsche Demokratische Republik (German Democratic Republic or East Germany). The characters in it are a team of architects working to rebuild post war Berlin. There is a lot of discussion of what type of architecture is politically correct for a socialist republic, which shows that every decision had a political element at that time.
There is a lot of sexual and professional jealousy among this so-called team and an historical incident dating back to when the older architects were working in the Soviet Union after fleeing Nazi Germany.

[Malcolmaffleck · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are at all interested in what life would have been like in the GDR (East Germany before the fall of the Cold War) then you should give this book a read. It's a love square between 4 different architects set slightly before and after Kruschev's speech denouncing the Stalinist regime with the 4 architects taking different aspects of the socialist state - whether they are people who profess to agree with the positions of the regime for status and power, or have been imprisoned in Russian Concentration Camps and can see some of the hypocrisy of the regime.

At times, it does seem like there will be a very large denouement by the end of the story, but the reason why Laura's parents and Wollin were imprisoned in Russia are very small and commonplace - which is probably more true to life. The reason why it doesn't get 5 stars is that some of the characterisation runs a little odd - to get the plot going some of the characters act in ways that are slightly out of sorts.

Still, a fascinating read into ideas about architecture and living in a Communist state.

[John Henderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find it difficult to explain why I liked this book. I suppose it comes down to the political intrigues and descriptions of communist GDR. I did find some of the architectural stuff a little boring but on balance I am glad I continued to read.

[Linda Mcbain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating historical novel about 1950s East Germany a period of history I knew little about. Difficult to emphasise with any of the characters though - bit frustrating.

[Alison · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very hard going - I almost gave up after struggling to get into it.

[Aletta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beklemmende roman over hoe het wereldbeeld kantelde in Oost-Duitsland 1956, voor maar vooral na de toespraak van Chroetsjov verteld door de levens van 4 architecten