Summary of The Zone of Interest
“The Zone of Interest” by Martin Amis tells the story of a German officer’s infatuation with Hannah, the wife of a concentration camp commander in Auschwitz. When the commander discovers the affair, he sends a member of the Sonderkommando (Jewish prisoners forced to work for the Nazis in the extermination of other Jews) to murder his wife.
Reasons to read The Zone of Interest
“The Zone of Interest” is a love story set in the most unlikely of places: the Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz. The novel was shortlisted for the 2015 Walter Scott Prize and was adapted into an award-winning film in 2023, by director Jonathan Glazer. Martin Amos was one of the most prominent contemporary British writers. His most notable novels include “The Rachel Papers” (1973),“ Money” (1984) and “London Fields” (1989). He also published “Time’s Arrow”, another novel set in Auschwitz. In 2000, he received the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his autobiography “Experience” (which largely deals with his relationship with his father, the writer Kingsley Amis).
Setting: Auschwitz (Poland)
Original title: The Zone of Interest
Year of publication: 2014
Nr of pages: 320
