"It chimes eerily with the times we are living through now." ―Margaret
Atwood, The New York Times Book Review
Hendrik Hofgen is a man obsessed with becoming a famous actor. When the
Nazis come to power in Germany, he willingly renounces his Communist
past and deserts his wife and mistress in order to keep on performing.
His diabolical performance as Mephistopheles in Faust proves to be the
stepping-stone he yearned for: attracting the attention of Hermann
Göring, it wins Hofgen an appointment as head of the State Theatre. The
rewards - the respect of the public, a castle-like villa, a place in
Berlin's highest circles - are beyond his wildest dreams. But the moral
consequences of his betrayals begin to haunt him, turning his dreamworld
into a nightmare.
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