| A haunting novel about an unusual family's breakdownset in South America during the time of Che Guevara and inspired by the life of Third Reich cinematographer Hans Ertlfrom the literary star Jonathan Safran Foer calls, ',a great writer.'Inspired by real events, Affections is the story of the eccentric, fascinating Ertl clan, headed by the egocentric and extraordinary Hans, once the cameraman for the Nazi propagandist Leni Riefenstahl. Shortly after the end of World War II, Hans and his family flee to Bolivia to start over. There, the ever-restless Hans decides to embark on an expedition in search of the fabled lost Inca city of Paitit, enlisting two of his daughters to join him on his outlandish quest into the depths of the Amazon, with disastrous consequences. Set against the backdrop of the both optimistic and violent 1950s and 1960s, Affections traces the Ertlss slow and inevitable breakdown through the various erratic trajectories of each family member: Hanss undertakings of colossal, foolhardy projects and his subsequent spectacular failures, his daughter Monika, heir to his adventurous spirit, who joins the Bolivian Marxist guerrillas and becomes known as Che Guevaras avenger, and his wife and two younger sisters left to pick up the pieces in their wake. In this short but powerful work, Hasbn weaves a masterfully layered tale of how a familys voyage of discovery ends up eroding the affections that once held it together. |
