Valley of Unknowing: An evocative look at literary life behind the Iron Curtain

Any successful literary thriller is a balancing act. The best work of the genre is intelligent without ever being pretentious, is carefully constructed without calling undue attention to its architecture, and, more than anything, skilfully counterpoints its setting and theme in exemplary fashion. Fulfilling all these criteria, Philip Sington’s latest novel is set amongst the labyrinthine mind-games and self-deceptions of the former East Germany in its twilight years. It is an engrossing, occasionally brilliant read for suspense fans, history buffs, and spurned literati alike.

Purporting to be the final work of a “People’s Champion of Art and Culture” named Bruno Krug, The Valley of Unknowing opens with its protagonist living off the reputation of his novel The Orphans of Neustadt. He has coasted by on “twenty years of mediocrity”, on regime-licking propaganda essays, and on the safety afforded by his role as a Stasi informer. He believes his reputation is secure until his publisher asks him to read the only manuscript of a novel by rising screenwriter Wolfgang Richter.