The Toymaker
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4.2 • 31 Ratings
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
‘Hugely memorable, The Toymaker is an unflinching examination of the dark instinct for survival that lies in all of us.’ Hannah Kent, author of Burial Rites
A person is defined by the secrets they keep . . .
Adam Kulakov likes his life. He's on the right side of middle age; the toy company he owns brightens the lives of children around the world; and he has more money than he can ever spend, a wife and child he adores, and as many mistresses as he can reasonably hide from them.
And he is not the only one with secrets. In 1944, Adam's grandfather, Arkady, was imprisoned in Auschwitz and given an impossible choice. Now, as he's coming to the end of his life, he has to keep the truth from his family, and hold back the crushing memories of his time with one of history's greatest monsters.
As a mistake threatens to bring Adam's world tumbling down around him, the past reaches for Arkady. Everything he's spent a lifetime building will be threatened, as will everything Adam and his family think they know of the world.
Bold, dark and compelling, The Toymaker is a novel about privilege, fear and the great harm we can do when we are afraid of losing what we hold dear.
‘Pieper writes superbly. The Toymaker gives immediate and absorbing pleasure, and has similarities to J M Coetzee’s Disgrace in terms of the main character’s wretched search for redemption, both for himself and for humanity.’ Books+Publishing
Customer Reviews
Toying around
Author
Australian. Freelance writer from Melbourne. In 2014, he published a memoir about his bohemian upbringing (Feel Good Hit of The Year), followed by a collection of essays (Mistakes Were Made, 2015). These proved the guy can write. This is his first novel.
Precis
Setting is the world's most liveable city. Adam Kulakov is the thirty-something owner/managing director of a toy company founded by his now late nineties Russian grandfather, Arkady. Adam has a fondness for well-stacked schoolgirls and enough funds to indulge this pastime. Meanwhile, his long suffering wife Tess, whose upbringing mirrored that of the author, is neglected by her spouse and working hard keeping the finances of the company in order, mainly by keeping her husband’s hands out of the till, and looking after Kade, their young child. Tess’s greatest support comes from Arkady until he starts to crumble due to strokes and vascular dementia. Arkady built the business after fleeing Europe following World War II, most of which he spent in Auschwitz. On the surface, he’s a hero and Adam frequently uses his grandfather’s story to promote the company. Meanwhile, Adam is dealing with a blackmailer and trying to keep the ugly secret of a schoolgirl dalliance from Tess. Arkady has a secret too, and it’s a bigger one. Much bigger.
Writing
Characters tend to caricatures at times, but the writing style is clean and easy to read.
Bottom line
Pieper packs plenty in here, possibly too much, but I liked this a whole lot more than The Tattooist of Auschwitz, which received more publicity.