- Hardcover: 352 pages
- Publisher: Picador; Main Market edition (11 July 2019)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1509892788
- ISBN-13: 978-1509892785
Synopsis
In 1922, Paul Beckermann arrives at the Bauhaus art school and is immediately seduced by both the charismatic teaching and his fellow students. Eccentric and alluring, the more time Paul spends with his new friends the closer they become, and the deeper he falls in love with the mesmerising Charlotte. But Paul is not the only one vying for her affections, and soon an insidious rivalry takes root.
As political tensions escalate in Germany, the Bauhaus finds itself under threat, and the group begins to disintegrate under the pressure of its own betrayals and love affairs. Decades later, in the wake of an unthinkable tragedy, Paul is haunted by a secret. When an old friend from the Bauhaus resurfaces, he must finally break his silence.
Review
Naomi Wood had brilliant success with Mrs Hemmingway last year, and now moves from the world literature to the art world. The Hiding Game is primarily set in 1930’s Germany at the famous Bauhaus Art School, where six friends are just starting out in their learning of the new ideas taught there. Paul, one of the six is the main narrator, and there are also chapters from England where he chose to live after the war. As Paul and his friends continue their journey at the school and in life, allegiances change, betrayal and love divide culminating in tragedy and blame.
Naomi Wood has chosen a really interesting period to set this book, as political changes were taking place in Germany, the economy was poor and mistrust was an undercurrent. The Bauhaus Art School went against the political feeling of the time, it was seen as communist in its ideals, and was not popular among the habitants of the towns it was based. So unpopular was it, that it closed three times and moved to three different German towns; Weimar, Dessau, and Berlin. Having said that, it was one of the most influential art schools of the modern era with a prestigious teaching staff like Kandinsky and Klee, and whose ethos was adopted by art schools in Europe and America. Naomi Wood really brings the feeling of the period, the tension, and the cultural climate to life with her detailed knowledge of that time. The descriptive prose, the attention to the natural world is like an artists palette of colour in words, a real feast for the senses.
The six friends were all very different, and quite a strange unit. Paul was the painter which was a hard discipline at Bauhaus as they were trying to get away from painting being a fine art, and the highest of disciplines. Charlotte was also a painter but great with weaving and producing sculptures, as was Irmi, whilst Walter, Jenö and Kaspar also specialised in sculpture from everyday products. They were also from very different social backgrounds, Walter and Kasper coming from money. What they all had in common, especially in their first year was their idolisation of their teacher, Johannes Itten, whose spiritual teachings they took seriously. This relationship did make me think of Donna Tartt’s A Secret History in parts, as they became immersed in Itten’s teachings, and in their own relationships which became obsessive, causing jealousies in the group.
I found Charlotte the most interesting character. As a female she had to overcome many obstacles to become a serious artist, women were seen as only be able to make decorative art and not taken seriously. This becomes apparent when on the second year the friends all pupils requests for their preferred discipline, and Charlotte finds herself in weaving, rather than painting or metal work. Irma also had the same problems but was more comfortable with them than Charlotte, who even went to the lengths of cutting off her hair and wearing men’s clothing to be taken more seriously. Paul is at the heart of this group friends, the one who seems to be at the centre of the group when there are betrayals and arguments, and as they eventually implode he is the one who can’t forgive. He wants to prove himself independent to his father, earn his own money for his fees as he doesn’t come from a rich family. He never seems totally happy, I saw him as the real tortured artist struggling for money whilst following his talent. He only seemed happy, ironically, when he was earning money helping to produce traditional works of art, when his talent as an artist was appreciated in a job he kept secret from the Bauhaus where he would be criticised for this.
The Hiding Game is a story of art, love, jealousy, obsession, and treachery set against the backdrop of the Bauhaus School. I love reading books set in the art world, and I found this to be beautifully written, with attention to detail and diverse characters that fitted the period, and enabled many issues of that period to be discussed. A fascinating and intelligent read, that I completely fell in love with, and a book that I highly recommend.
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