The Zone of Interest, Martin Amis' novel, which was published in 2014 by Vintage Books, is a novel about the Holocaust. Specifically, it is a novel about a love affair between Angelus Thomsen and the wife of the camp's commandant in the notorious Auschwitz concentration camp, told from the perspective of three people: the aforementioned Angelus Thomsen; Paul Doll, the camp commandant; and Szmul Zacharias, a Jewish man who works for Nazis. The story is told over a number of years as Thomsen tries—but invariably fails—to court Doll's wife, who has grown to hate her husband. Eventually, the two find each other once more, but Doll's old wife rejects Thomsen, telling him that she reminds her of her terrible past.
A film version of Amis' novel, also called The Zone of Interest (but only loosely based on Amis' novel), is set to be released in 2023. That film, which was directed by acclaimed director Jonathan Glazer, received rave advanced reviews from critics at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. That film reignited interest in Amis' novel, which is still in print to this day.
Many reviewers felt that The Zone of Interest marked a return to form for Amis. In fact, several called the novel Amis' best in 25 years. In their review of the novel, The Washington Post praised the novel. They said that Amis and his writing is "a wizard." The New Yorker called the novel "inspired" and said that "Martin Amis is at his most compelling as a satiric vivisectionist with a cool eye and an unwavering scalpel."
