"The Detour" (Soho, 307 pages, $25), by the magnificently named Andromeda Romano-Lax, springs from Hitler's real-life purchase of a cast of the ancient sculpture "The Discus Thrower" from the Italian government. In the novel, Ernst Vogler is the man tasked with retrieving the delicate piece, but his return to Germany is sidetracked by the confusing misadventures of his Italian drivers and the appearance of a voluptuous Piedmontese woman.Read about the other books Sacks discussed.
Ernst was born with a minor physical imperfection, which allows Ms. Romano-Lax to muse about the classical beauty embodied by the sculpture and worshiped by Hitler.
The Page 69 Test: The Detour.
My Book, The Movie: The Detour.
--Marshal Zeringue
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