Wakolda

By Lucía Puenzo

Now a major motion picture The German Doctor is a story of obsession, loyalty and control as one man with dark intentions charms his way into the lives of an innocent, unsuspecting family. Patagonia, 1960. José is on the run. Having fled from him homeland Germany, he has come to South America to continue his work - José is a doctor, who is seeking to manipulate genes to create the 'perfect' human race'. In the small village of Chacharramendi he first meets Lilith, a child he notices from the balcony of his motel and is instantly fascinated yet repulsed by. For Lilith has a growth defect, and the disproportionate size of her features represent all he is trying to exterminate from humankind. Yet, even more fascinating is the fact that her siblings are perfect examples of the Aryan race; tall, strongly built and fair. The anomaly of Lilith's existence fascinates him, and when he discovers Lilith's mother is pregnant, if he is not mistaken with twins, the temptation to involve himself in their lives and even interfere with the pregnancy is too much for him to pass up on. A cold, calculating but eerily charming man, José befriends Lilith and manipulates his way into the family. And so begins a dark relationship between the doctor and little girl, a kind of love that cannot end well. For José is actually Nazi doctor Josef Mengele, infamous for performing human experiments at Auschwitz and sooner or later his past is going to catch up with him.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hesperus Press Ltd.
• Release date: Apr 25, 2014
• ISBN: 9781780944012