Truth versus Lies

The theme of truth versus lies is a very important theme in this novel. This question of morality focuses on the German government’s decision to award restitution to Jewish people who had been confined in concentration camps or ghettos during World War II. Slava, the main character of the novel, was asked to write false stories for Jews who believed they were due restitution but did not meet the qualifications outlined by the German government.

When Slava decided to write the first false restitution letter for his grandfather and then later after he’d been accused of writing false letters by Otto Barber, a man who worked with the Conference on Material Claims Against Germany he struggled with the implications of his lies. Views on lying expressed in the novel run the gamut from Arianna’s idea that Slava’s lies are wrong...