A tale of creative and romantic obsession set against the backdrop of the thriving Bauhaus scene, The Hiding Game brilliantly evokes the political tensions of the Weimar era and the conflict between art and encroaching Fascism. Gripping yet sophisticated, it is a novel of eloquent power.
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.
Beautifully written, powerful and suspenseful, Naomi Wood's The Hiding Game is a novel about the dangerously fine line between love and obsession, set against the most turbulent era of our recent past.
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
ISBN: 9781509892785
Number of pages: 352
Weight: 516 g
Dimensions: 223 x 145 x 39 mm
The Hiding Game is a brilliant, fascinating novel - a gripping story, skilfully told. I defy anyone not to be possessed by the all-consuming universe it creates - Sara Baume, author of Spill Simmer Falter Wither
A suspenseful story of obsession against the tense political backdrop of Germany’s Bauhaus art school - Francesca Angelini, Sunday Times Style
The Hiding Game is a searing and profoundly moving exploration of the things we conceal from others and all that we hide from ourselves. Atmospheric and compelling . . . A haunting read - Caroline Lea, author of The Glass Woman
The author of Mrs Hemingway triumphs with another exploration of the costs of creativity, this time art and the meticulously researched Bauhaus era from its claustrophobic bubble to the hostile world beyond. I was seduced and fascinated by the hedonism, the creative and romantic rivalries and conflicted loyalties in this tangle of flawed and beautiful people - Isabel Costello, The Literary Sofa
This suspenseful mystery is about art, expression, freedom and love. Wood’s portrayal of the Bauhaus is a thrill, whilst her playfulness with language is an absolute joy - HWA Gold Crown Judges
Impressive . . . The Hiding Game opens as Paul Beckermann, an artist long exiled in England, learns of the death of an old friend, Walter König. The news returns him to 1922, and the Bauhaus, where he and Walter, together with a close-knit group of friends, were students . . . With great conviction, Wood summons up the intensity of the students’ camaraderie and the forces that destroy it - Nick Rennison, The Sunday Times
Wood can recreate a time and place with all its glamour and grit . . . art and ideas have never felt more thrilling. Against this backdrop, seductions, secrets and rivalries all play out – until years later when they unravel - Alexandra Heminsley, Grazia
A fantastic novel, so beautiful and sad. Naomi Wood’s instinct for the rhythm and details of longing is sublime and the way she weaves together the personal and national is mesmerising . . . Immersive, elegant and affecting, Wood’s prose, as always, delights the senses - Megan Bradbury, author of Everyone is Watching
A love story set in the Bauhaus art school during Germany's turbulent 1920s? Be still, my pounding heart! - Sarra Manning, Red, 'The only summer reads you need'
Set against the political upheaval of 1930s Germany, The Hiding Game is a dazzling tale of artistic ambition and romantic desire, of the choices we make in youth and the price we pay for them as we grow older. Beautifully written, vividly realized, it will remain seared in my imagination for years to come - Ellen Feldman, author of Next to Love
Naomi Wood's The Hiding Game is extraordinary. Rich, intense, incredible language describing the loyalty and treachery of this group of artists ignoring Hitler’s rise - Liza Klaussmann, author of Tigers in Red Weather
Tense and absorbing, this is a book that you’ll want to dive into and hungrily read to the last word - Stylist
An engaging tale filled with jealousies and rivalries turns into a dark, compelling drama about betrayal, revenge and the cost of loving too much . . . Like Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, Wood’s novel starts out as a chronicle of a death foretold . . . emotionally charged and morally complex - Literary Review
Wood effortlessly evokes the atmosphere at the Bauhaus . . . The Hiding Game is a carefully and intricately woven novel of love, deceit and creativity - Icon Magazine
A devastating secret haunts Naomi Wood’s third novel . . . Fans of Hanya Yanagihara’s A Little Life will be carried away by the similarly fraught friendships and loving betrayals in Wood’s book - New Statesman
In The Hiding Game, the reader is lured expertly into the atmosphere and eccentricities of a group of Bauhaus students whose loves and loyalties are tested within their odd, exciting environment. This is a novel of curious, arresting detail and sharp emotions, a coming of age story like no other. Layered and intricate, it's another triumph from the lively mind of Naomi Wood - Nuala O'Connor, author of Becoming Belle
A novel of delicate menace, in which the gathering weight of personal struggle becomes insidiously roped to the political upheaval of 1930s Germany and its rising fascist forces - Ross Raisin, author of God's Own Country
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