The Late Show Pod Show with Stephen Colbert Stephen Presents: Late Show Book Club | Daniel Kehlmann
4 snips
Aug 19, 2025 
Join Daniel Kehlmann, acclaimed author of 'The Director,' as he discusses the profound impact of art as resistance to tyranny. He shares his thoughts on moral compromise in historical fiction, drawing inspiration from his father's experiences in Nazi-occupied Austria. Kehlmann reveals his all-time favorite novel and offers insightful advice for aspiring writers, emphasizing the importance of dedication and resilience in the writing journey. Get ready for a thought-provoking dive into history, creativity, and the power of storytelling.
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Father's Experience In Nazi Austria
- Kehlmann recounts his father's experience as a Jewish teen in Austria under the Nazis.
- His father endured job loss, forged documents, and three months in a concentration camp.
Complicity As Everyday Survival
- Complicity in dictatorships becomes woven into everyday survival and speech.
- Kehlmann warns it creates a complicated gray zone where people adapt to survive.
A Father's Return Breaks His Son
- Kehlmann focuses on the director's moral failure: returning to Nazi Germany and sending his son back.
- That decision breaks the son, who becomes a perpetrator shaped by the system.
