Introduction

Ernst Vogler is twenty-four years old in 1938 when he is sent to Rome by his employer--the Third Reich's Sonderprojekt, which is collecting the great art of Europe and brining it to Germany for the Führer. Vogler is to collect a famous Classical Roman marble statue, The Discus Thrower, and get it to the German border, where it will be turned over to Gestapo custody. It is a simple, three-day job.

Things start to go wrong almost immediately. The Italian twin brothers who have been hired to escort Vogler to the border seem to have priorities besides the task at hand--wild romances, perhaps even criminal jobs on the side--and Vogler quickly loses control of the assignment. The twins set off on a dangerous detour and Vogler realizes he will be lucky to escape this venture with his life, let alone his job. With nothing left to lose, the young German gives himself up to the Italian adventure, to the surprising love and inevitable losses along the way.

The Detour is a bittersweet novel about artistic obsession, misplaced idealism, detours, and second chances, set along the beautiful back-roads of northern Italy on the eve of war.

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Excerpt

Prologue
1948
Piedmont, Northern Italy

The russet bloom on the vineyards ahead, the yellowleafed oaks, a hint of truffles fattening in moldy obscurity underfoot—none of it is truly familiar, because I first came here not only in a different season, but as a different man. Yet the smell of autumn anywhere is for me the smell of memory, and I am preoccupied as my feet guide me through the woods and fields up toward the old Piedmontese villa. ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

1. Ernst Vogler takes solace in the image of the Discus Thrower. Is there an object or image in which you’ve taken solace? Are there times when reverence for an object or image has misled a person or people?

2. “For beauty, you cannot prepare,” claims Enzo. Ernst Vogler, by contrast, thinks that beauty (and specifically, art) requires intellectual preparation. Who is right, or are they each right in different situations?

3. Is there a particular work of art in any form (including music, architecture, or film) that has captivated you, and why? What does it say about you personally that this particular work so enthralls you?

4. What makes Vogler a poor candidate for this mission, and what, in his mind or objectively, makes him an ideal candidate?

5. Vogler’s mentor, Gerhard, feels that his young protégée needs a trip to Italy. Why is this so? Do you agree? What are your thoughts on the power—or limitations—of a short-term experience to change us? Have you ever taken a trip that radically changed your outlook on life?

6. Is Vogler overreacting when he is anxious about his own personal mark of “difference”? Why or why not?

7. Various German artists—including a preeminent conductor and a world-famous filmmaker—were essentially forgiven for working in high positions or in close collaboration with the Third Reich. What is your opinion on the choices they made and the post-war attitudes toward artists like them?

8. To what extent do we hold people accountable today for working in or for unethical companies, organizations, or governments? To what extent are they innocent? To what extent are they culpable?

9. Various governments have tried to gain or keep control of artistic and archaeological objects and artifacts over the centuries, and have used these symbols in propaganda efforts. Can you think of examples, and why do these objects matter so much?

10. Hitler was a failed artist. Churchill was a successful one. Mussolini played violin every day. Is art as important in the lives of today’s leaders or opinion-makers? If not, has something else taken its place?

11. There are multiple father figures in the novel. Discuss their relevance and their positive or negative impacts on Vogler. Do you think this has particular relevance to Germany at this time in history?

12. If Vogler’s trip to Italy is meant to shake him from his blinkered approach to life, or his ethical paralysis, does it? What people or events are most significant in changing his attitudes or behaviors?

13. Both the ancient Greeks and the Third Reich held the “perfect” body in great esteem. What are your thoughts on this?

14. How are Ernst and Rosina similar, and how are they different? What are their chances for happiness, and do they¬—does anyone—“deserve” it? What life do you envision for them, beyond the final chapters of this book?
 
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