The Dark Room

Ms. Seiffert's book, "The Dark Room," is notable as not only an auspicious debut for this young writer, but additionally for her remarkable talent in relating a feel for human events that took place decades before she was born. None of these three stories is based on historical fact; what she wrote, she created. The book contains three stories or novellas that are not dependent upon one another, and while not all carried the same impact, the three are consistently well written. The author writes in an understated manner; this is not a series of stories that shock by atrocity alone. The book is replete with human suffering both inflicted and endured, but it is delivered with a subtle pen. Ms. Seiffert also takes a less familiar perspective in this book. The events that forever damage these people are explored both as they happened and as they are uncovered generations later. The final story, "Micha," is particularly powerful. Those affected by the war and its aftermath generally struggle with grief or rage—they are the immediate victims of the conflict. The final story painfully demonstrates that certain conduct has ramifications that never subside, inhabiting the generations that follow. Time does not heal many things. The author presents her stories without flourish or preaching, offering a subtle, powerful narrative that invades the mind's eye with its horror and crimes.