Experimenting with narrative perspective, Boll creates in Group Portrait with Lady an intriguing biographical study serving as a social and psychological representation of a single character transposed against the panorama of history. The novel unfolds as an investigation as well as a reconstruction of Leni's life, intertwining the inescapable reality of the past with the unmistakable contrivances of the present. Leni is seemingly oblivious to the world around her, yet the reader is meant to interpret her behavior as an evasive tactic in much the same way as Leni's son, Lev, aspires to negate his association with society by a form of "deliberate underachievement. "

Throughout the novel, Boll maintains a masterful sense of irony and deliberate chronological complexity to both engage and challenge the reader. Although criticized for being overly sentimental in tone, the novel's lasting reputation is based primarily on its satiric wit, its inventive use of...