The Seventh Circle

When Karl, a closeted gay university student and the son of a wealthy business owner, is charged with violating Paragraph 175 during the Third Reich, he must go to a concentration camp for correction. Paragraph 175 of the law pertains to sexual acts between men, a charge that puts Karl into the brutal hands of the Nazis who torture him emotionally, physically, and psychologically. In the inhumane Nazi camp, Karl discovers that it was his lover who betrayed him to the Gestapo, the German secret state police, a revelation that brings him unbelievable pain.

The Seventh Circle is a historical-fiction book loosely based on the true realities of the Nazi concentration camps. Told from a memoir-like perspective, Thomas Bauer brilliantly highlights the plight of The Men with the Pink Triangles. The plot presents a compelling story about the atrocities and pain suffered by gay inmates in the Nazi era. Thomas Bauer does not shy away from detailing sexually horrific and explicit scenes, making for a visceral read. The descriptions are written with forensic clarity, the emotions captured raw, and the characters written into a historical setting that forces the reader to pay attention to them. It is intense and affecting, nuanced and featuring complex relationships, especially one between the protagonist and his mother. Although Karl’s mother knows of her son’s sexuality, she approves of him and accepts him.

The Seventh Circle is a thought-provoking read for the modern LGBTQIA+ youth. This book will let them discover the realities gay people before them faced. Bauer’s words paint the most detailed picture of the sexual torture and psychological trauma that Karl experiences. Karl’s story is about resilience and holding onto oneself against the brutal and inhumane experiments faced by the men and women during the Nazi era. If you are looking for an intelligently written book that draws you in with brilliantly crafted descriptions, fully fleshed characters, and relentless realism, The Seventh Circle by Thomas Bauer will be the perfect read for you!