Leipzig, summer 1821. Johann Christian Woyzeck, a casual laborer and former mercenary soldier, murders Johanna Christiana Woost, the widow of a surgeon. The perpetrator is subjected to scientific interrogations, a novelty of the time, in order to find out whether he committed the crime by accident, instinct or premeditated intent, and what his motivations were. Georg Büchner's play Woyzeck, written in 1836-1837 but never finished, and which has been presented to viewers in thousands of interpretations ever since, is a "treat for philologists and theater directors". Alban Berg wrote an opera from it, several musicals were made from it, Werner Herzog made it into a film, as did the Hungarian director János Szász, thus becoming one of the nominees for the 1994 Oscar. Árpád Schilling's signature Chalk Circle was staged by theater directors all over the world, and it is still one of the most frequently performed plays in Germany.
Steve Sem-Sandberg wrote his fascinating, lyrical-sensual psychological novel using the documents found in 1914 by the forensic doctor of the real Leipzig murder, which also inspired the Büchner drama. A tragic and merciless vision of the horrors of war, social vulnerability, and the vulnerability of the human soul - unfortunately, its relevance cannot be questioned.