The Scottish publisher Saraband published an English edition of The Hormone Factory. In The Herald of 19.03.2016 a review was published by Lesley McDowell. About the main character she writes: ‘He may repel us but he attracts us, too, and in the doubleness of that appeal lies Goldschmidt’s message about the kind of men a country can produce. Those on the receiving end of Nazi persecution weren’t all victims, and those in the pursuit of scientific advancement weren’t all heroes, either.’ More reading >
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The Hormone Factory explores the question of how sex drive and ambition affect a man’s morality. De Paauw is in many ways a monster, but is unable to see his actions as anything other than mere “weakness”. Despite its flaws, The Hormone Factory is a dark, fascinating exploration of man’s nature set during an era of exciting scientific discovery and geopolitical turmoil. Robert Stirrups, The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, Volume 2, Issue 10, October 2014
Read the complete review
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‘I was impressed by the way Saskia Goldschmidt tells us this almost unbelievable story. It takes place in troubled times, and as such, the destiny of a jewish family business in the Netherlands threatened by Nazi-Germany would already have been a great story line, but the author manages to weave questions about science, jealousy between brothers and sex into the narrive in such a way that the book becomes a real page-turner. The rare combination of a great plot and fascinating underlying interrogations, told in a very clear and gripping voice‘ Jean Mattern from Gallimard in Paris, France.
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‘The Hormone Factory marks a paradigm shift in the way we look at the world after World War II. Saskia had the courage to write a story based on true events that challenges a certain ‘post modern’ hypocrisy while it recounts the logic of a perversion that had terrible destructive ramifications until it was brought to his own logical conclusion. A disturbing book for sure but one that forces us to think of how the marriage between science and capitalism can lead to disasters when people go wrong once they are in charge. Judith Gurewich from The Other Press in New York, US
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‘A story written with color and momentum.’ – de Volkskrant
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‘A beautiful novel about the proud tyrant De Pauw, that is based on imagination, but probably
contains a lot more truth than we would like.’ – Brabants Dagblad
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‘Goldschmidt’s tone is fascinating, picturesque and humorous. The fantastic formulated passage about the existence of God is hilarious. She has written a enthralling story in which she seduces the reader with beautiful sentences.’ – Literair Nederland
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‘If you want to you can read The Hormone Factory as a indictment against the ruthless capitalist. If you don’t care for a message you can indulge yourse lf in a villain’s story. A villain you wouldn’t want to get close to, but ou’ll be mesmerized by his la st words until death is merciful on him.’ – Recensieweb ****
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‘The success of The Hormone Factory isn’t just Motkes fascinating wickedness. But he is the heart of this exciting story in which the birth of modern me dical science, post-war prosperity and science and commerce bargaining come together. It makes Motke a classical bad guy. He doesn’t settle for less and creates changes, for better or for worse.’ – 8w eekly.nl
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‘A well written novel. Full of shame you read the motives of a successful entrepreneur who abuses his power shamelessly. He often gets away with it but not at home, which he finds out too late.’ – Krings Book sellers ****
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‘A fascinating novel about the rise of a factory that isn’t keen on honoring values. A pretty exciting story that you want to finish in one reading. A fet ching story, also for young readers.’ – Scholieren.com
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‘A strong book. Goldschmidt has a fine style of writing and knows how to build a good story. She also knows how to create good and credible characters. A true recommendation.’ – de Leesfabriek