Every translation requires research, but this translation was unique in that so much of the research was centered around my home, New York City. Given the novel’s historical setting, I felt the need to be as accurate as I could, which meant not only quoting primary sources verbatim wherever possible when referring to real-life events—the German-American Bund’s rally at Madison Square Garden on February 20, 1939; the explosion at the Hercules powder plant on September 12, 1940—but also making sure I had a clear sense of the geography of New York at the time. Was the layout of Carl Schurz Park, where Josef meets Lauren for a date, different in 1939, before the FDR Drive was built along the East River? What about Brooklyn Heights before the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway was forced through? And how did Lower Manhattan’s street grid look prior to the construction of the World Trade Center?

Resources like Hagstrom’s New York Atlas, The WPA Guide to New York City, and the AIA Guide to New York City were invaluable, as were the New York Public Library’s online databases. It was particularly enjoyable to look through the NYPL’s collection of early 20th century menus, thanks to which I was able to confirm that chop suey was indeed available in New York in the 1930s—in 1938 you could order it at the Shanghai Food Shop on W. 45th St.—and that at least one diner, the Restaurant Longchamps at Madison and 59th, offered “alligator pear”—served on the half-shell, with crab meat and your choice of Russian or French dressing, it would cost you $1.25 in 1936.

It was not just a concern for historical accuracy, however, that made me so intent on capturing Ulla Lenze’s vivid, tangible evocation of New York. The city holds a special place in the heart of the book’s protagonist, Josef Klein. Indeed, though Josef’s thoughts and motivations are so often unclear—most notably his response to the Nazi activity he finds himself enmeshed in—the affection he feels for his adopted home is unambiguous. It may be exceeded only by his devotion to the radio.

The Radio Operator’s original German title is Der Empfänger, “the receiver.” The title has a double meaning, referring specifically to an electronic component—a radio receiver—and by extension to Josef himself, “one who receives.” Josef is a figure uniquely attuned to the activity around him, a sensitive antenna picking up disturbances in the fraught atmosphere of a city on the verge of war. The passive nature of this receptivity has dire consequences, as Josef is unable to assert himself against the negative influence of the Duquesne spy ring.