Scan barcode
lastpaige111's review against another edition
5.0
As a student of German literature and someone obsessed with the pre, during, and post WWII era (and not in terms of battles and body counts, but in terms of human story), I was gripped. Great psychological thriller/spy novel taking place in the little-treated time between the war and the wall, mixed with literary references. My only complaint--if you're going to listen to the audio book, be ready to hear some butchered German.
candacesiegle_greedyreader's review against another edition
5.0
Joseph Kanon gets better and better—this novel offers a terrific atmospheric setting, taut plotting and, finally, a believable female character. Best of all, the main character is in the devil of a fix, one that ties up the perils of the late 1940s in one compromised package.
Alex Meier fled Berlin in the early 1930s, not because he’s Jewish, but because he was a communist. He survives the war but is caught in Senator McCarthy’s net, and because he never applied for US citizenship he is in their sights. He’s divorced and has a son which gives them a powerful hammer to hold over his head. As a celebrated novelist, he will return to what is morphing into East Berlin, get in with the Russians and Germans creating the new socialist paradise, and report his findings to the US. If he refuses, he will be deported and never permitted to return to see his son again.
The Berlin airlift is on, four years after the end of the war the city is still a moonscape of rubble. The Russians are dismantling anything that survived and carting it back to the USSR. Culturally, the city has drawn many of its brightest lights to return; Jews who fled in the ‘30s, as well as a number of American communists who want to help build the new Germany. Alex is a big catch for the Soviets and he has access to inner workings on both sides.
I’ll say no more. The story is gripping and the sense of place is harrowing—the war may be over but there is still a literal and figurative minefield facing survivors. Only fault—it’s too short.
Alex Meier fled Berlin in the early 1930s, not because he’s Jewish, but because he was a communist. He survives the war but is caught in Senator McCarthy’s net, and because he never applied for US citizenship he is in their sights. He’s divorced and has a son which gives them a powerful hammer to hold over his head. As a celebrated novelist, he will return to what is morphing into East Berlin, get in with the Russians and Germans creating the new socialist paradise, and report his findings to the US. If he refuses, he will be deported and never permitted to return to see his son again.
The Berlin airlift is on, four years after the end of the war the city is still a moonscape of rubble. The Russians are dismantling anything that survived and carting it back to the USSR. Culturally, the city has drawn many of its brightest lights to return; Jews who fled in the ‘30s, as well as a number of American communists who want to help build the new Germany. Alex is a big catch for the Soviets and he has access to inner workings on both sides.
I’ll say no more. The story is gripping and the sense of place is harrowing—the war may be over but there is still a literal and figurative minefield facing survivors. Only fault—it’s too short.
shirlee2024's review against another edition
4.0
A different perspective on Berlin in the early 50s.
jbzar's review against another edition
4.0
A good book with strange twists and a bit outlandish ending
I enjoyed this book. It kept my attention from beginning to end in spite of it being difficult at times to keep track of who was who. First names, last names, foreign names, acronyms and what not. And I thought the relatively rapid evolution of the protagonist, Alex, from innocent to assertive spy was pretty far-fetched. But it's a fantasy after all, so why not?
I enjoyed this book. It kept my attention from beginning to end in spite of it being difficult at times to keep track of who was who. First names, last names, foreign names, acronyms and what not. And I thought the relatively rapid evolution of the protagonist, Alex, from innocent to assertive spy was pretty far-fetched. But it's a fantasy after all, so why not?
jwoodsum's review against another edition
5.0
fascinating look at Berlin in the aftermath of WWII - very well written
jimmacsyr's review against another edition
4.0
The background is Germany (specifically Berlin) through the eyes of post ww2 Berliners in the soviet sector. The intrigues of all sides as the lines begin to harden are the main focus of this well written (and in this edition's case, read) thriller. I enjoyed it very much.
ridgewaygirl's review against another edition
5.0
Alex Meier fled Germany as a young man, and then returned to Berlin in 1948, forced out of the US when he refused to cooperate with Senator McCarthy. The Soviets are eager to build their stable of prominent writers and Meier is in need of a country. His real intention is to find a way to return to his son in the US, but as both the Americans and the East Germans are eager to use him, the possibility of doing so becomes more unlikely than ever. He also meets up with people from his past, people who were scarred by the war and who have agendas of their own.
Joseph Kanon knows Berlin and he's good at both writing morally complex characters and intricate plots. With Leaving Berlin, he's playing to his strengths. This is a fun spy thriller, with a bunch of twists and a large dose of moral ambiguity. It was a solid vacation read.
Joseph Kanon knows Berlin and he's good at both writing morally complex characters and intricate plots. With Leaving Berlin, he's playing to his strengths. This is a fun spy thriller, with a bunch of twists and a large dose of moral ambiguity. It was a solid vacation read.
lizella's review against another edition
3.0
Interestingly, this is the second Kanon book I've read this year and it is also set in post-WWII Berlin. While elements of the story are similar to The Good German, the central characters are different. Alex Meier is a Jewish writer who fled Berlin before the war and finds himself back after being deported for communist leanings. Soon after arriving back, he is caught up in the machinations of US, German, and Russian espionage while he reconnects with an old flame.
Its a spy thriller with an untrained spy at the center, trying to get himself out alive and back to the son he lives for. While it gets a bit unbelievable at times, it is a well-paced novel that is begging to be turned into a motion picture.
Its a spy thriller with an untrained spy at the center, trying to get himself out alive and back to the son he lives for. While it gets a bit unbelievable at times, it is a well-paced novel that is begging to be turned into a motion picture.