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graff_fuller's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was a solid tale. Bernie Gunther, especially at this age...is a chameleon. The way that this book/story ended was classic, but also beautifully revealed.
Ann French was an interesting character, too. In most of all the stories we've read...there is a woman that is either a helper/backstabber to him.
The second and third level intrigue in the spy game...and how each of these agencies are scrambling to find the evil spy masters, but ALL of them are crooked as a $3 bill.
As usual, I really love Bernie's sense of humour. It also is used to alieviate the tension of the story (within the world and for the reader).
The back stories that we hear in this book were shocking and sad...to know that Bernie Gunther has been through it.
One more to go in the chronological order, then I'll go back an read the three novels that our local library didn't have.
This is an excellent series.
Ann French was an interesting character, too. In most of all the stories we've read...there is a woman that is either a helper/backstabber to him.
The second and third level intrigue in the spy game...and how each of these agencies are scrambling to find the evil spy masters, but ALL of them are crooked as a $3 bill.
As usual, I really love Bernie's sense of humour. It also is used to alieviate the tension of the story (within the world and for the reader).
The back stories that we hear in this book were shocking and sad...to know that Bernie Gunther has been through it.
One more to go in the chronological order, then I'll go back an read the three novels that our local library didn't have.
This is an excellent series.
ryno23's review against another edition
5.0
World War II is over and the acerbic Bernie Gunther, approaching 60, has moved to the Riviera, became a concierge, and is bored silly. The former police detective, who was forced into the SS reluctantly, isn't quite enjoying the quiet life. He answers boring questions and sits in on the occasional game of bridge. This is where he meets British writer W. Somerset Maugham. Bernie finds out that Maugham is being blackmailed for his personal daliencies -- or is it because he worked for the British Secret Service in WWII? There are flashbacks to the war and Gunther's run-in with an old foe starts to catch up with him and Gunther does his best to protect Maugham while keeping himself alive. The book seemed to start out startling, but slow, as Gunther wants to kill himself. But as Kerr winds true events and people throughout the story, it is very entertaining. One of his best.
alastairwilson's review against another edition
2.0
Some pretty clunky exposition lets this down. Feel like Kerr is starting to do these on autopilot, maybe even employing people to fill in the gaps. I also wonder whether he is being edited at all, as there are a couple of questionably anachronistic turns of phrase in here. A pity, as the basics are good. However, I didn't feel much sympathy/empathy for Bernie at the end of the book. Normally I do.
lizokeefe's review against another edition
5.0
This book is the equivalent of three Bernie Gunther’s, as there are two stories told in flashback. The plotting is so tight and twisted, that it feels like driving along the Pacific coast in a sports car. This plot really hugs the curves. As usual the inclusion of real people and events adds depth and interest.
jakewritesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
A convoluted plot actually sorts itself in a neat and clever way in the end. One of the better Bernie Gunther novels. And since I have nothing else to add from my previous reviews of Gunther novels, let me touch on two things that stood out specifically in this one. One high and one low...
Low: I get that people in the 50s had retrograde views on homosexuality. I get that Bernie is a live-and-let-live kind of person who makes jokes at the expense of others. I get that he is mostly an anti-hero. But the homophobia here was gratuitous. It added nothing to the story and served no purpose other than to make Bernie and obnoxious jerk. We don't need anything else to help establish that Bernie is an obnoxious jerk, we know this from the first ten novels. If this is a big turn off for you or is triggering, you might want to skip this one.
High: Even people who weren't part of the Nazi Party or who tried to resist the Nazis were still complicit. Kerr does a fantastic job grappling with this, and perhaps no more so here as we see Bernie reflect on his life. He knows he had nothing to do with the Nazis but he also knows he did horrible things, actively and passively, to assist the hell they made. It would be easy to make Bernie "the good Nazi." Kerr avoids this and that's part of the reason why these books shine so much. For whatever his problems as a writer, he strikes this delicate balance very well. Other Nazi noir writers generally don't.
Low: I get that people in the 50s had retrograde views on homosexuality. I get that Bernie is a live-and-let-live kind of person who makes jokes at the expense of others. I get that he is mostly an anti-hero. But the homophobia here was gratuitous. It added nothing to the story and served no purpose other than to make Bernie and obnoxious jerk. We don't need anything else to help establish that Bernie is an obnoxious jerk, we know this from the first ten novels. If this is a big turn off for you or is triggering, you might want to skip this one.
High: Even people who weren't part of the Nazi Party or who tried to resist the Nazis were still complicit. Kerr does a fantastic job grappling with this, and perhaps no more so here as we see Bernie reflect on his life. He knows he had nothing to do with the Nazis but he also knows he did horrible things, actively and passively, to assist the hell they made. It would be easy to make Bernie "the good Nazi." Kerr avoids this and that's part of the reason why these books shine so much. For whatever his problems as a writer, he strikes this delicate balance very well. Other Nazi noir writers generally don't.
writtenbysime's review against another edition
4.0
Philip Kerr is a novelist who has mastered the art of blending fact and fiction, convincing the reader that the events taking place must be real. His mastery of place and dialogue is extraordinary and unrivalled. Every new Bernie Gunther novel is something to look forward to, and The Other Side of Silence ranks right up there with the series’ best, and a must-read for fans new and old.
The war has been over for more than a decade in Philip Kerr’s new book starring former German detective Bernie Gunther. But for a guy who survived that conflict – – who should perhaps be counting his blessings having lived through so much – – is exceptionally weary. In fact, when The Other Side if Silence begins, he is contemplating taking his own life; not that it’s really his life, because in 1956, Gunther is living under a pseudonym and working as a hotel concierge on the French Riviera. The life he knew is over. Now he spends his days trying to stay off the radar and keep out of trouble; purposefully boring and uneventful. But of course, for a man like Bernie Gunther, trouble is never far away, and this time, that trouble takes the form of Anne French, an English writer, and an old wartime acquaintance named Harold Henning, who was responsible for the death of thousands – including one of the loves of Bernie’s life. These two forces pull Gunther into a blackmail plot involving one of Britain’s most famous writers of the 20th century, W. Somerset Maugham, and the Cambridge Spies.
These ingredients make for one of Kerr’s best novels yet.
The war has been over for more than a decade in Philip Kerr’s new book starring former German detective Bernie Gunther. But for a guy who survived that conflict – – who should perhaps be counting his blessings having lived through so much – – is exceptionally weary. In fact, when The Other Side if Silence begins, he is contemplating taking his own life; not that it’s really his life, because in 1956, Gunther is living under a pseudonym and working as a hotel concierge on the French Riviera. The life he knew is over. Now he spends his days trying to stay off the radar and keep out of trouble; purposefully boring and uneventful. But of course, for a man like Bernie Gunther, trouble is never far away, and this time, that trouble takes the form of Anne French, an English writer, and an old wartime acquaintance named Harold Henning, who was responsible for the death of thousands – including one of the loves of Bernie’s life. These two forces pull Gunther into a blackmail plot involving one of Britain’s most famous writers of the 20th century, W. Somerset Maugham, and the Cambridge Spies.
These ingredients make for one of Kerr’s best novels yet.
smartipants8's review against another edition
3.0
A good post-war thriller in France. Bernie was tough talking, soft-hearted and the atmosphere was great. A bit misogynistic though which I didn't really like.
snowdrowsey's review against another edition
3.0
I checked out this book because Somerset Maugham was a character in it. This isn't the first book in this series so that's different thing for me when reading books from a series. When the book started out I thought the main character was okay, but as I got more into the story I felt that I was waiting for Maugham to appear. I don't think that's a good sign in a book. He did show up, right when I started wondering when this would happen. But the reader shouldn't think that. The book did have it's slow point in it which I didn't enjoy, but then took a sharp left with the story and became weird and bizarre. After reading how the character has all this stuff happen to him and kills his nemesis, it was surprising that at the end he just goes back to his job a hotel concierge. Reading that bit, made me want to read the next book, because I found that just so completely unbelievable. I feel also that I should read the first book in this series to see how the character ends up getting himself into all this stuff, like working for the Nazis.