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liz_ross's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
I almost died of boredom and I am still trying to understand how. A war is about to happen, an attempt to depose Hitler is being planned, the characters are all diplomats and politicians, which should imply at least a bit of political intrigue. And yet, I ended up wondering if I shouldn't paint my wall and watch the paint dry instead - it would have been far more interesting.
I think it's the writing style that is at fault. It is perfect to give some quite beautiful, somewhat remarkable sentences and moments, but to make things thrilling? Absolutely not. And the thrilling was a must in a book like this. We already now the plan won't work, because Hitler did start a war. We already now that Chamberlain will convince Hitler to do not attack Czechoslovak, because the war only started a year later. The thriller was needed to allow the reader to forget all that and get invested on the story. It was needed to make the reader interested, to make them wonder "what if?".
The characters don't help either. They are well characterized, but they lack emotions. I am told they feel this or that, but there's always this distance Harris put between the reader and the characters. I can't feel those emotions, I can only know they are feeling them. And that's not the same. That doesn't let me connect with the characters.
I did like the historical details, though. And Harris did a pretty good job mixing fictional and real characters to the point I ended up wondering if there wasn't a chance Hartmann did exist.
And even if I couldn't appreciate the story, I do admire Harris for his choice. He set the story a year before the war started. He chose to write about the pre-war time instead of the war's. That's different and refreshing. We are so used to see books about the WWII, set somewhere between 1939 and 1945, that we forget there was this whole set of events in the years prior to its start that are also worthy having books talking about them.
Full review coming soon!
I think it's the writing style that is at fault. It is perfect to give some quite beautiful, somewhat remarkable sentences and moments, but to make things thrilling? Absolutely not. And the thrilling was a must in a book like this. We already now the plan won't work, because Hitler did start a war. We already now that Chamberlain will convince Hitler to do not attack Czechoslovak, because the war only started a year later. The thriller was needed to allow the reader to forget all that and get invested on the story. It was needed to make the reader interested, to make them wonder "what if?".
The characters don't help either. They are well characterized, but they lack emotions. I am told they feel this or that, but there's always this distance Harris put between the reader and the characters. I can't feel those emotions, I can only know they are feeling them. And that's not the same. That doesn't let me connect with the characters.
I did like the historical details, though. And Harris did a pretty good job mixing fictional and real characters to the point I ended up wondering if there wasn't a chance Hartmann did exist.
And even if I couldn't appreciate the story, I do admire Harris for his choice. He set the story a year before the war started. He chose to write about the pre-war time instead of the war's. That's different and refreshing. We are so used to see books about the WWII, set somewhere between 1939 and 1945, that we forget there was this whole set of events in the years prior to its start that are also worthy having books talking about them.
Full review coming soon!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Police brutality, Antisemitism, and Racism
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