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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A novel on the idea that Hitler didn’t kill himself and Germany won the war. It was a very interesting read with a similar feel to 1984. The powerful fatherland with grand buildings and statues are easy to imagine what German could have been. The protagonist, March is a detective trying to figure out murders of high status people whilst finding out the truth of the concentration camps. The part that I didn’t enjoy, much like 1984, was the age gap between the protagonist and the female lead but other then that a very interesting that leaves one in a state of contemplation
I found this book really engaging to begin with and then as time went on, it completely lost me. The pace dipped and it lost my interest. I ended up giving up half way through. A shame as I love most books related to WW2. I was expecting great things and for me, it didn’t deliver.
I heard about this on a Slate Political Gabfest cocktail chatter. It is a alternative history mystery set in Germany in April 1964 before Hitler’s 75th birthday after the Axis powers have won the war. A detective discovers a body that leads him to a trail of discovery about the holocaust. Germans are aware the Jews (and others) were moved out East during the war and have suspicions about what happened, but nobody really cares or dares to give it more thought. What would we know about the holocaust if the Allies didn’t discover the camps, didn’t discover the meticulous notes? A chilling tale.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
inspiring
reflective
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Fatherland is basically a crime thriller set in an alternative history, where the Nazis won the war and much of Europe came under German control. The beginning of the book reminded me a little of Orwell's 1984 - I guess because of the parallel of a fictional totalitarian government that forces its citizens to ignore any crimes/wrongdoings of the state. However after reading on a little, this isn't really what the book is all about; the sociopolitical aspect is merely a setting which allows a gripping plot, with murder, mystery and intrigue.
I always enjoy Harris's books as they are always well-researched and then written into a fictional format with a good plot to aid readability, and I like books to teach me things without my realising! There is a short author's note at the end of the book, which is interesting, as it tells you what aspects of the book really happened. So even though this is a fictional history, I still feel that I have learned something about the sort of society the Nazis planned for Germany to become.
This is a gripping page-turner that will have you hooked right to the end.
I always enjoy Harris's books as they are always well-researched and then written into a fictional format with a good plot to aid readability, and I like books to teach me things without my realising! There is a short author's note at the end of the book, which is interesting, as it tells you what aspects of the book really happened. So even though this is a fictional history, I still feel that I have learned something about the sort of society the Nazis planned for Germany to become.
This is a gripping page-turner that will have you hooked right to the end.
This is the second book I've read by Robert Harris and I enjoyed this one more than Munich. The first third of the book was very slow, but once you're through the initial set up and unending lists of names it becomes a page turner. After visiting Berlin and Eastern Europe this summer, it gives a perspective of what it could have been if Germany had won. Really cool read: 8/10