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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
How would the world have looked like when Germany won WW II? This question is answered in the novel Fatherland. As allways Robert Harris writes a suspenseful well written book. He also did his research very well. I enjoyed this novel in which .
We see a suffocating world where everyone is afraid of everyone, racism is the norm and women are breeding stuff:-( We’ll never know how it would have been, but I enjoyed the ‘what if?’
Spoiler
Joseph Kennedy was the president of the US and the concentration camps were still a secretWe see a suffocating world where everyone is afraid of everyone, racism is the norm and women are breeding stuff:-( We’ll never know how it would have been, but I enjoyed the ‘what if?’
'Fatherland' is a terrific detective novel with an irresistible hook and one hell of a punch.
Berlin. 1964. The Nazis won WWII, with Europe carved into a Reich that stretches from the Alsace-Lorraine to Moscow, plus a group of puppet governments that make up a European Union unlike any we know today. Hitler's still in power, President Joseph Kennedy is coming to Berlin on a state visit heralding a possible detente with the U.S., and Berlin homicide detective Xavier March has just caught a case. It's the body of an old comrade of the Führer's, a man who'd been arrested in the Beer Hall Putsch of 1923. The Gestapo's interested, taking the case and freezing the detective out. But Xavier March is a flatfoot in the finest Chandleresque tradition. Something's funny about this one; he can't let it go. And we're off.
Author Robert Harris structures this novel beautifully. His detective follows the clues, meets dangerous people, and does all the things one expects a detective in a good story to do. Further, Harris adds an extra element of danger in that, over the course of the investigation, Detective March rouses the ire of the Gestapo. They start going back through the file they've been keeping on this Sturmbannführer (March's rank, equivalent to Major, since all police were folded into the SS during the war) who refuses to join the Party, who doesn't march in the parades, who seems like an all-around marginal German. In a nation in which every citizen's top priority is to avoid the interest of the Gestapo, Xavier March finds himself in its crosshairs. This adds a marvelous dose of tension to the novel; we're not talking about a "will the killer strike again" setup, which is overused, but a "will the incredibly evil guys get the blandly evil-by-association guy before he gets the other evil guy(s)." I loved it because it always seemed a credible outcome that the Gestapo could win - I really didn’t know what was going to happen.
[NOTE: A SIGNIFICANT SPOILER FOLLOWS. FEEL FREE TO SKIP TO THE CLOSING PARAGRAPH.]
That's enough to make this a four-star detective novel. The fifth star comes from two things. First, Harris's depiction of life in an authoritarian state; one in which everyone, for their own survival, must be brainwashed or pretend to be brainwashed; feels true not only to my family's stories about life under the Nazis, but books I've read about life under Communist regimes. Second, Harris's bland and bureaucratic description of the Auschwitz murder factory, as found in a document uncovered as part of March's investigation, is one of the most vivid and horrifying depictions of the Holocaust I've ever read - and I grew up learning about this stuff (See "family's stories about life under the Nazis," above.). We're only talking about a page or two in a 338-page novel, but I'll remember it long after I've forgotten the name of the protagonist.
As a general rule, I don't spend a lot of time reading about Nazis. For reasons one may infer from the spelling of my surname, that subject hits a little close to home. Nevertheless, I'm glad I finally got over my resistance to reading 'Fatherland.' This is a great detective novel, a great thriller, a great alternate history, and a great study of people living under authoritarian rule. I can't recommend it strongly enough.
Berlin. 1964. The Nazis won WWII, with Europe carved into a Reich that stretches from the Alsace-Lorraine to Moscow, plus a group of puppet governments that make up a European Union unlike any we know today. Hitler's still in power, President Joseph Kennedy is coming to Berlin on a state visit heralding a possible detente with the U.S., and Berlin homicide detective Xavier March has just caught a case. It's the body of an old comrade of the Führer's, a man who'd been arrested in the Beer Hall Putsch of 1923. The Gestapo's interested, taking the case and freezing the detective out. But Xavier March is a flatfoot in the finest Chandleresque tradition. Something's funny about this one; he can't let it go. And we're off.
Author Robert Harris structures this novel beautifully. His detective follows the clues, meets dangerous people, and does all the things one expects a detective in a good story to do. Further, Harris adds an extra element of danger in that, over the course of the investigation, Detective March rouses the ire of the Gestapo. They start going back through the file they've been keeping on this Sturmbannführer (March's rank, equivalent to Major, since all police were folded into the SS during the war) who refuses to join the Party, who doesn't march in the parades, who seems like an all-around marginal German. In a nation in which every citizen's top priority is to avoid the interest of the Gestapo, Xavier March finds himself in its crosshairs. This adds a marvelous dose of tension to the novel; we're not talking about a "will the killer strike again" setup, which is overused, but a "will the incredibly evil guys get the blandly evil-by-association guy before he gets the other evil guy(s)." I loved it because it always seemed a credible outcome that the Gestapo could win - I really didn’t know what was going to happen.
[NOTE: A SIGNIFICANT SPOILER FOLLOWS. FEEL FREE TO SKIP TO THE CLOSING PARAGRAPH.]
That's enough to make this a four-star detective novel. The fifth star comes from two things. First, Harris's depiction of life in an authoritarian state; one in which everyone, for their own survival, must be brainwashed or pretend to be brainwashed; feels true not only to my family's stories about life under the Nazis, but books I've read about life under Communist regimes. Second, Harris's bland and bureaucratic description of the Auschwitz murder factory, as found in a document uncovered as part of March's investigation, is one of the most vivid and horrifying depictions of the Holocaust I've ever read - and I grew up learning about this stuff (See "family's stories about life under the Nazis," above.). We're only talking about a page or two in a 338-page novel, but I'll remember it long after I've forgotten the name of the protagonist.
As a general rule, I don't spend a lot of time reading about Nazis. For reasons one may infer from the spelling of my surname, that subject hits a little close to home. Nevertheless, I'm glad I finally got over my resistance to reading 'Fatherland.' This is a great detective novel, a great thriller, a great alternate history, and a great study of people living under authoritarian rule. I can't recommend it strongly enough.
A stunning alternative history that explores what Germany would have looked like had it emerged victorious from WWII, Fatherland is a fantastically researched and conceived novel that transports the reader to a completely realistic time and place. Harris has always been a brilliant history writer, and he excels himself in Fatherland, his most accomplished novel to date.
Fatherland follows the story of Xavier March, a detective who begins to unravel the mystery of a dead body floating in the river in Berlin. When he is ordered by the Gestapo to leave the case alone, his interest is only piqued and he begins to work to solve the most dangerous mystery of all.
Fatherland successfully turns the detective genre on its head, presenting a story in which the hunter becomes the hunted. It is an obsessively compelling read, aided by its fast-pace, sense of danger and all too convincing realism. The world that Harris creates is one that many people have wondered at, whilst simultaneously shying away from. He is unapologetic in his presentation of Nazi Germany, which makes his novel all the more realistic and colourful, adding layers and depth to an already intricate and fascinating plot.
The horror of the novel is slow and creeping and I turned the final page with a chill that remained with me for days upon finishing. An important and interesting read and one that is not easily forgotten.
Fatherland follows the story of Xavier March, a detective who begins to unravel the mystery of a dead body floating in the river in Berlin. When he is ordered by the Gestapo to leave the case alone, his interest is only piqued and he begins to work to solve the most dangerous mystery of all.
Fatherland successfully turns the detective genre on its head, presenting a story in which the hunter becomes the hunted. It is an obsessively compelling read, aided by its fast-pace, sense of danger and all too convincing realism. The world that Harris creates is one that many people have wondered at, whilst simultaneously shying away from. He is unapologetic in his presentation of Nazi Germany, which makes his novel all the more realistic and colourful, adding layers and depth to an already intricate and fascinating plot.
The horror of the novel is slow and creeping and I turned the final page with a chill that remained with me for days upon finishing. An important and interesting read and one that is not easily forgotten.
Another reviewer said that this book tried to do too much - balancing the genres of mystery and dystoic alternative history but not doing so as effectively as possible. While I totally see the point because I too think that Harris could have picked either to write a very powerful mystery without diverting into alta-history details, or vice versa, I thought that the book as it stands is powerful because it takes on so much. What better way to effectively explore a world where Hitler and the Nazis win than by exploring it through the jaded eyes of an ex-naval officer turned detective. This works on a fantastic level because as Xavier March starts to uncover the horrors of the regime he's lived under for so long, the reader discovers it along side him. But even more effective, is the way March sees the world around him with bored and dull eyes, which we as reader don't. We're left to wonder "how can you not be awed by this world" as March idly describes the monolithic buildings and monuments to a government we are very happy never materialized.
There has always been an interest in these "what if" novels, an interest I've always kind of shared in, but this is actually the first one that I read. And I have to say, I was amazed. I was also horrified and disturbed and immensely saddened throughout. I'm pretty sure this will go down as one of the best books I'll read this year.
There has always been an interest in these "what if" novels, an interest I've always kind of shared in, but this is actually the first one that I read. And I have to say, I was amazed. I was also horrified and disturbed and immensely saddened throughout. I'm pretty sure this will go down as one of the best books I'll read this year.
I'm possibly missing something here but whilst I enjoyed it to some degree I couldn't get why it is lauded - it was decent but really the conspiracy and the reveal seemed to be fairly obvious, it felt less like an alternative history that I had imagined it would be.
emotional
mysterious
sad
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:
No
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I enjoy reading books where history has been tinkered with, and we're presented an alternative reality. In Fatherland the Nazis won the war. However the book does not concern itself with the military consequences or the political mayhem that might follow such a victory, instead Fatherland is about a police officer, simply trying to solve a murder. In the end it's a typical crime thriller. Maybe a bit slow in the beginning but it definitely picks up towards the end. Personally I would have liked a bit more history instead of it just being a backdrop and for the author to explore the question 'what if Hitler won the war?' more in depth.
I'm glad I finally read this book. It has been on my to-read list for some time now.
This book has a possible answer for the question "What if Hitler won the war?". And it tells it from the viewpoint of a disgruntled, disillusioned police detective who whilst investigating a murder uncovers the biggest, closely guarded secret of the German Reich.
A well-written fast paced book it kept me always wanting to know more. And therein lies the issue I had with it. It just didn't tell me enough. I wanted to know more after it ended, what happened next.
I also wanted to know more about the universe of the book. Just how did the Germans defeat the Allies? Why wasn't France, Holland, etc. part of the new German empire? What about Franco and Mussolini? But I guess that's just the historian in me.
It was still a great book and I highly recommend it.
This book has a possible answer for the question "What if Hitler won the war?". And it tells it from the viewpoint of a disgruntled, disillusioned police detective who whilst investigating a murder uncovers the biggest, closely guarded secret of the German Reich.
A well-written fast paced book it kept me always wanting to know more. And therein lies the issue I had with it. It just didn't tell me enough. I wanted to know more after it ended, what happened next.
I also wanted to know more about the universe of the book. Just how did the Germans defeat the Allies? Why wasn't France, Holland, etc. part of the new German empire? What about Franco and Mussolini? But I guess that's just the historian in me.
It was still a great book and I highly recommend it.