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A review by clarks_dad
Dominion by C.J. Sansom
3.0
A fantastically well-researched alternative history novel set in a fascist-leaning Britain after the "conclusion" of the Second World War. Germany is victorious after a brief 1939-1940 war, the result of which stemmed from a simple hypothetical question: What if Churchill had not succeeded Chamberlain to the office of Prime Minister? Granted, it gives a ludicrous amount of credit for Britain's defiance of Hitler to a single man, but more often than not many great events in history turn on such seemingly small events and it's certainly fun to ponder the ramifications of such small changes - such musings certainly give us a sense of the importance of each individual and of our every day actions, which becomes somewhat of a central theme in Dominion - vying with the hopeless eventuality embraced by one of the central characters, Frank Muncaster.
The plot of Dominion revolves around the lives of two old college friends and how their lives end up entwined again after many years of separation. David Fitzgerald is a mid-level civil servant recruited into the British Resistance movement after the accidental death of his son. Anger at the government's recent Anti-Semitic policies (he's secretly half-Jewish himself) compounds with a sense of frustration and anger at life in general, tempting him into a life of romantic espionage activity - a desperate attempt to restore a sense of agency and control to his life and crumbling marriage. Frank Muncaster is a timid, retiring scientist scarred physically and emotionally by an upbringing of bullying who learns a dangerous and vitally important secret from his brother, a weapons engineer who emigrated from the U.S. The secret drives Muncaster temporarily mad, and he finds himself institutionalized and the sudden focus of interest of both the Resistance the Gestapo. The rest of the tale is a competently told espionage thriller with various factions struggling to find and or keep Muncaster and control the dangerous secret he possesses.
The secret, I'm afraid, is rather underwhelming and is played off rather casually, which is my only significant criticism of the entire work. Almost every major development, either historical or plot related seems brushed off by a wave of the hand - "It's something nuclear science related. I'm a scientist, so I understand...don't worry about it," or "Where are we going? Somewhere important that the Resistance knows about, you don't need to know the rest." It's kind of hard to explain. I mean you expect a certain level of jealous secret keeping in an espionage book, but there is very little satisfaction gained from learning anything new about the nature of the resistance or the secret kept by Muncaster. It all seems rather mundane. Maybe that's a designed effect by Sansom to keep the novel as realistic as possible - to make it a believable bit of historical fancy, but with a setting as epic as totalitarian-rising-post-World-War-II Europe...I don't know...you kind of expect something more epic.
The tale is rather personal though, so maybe that's the point. Sansom spends a great deal of time developing each of the characters with most attention given to Muncaster and the two Fitzgeralds (David and his wife Sarah). The story can definitely be read as the very real personal struggles of these three individuals amidst the fantastic backdrop of a successful Germany in 1950, but if that's the case I still have some problems with it. Fitzgerald's character hinges on the loyalty of his character, and that is what makes him a "good man," but throughout the narrative he's proves to be just about anything but. In short, there are many questionable narrative decisions made on the romantic and personal relationship front that detract a bit from the storytelling. I know, I know....people aren't perfect and that's the point...blah, blah, blah, but when you try to sell someone as smart and then they do really stupid things it appears that your storytelling is a bit conflicted and it bothers me as a reader.
That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed the setting of the novel and the atmosphere and tension is spot on. I found myself pausing several times to reflect on the loyalty of new characters, feeling suspicious and anxious as if I was a member of the Resistance cell on the run myself. There's also a lot of genuine sympathy created for the Gestapo man, Gunther Hoth, put in charge of the hunt for Muncaster. While his actions and job are vile, there's a human side to him that is easy to relate to and it creates a sense of discomfort when you realize at some point in the story you hope things work out for the best for this guy too.
Though I usually find these types of "What-if" scenarios hokey wet dreams of history "buffs" that are rather superficial renderings and excuses for them to just get to imagined scenarios they think of as "spectacular," Dominion manages to stay subtle and personal with the larger events serving as backdrop and window dressing, only mentioned where appropriate. I aprove.
The plot of Dominion revolves around the lives of two old college friends and how their lives end up entwined again after many years of separation. David Fitzgerald is a mid-level civil servant recruited into the British Resistance movement after the accidental death of his son. Anger at the government's recent Anti-Semitic policies (he's secretly half-Jewish himself) compounds with a sense of frustration and anger at life in general, tempting him into a life of romantic espionage activity - a desperate attempt to restore a sense of agency and control to his life and crumbling marriage. Frank Muncaster is a timid, retiring scientist scarred physically and emotionally by an upbringing of bullying who learns a dangerous and vitally important secret from his brother, a weapons engineer who emigrated from the U.S. The secret drives Muncaster temporarily mad, and he finds himself institutionalized and the sudden focus of interest of both the Resistance the Gestapo. The rest of the tale is a competently told espionage thriller with various factions struggling to find and or keep Muncaster and control the dangerous secret he possesses.
The secret, I'm afraid, is rather underwhelming and is played off rather casually, which is my only significant criticism of the entire work. Almost every major development, either historical or plot related seems brushed off by a wave of the hand - "It's something nuclear science related. I'm a scientist, so I understand...don't worry about it," or "Where are we going? Somewhere important that the Resistance knows about, you don't need to know the rest." It's kind of hard to explain. I mean you expect a certain level of jealous secret keeping in an espionage book, but there is very little satisfaction gained from learning anything new about the nature of the resistance or the secret kept by Muncaster. It all seems rather mundane. Maybe that's a designed effect by Sansom to keep the novel as realistic as possible - to make it a believable bit of historical fancy, but with a setting as epic as totalitarian-rising-post-World-War-II Europe...I don't know...you kind of expect something more epic.
The tale is rather personal though, so maybe that's the point. Sansom spends a great deal of time developing each of the characters with most attention given to Muncaster and the two Fitzgeralds (David and his wife Sarah). The story can definitely be read as the very real personal struggles of these three individuals amidst the fantastic backdrop of a successful Germany in 1950, but if that's the case I still have some problems with it. Fitzgerald's character hinges on the loyalty of his character, and that is what makes him a "good man," but throughout the narrative he's proves to be just about anything but.
Spoiler
He lies to his wife to cover his involvement in the Resistance, lies to his superiors who have personal ties to him, takes advantage of a woman at the office who has feelings for him for the sake of "duty," and while he never has an affair with Carol, which is supposed to redeem his character and prove his loyalty (which Sarah suspects for the first half of the novel), he later does confess his feelings for and actively pursues a relationship with a fellow spy, utterly trashing his reputation for loyalty and only ends up settling with his wife (happily ever after on a submarine bound for America) AFTER said spy makes up her mind to stay behind in Britain.That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed the setting of the novel and the atmosphere and tension is spot on. I found myself pausing several times to reflect on the loyalty of new characters, feeling suspicious and anxious as if I was a member of the Resistance cell on the run myself. There's also a lot of genuine sympathy created for the Gestapo man, Gunther Hoth, put in charge of the hunt for Muncaster. While his actions and job are vile, there's a human side to him that is easy to relate to and it creates a sense of discomfort when you realize at some point in the story you hope things work out for the best for this guy too.
Though I usually find these types of "What-if" scenarios hokey wet dreams of history "buffs" that are rather superficial renderings and excuses for them to just get to imagined scenarios they think of as "spectacular," Dominion manages to stay subtle and personal with the larger events serving as backdrop and window dressing, only mentioned where appropriate. I aprove.