Scan barcode
A review by tuomosuominen
A Man Without Breath by Philip Kerr
3.0
Philip Kerr's splendid Bernie Gunther series avoided the WWII years for a very long time, until the recent "Prague Fatale" and "A Man Without Breath", set in 1941 and 1943. Given these years, both books manage to mostly disregard the war, which seems especially strange in "A Man Without Breath" which is set almost on the front in Russia. There are only point references to events, e.g. the Warsaw uprising, the upcoming Kursk battle. Both books feature large numbers of more or less forcibly intertwined plot lines, in which Gunther ends up investigating murders in country-estate-like headquarter settings. Also, Gunther's character seems to have suffered in these recent books, with less of the sarcastic humor and more ranting. The facts are there, Kerr obviously has once again done solid research, but unfortunately there's some magic missing. An annoying detail: the plotline of the supposedly revealing Polish intelligence report on the Gleiwitz incident was simply shut down with Gunther disposing of the document. I was disappointed in this book, but I wonder whether Kerr will fill the gap in the Bernie Gunther timeline between 1943-1947? I'd buy an end of the war story set in 1945.
Paul Hecht does an excellent reading (this was the Audible audiobook version).
While I wasn't too pleased with these two WWII books, I'm sure there are lots of excellent Bernie Gunther moments in store for me, as I've been reading the series in an order based on the year they're set in. I started with "If the Dead Rise Not" (book #6, set in 1934) but saved the latter half (set in 1954) for later. Next, "March Violets" (#1, set in 1936), "The Pale Criminal" (#2, 1938), "Prague Fatale" (#8, 1941) and now "A Man Without Breath" (#9, 1943). Now I'll be returning to the original trilogy with "A German Requiem" (#3, 1947), then "The One From the Other" (#4, 1949), "A Quiet Flame" (#5, 1950), "Field Gray" (#7, 1954) and finally the second half of "If the Dead Rise Not" (#6, 1954).
Paul Hecht does an excellent reading (this was the Audible audiobook version).
While I wasn't too pleased with these two WWII books, I'm sure there are lots of excellent Bernie Gunther moments in store for me, as I've been reading the series in an order based on the year they're set in. I started with "If the Dead Rise Not" (book #6, set in 1934) but saved the latter half (set in 1954) for later. Next, "March Violets" (#1, set in 1936), "The Pale Criminal" (#2, 1938), "Prague Fatale" (#8, 1941) and now "A Man Without Breath" (#9, 1943). Now I'll be returning to the original trilogy with "A German Requiem" (#3, 1947), then "The One From the Other" (#4, 1949), "A Quiet Flame" (#5, 1950), "Field Gray" (#7, 1954) and finally the second half of "If the Dead Rise Not" (#6, 1954).