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Rating:  Summary: informative but disappointing Review: Richard Hughes wrote High Wind in Jamaica, one of the strangest and most compelling books that I've ever read. His next novel, The Fox in the Attic, is a well written and intelligent fictional account of life in Europe between the two world wars. A sophisticated, educated, and upper class Englishman visits his relatives in Germany and becomes aware of tensions between Bavaria and Munich and tensions between republicanism and monarchy. There is very little understanding between him and his relatives. The English feel revulsion towards the idea of war; the Germans, on the other hand, are determined to fight again, but to win this time. Hughes describes this very well. There are some notes that will remind the reader of High Wind in Jamaica: some charming descriptions of children and some concerns about what it means to be "I". The novel is odd, and the characters are difficult to understand, but High Wind in Jamaica was magical with characters that one will always remember. I'm not sure how I would have felt about this wook had I not read HW in Jamaica first. Recommended for people wanting a different viewpoint on Hitlers rise to power in Germany.
Rating:  Summary: A point on the previous review Review: To quote the previous review..."A sophisticated, educated, and upper class Englishman visits his relatives in Germany and becomes aware of tensions between Bavaria and Munich and tensions between republicanism and monarchy. There is very little understanding between him and his relatives." It is not surprising that the Englishman is little understood by his German relatives if he is talking about "tensions between republicanism and monarchy", since the German monarchy was overthrown in November 1918 in a popular revolution, many years before the date of this book. I hope this oversight doesn't reflect further historical errors with the novel.
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