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Summary: Loved this book
Review: I Thought this chilling look at what life would be like if the nazis were still in power, a captivating and exiting read. The plot is plauable and the characters are easy to identify with. Robert Harris has an incredible talent to create images and places with his use of the english language.
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Summary: Turning the Tables
Review: This is undeniably a great read. As fiction, it works.Harris gives the Speer-built Berlin a malevolent hum, and at the same time creates a thriller. It begins with such a bizarre premise, that of Germany winning the war, and with Hitler still alive, in 1964, that anything could happen.Novels in English dealing with wartime enemies winning the war are noticeably few and far between, and it seems more palatable in fantasies to have narratives with emphasis on the Germans. However, it would be instructive after having read Fatherland to read Phillip K. Dick's "The Man in the High Castle" - a similar theme.
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Summary: An Excellent Work
Review: Harris does a wonderful job painting the picture of a modern 1960's Nazi Germany. Will Xavier ever find the killer? Does he know how deep down the rabbit hole he has to look? Find out, buy Fatherland today.
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Summary: It could have happened...
Review: It's hard to imagine what would have happened if Nazi Germany had won the war. But Harris comes up with a brilliant portrait of life in Germany in the 60s, with Hitler still in office, the rest of Europe grouped into a European Union controlled from Berlin and Joseph Kennedy as the US President. Onto this background, he grafts an excellent, well-paced thriller that is a real page-turner, ideal for long winter evenings.
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Summary: Uneven, but worth a look
Review: What if...Germany had completed its heavy water experiments in the 1940s, developing the atomic bomb at about the same time the United States did? What if the United States and Germany were forced into a stalemate, leaving a US vs. Nazi Cold War, with Germany controlling almost all of Europe? What if the Fuhrer had lived? What if... Robert Harris sets out to address these questions in "Fatherland", a novel which is faithful to history up through 1942, then takes a sinister turn. Fatherland is set in 1964, on the eve of Hitler's 75th birthday, and possible thawing of US-German relations on the horizon. Xavier March, a Berlin police detective, stumbles across a conspiracy to bury the truth about "the biggest secret of the war." His sense of justice and duty compel him to continue investigating, and soon he encounters the unimaginable, horrifying truth about what really happened to all the Jews and others who were thought to have "moved East". Unimaginable? That's one of the problems with Fatherland - we already know what the answer to the big mystery is before ever picking up the book. Harris handled this about as well as it could be, partly by devoting enough attention to March's subtleties to make him an engaging, likable character. And, of course, there are all the smaller what-ifs - among the most fascinating being Harris' conception of day-to-day life in peacetime, victorious Nazi Germany. The novel does have problems, however, the largest of which is the mostly useless character of Charlotte "Charlie" Maguire. Charlie Maguire is a rehash of one of the most tired cliches to hit print; the beatiful tomboy who can outdrink, outfight, and outcuss any man. The romance between Maguire and March seems forced, and on the whole, her character is more an annoyance than an asset and could have easily been dumped. In summary - the book has flaws, but is ultimately saved by informed, imaginative historical projections and by attention to detail. If the historical angle grabs you, go for it; you'll probably like Fatherland, as I did. If you're looking for a love story or crime drama, you'd do better elsewhere.
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Summary: Horribily wonderful reading!
Review: It's hard to call a novel covering such an evil topic as Nazi Germany "wonderful," however, Mr. Harris did a fantastic job on this book. The building suspense and horror of the characters can be felt, with the last 40 or so pages leaving the reader nearly breathless from the despicable acts perpetrated upon millions of innocent people.
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Summary: Fascinating "What might have been" tale never hits duff note
Review: This is one of the most perfectly-constructed books I have ever read. Harris did his homework thoroughly, knows Germany and the Germans and came up with a fascinating twist on history. He never puts a foot wrong and keps our attention until the very last word
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Summary: Well researched and thought out
Review: Eerily plausible alternate 1964 after the Nazis manage to hold on to fortress Europe. The author's attention to historical detail, and to blend real and fictional characters is impressive. I had read before that the upper ranks of the Nazi hierarchy were reluctant to put their orders on paper just in case they lost and one day had to answer for them. The situation in the book presents a case for them having to hide their crimes because they won. Fast-paced, hard to put down. Worth the time as a primer on bureaucracy and evil.
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Summary: A great, quick read
Review: Not much to add, except that I found the book haunting and engaging. Clearly a classic among alternate history novels.
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Summary: HISTORY BECOMES REALITY
Review: Fatherland puts the "what if" equation into reality, as did George Orwell's 1984. This book clearly makes the reader respect what we, as a socity, should learn what history is all about. Think God, this is only a novel. And, a very good one.
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