Fatherland

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Summary: hohum
Review: The plot/story wasn't compelling. This is a _what if_ Germany won the war and we never knew what happened to the Jews. I found it too unbelievable that the world wouldn't have investigated the disappearance of the European Jewish population. A very slow read with an unsatisfing ending.

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Summary: Good Mystery, Good AH
Review: Fatherland proves that even alternate history can succeed in the mainstream. And this book deserves it. As well as an evocative portrayal of a very depressing parallel world, it is an exciting, well-done mystery thriller.

It must be admitted that the point of divergence is not terribly original or realistic: Germany, utilising superior strategy and technology, defeated Russia and forced a peace agreement on Britain in 1944. As a result, Berlin came to dominate all of Western Europe via a monolithic EEU-like organization. The USA remains defiant, however, and a trans-Atlantic Cold War ensues.

Not the most creative historical background, perhaps, but the alternate world is still handled very well. Most of the story takes place in this world's Berlin, where Albert Speers' grand architectural vision has become reality. Vast domes and palaces tower over the city, embodying the triumph of the Nazi way. Adolf Hitler himself continues to rule his nation with an iron fist. But amidst all this imperial grandeur, the population lives a life of bitter oppression. Gestapo informers are everywhere. Anyone who speaks out against the system disappears without a trace. Harris captures this environment very effectively. The paranoia, violence, and claustrophobia of a true totalitarian society really come to life.

The plot takes place in the '60s, as the USA and the Greater German Reich work towards towards friendlier relations. The President and Der Fuhrer are planning a summit meeting. Is it time for a new era of peace?

Then German police detective Xavier March is called in to investigate a death by drowning. What starts out as routine police work suddenly turns very complex when the deceased is found to be a high Nazi official. Then it transpires that, shortly before his death, he was in contact with two other Nazi officials. Soon, one of them turns up dead, too. What seemed a freak accident soon becomes part of a highly suspicious, and highly disturbing, pattern. Xavier March's investigation leads him into the heart of a terrifying conspiracy... a conspiracy of which he himself may well be the next victim.

The plot moves at an energetic pace against the film-noirish background of Berlin, carrying the reader through a fascinating, page-turning alternate history extravaganza.

Fatherland lacks the military and political aspects present in many AHs, which may disappoint some readers. But in terms of adventure and atmosphere, it is top notch.

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Summary: Plot and Setting Make for a Modern Classic
Review: Robert Harris has done something incredible with "Fatherland." He has seamlessly blended the intriguing murder mystery, which is always more interesting when the investigator must battle an oppressive, secretive government to solve the case, and the fantasy of a different world that asks the question "what if?" about Hitler and World War II.

The first accomplishment recalls Cold War mysterys by John Le Carre and Martin Cruz Smith, and Harris controls the plot as well as either of them. His detective's search through the past for the truth has enough plot twists and interesting characters to keep the reader turning the pages, but not so many that the book is impossible to understand. Of course, the main character is the investigator himself, Xavier Marks, and his personality must hold the reader's attention and win his or her sympathy to make a good book. Marks does both of these thanks to Harris's superb development. Marks is a much better charcter than Smith's Arkady Renko if Renko had only one book of development. That Harris can create such a strong person in just one novel is an accomplishment in itself. The other driving forse behind the novel, though, is the strong development of setting along with plot. Set in 1960's Berlin after the Nazis won WWII, the story propels itself by inspiring curiosity in its readers. Harris avoids the usually slow beginning of many mysteries by allowing the alternate world of his Berlin carry the story through the set-up of the mystery itself. Orwell's "1984" obviously comes to mind, but Harris's portrayal of Germany is completely different from Orwell's England. It serves an an incredibly interesting backdrop to the tale, but is, nevertheless, still just a backdrop. Orwell's England was the reason for and subject of his book, while Harris's book gives his mystery reason, and allows for him to focus on his subject that much more clearly. This book is a modern classic, one of the best books written in the 1990's, not just in the mystery and espionage genre, but in all of literature.

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Summary: "What If" Always Fascinates...
Review: Brilliant, simply brilliant.

Robert Harris burst onto the thriller scene a few years ago with this blockbuster, and it is certain to become a classic.

Stories with a Nazi angle always seem to have a ready market, as do many with a "what if" theme. Combine the two and you have "Fatherland".

Plausible, exciting and a genuine thriller, this novel is excellent weekend or holiday reading. Be sure to have other books lying around though, as you are sure to read this novel in a single session!

Very highly recommended.

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Summary: Great Book...
Review: This is one bestseller that makes you think "What if?" The Nazis have won World War II, and now are THE Superpower. As the German people "celebrate" Adolf Hitler's 75th birthday in 1964, evidence of the Holocaust (which has become a Nazi state secret) comes in to light.

I won't spoil the rest, but there are interesting parallels between Harris' 1964 Germania and the real United States during this time.

Highly recommended for a quick weekend read!

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Summary: Reads like historical fiction
Review: Robert Harris's "Fatherland" feels so authentic, you believe it really COULD have happened. Harris knows the intricaces of Nazi Germany inside and out. He sets up a murder mystery for a burned out Gestapo detective to solve. Predictably, the case leads to the darkest secrets of the Nazi regime, secrets which are still secrets. The fun is in how Harris gets you there and his vision of Nazi society in the Cold War era. The small details make this book a treasure. History buffs in particular will appreciate this well written page-turner.

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Summary: A Wonderful Read
Review: This book was full of such intrigue and suspense and the historical background shines. The novel itself is chock full of twists and turns and moves you through Hitler's Europe and what would have happened. The ending was abrupt and was the only part that held the book back from that additional star. As is, the book was a nice read and will keep you hanging and turning pages until the end.

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Summary: Authentically beleivable, a powerful vision.
Review: Fatherland is a terrifying glimpse into the 'what if?'. The date is 1964. The setting is Hitlers Nazi germany. The victorious fatherland has won the war, all of Europe has been annexed into the greater Reich, except the politically neutral switzerland. German is the second language of every schoolchild, Europe drives German cars and is dominated by German Beurocrats (not too dissimilar to today if you are European) and career advancement is acheived through the Nazi party. Within this hugely changed world scene, where nuclear stalemate is in place between the Reich and the United States, the Novel starts beside the river Havel in Berlin, where inspector Xavier March of the Berlin Kriminalpolizei comes to investigate the discovery of a dead person besides the river bank. This leads, through the dogged determination and fierce intelligence of Xavier March, to intrigue, danger, blind turns, love, and finally to a most shocking truth. To say any more would be to give away the plot and the author does a stellar job of maintaining our interest and curiosity, not to mention our steadily burning disgust at the Nazi state, all the way through the book. What is truly masterful though is the way that Robert Harris has researched, down to the minutest detail, the shape, look, form and function of what the Nazi state would really be like if the unthinkable happened, if Hitler won the war. I would reccomend this book to anyone who enjoys an intricately researched, intricately plotted historical figure, which when once read will not be forgotten for a long time.

Rating:
Summary: Fatherland
Review: Fatherland, like Robert Harris' most recent fictional novel, Archangel, is book that you will find hard to put down. He punctuates an excellent and intensely believable storyline with subtle humour, and the occasional personal viewpoint, which give the book a uniqueness rivalled only by his other novels. The storyline is gripping throughout, and the hypothesis of what would have happened had Germany won WW2 is extremely convincing. Perhaps a little hard to follow at times, this is only because of the amount of sheer detail and matter that contibute to the final outcome. However, this does not take anything away from the book, which has obviously been excellently researched, and painstakingly written. The genre of Harris' books is very unlike modern-day writing, and such is his ability, that Harris is able to present the reader with a thoroughly stimulating and deeply readable novel that one would be unlikely to match for enjoyment

Rating:
Summary: Bit disappointing, but worth reading.
Review: The Third Reich has survived into the sixties, and Adolf Hitler's 75th birthday is only days away. In a world of fear, conspiracy and propaganda, the unconventional police officer Xavier March is investigating the death of an important Party comrade which may give him the insight he needs into the true fate of millions of Jews, a secret long hidden from the world.

It's very difficult to write a novel from the perspective of someone who accepts the dogma of a totalitarian society, but this particular format, of the silent rebel, is getting a little tired. We've had 1984's Winston Smith, to some extent John from Brave New World, and now March in Fatherland. While this gives us some interesting insights into alternate time-line history, there are lots of events which seem to have happened despite Nazi Germany persisting into the modern world - for example, the formation of the Beatles, which is very unlikely to have happened in a world dominated by a society based on repression. The story itself is diverting for a while but quickly becomes predictable once a female American journalist comes on the scene. And March himself is stereotyped: there's more of a hint of Raymond Chandler's Marlowe about him. This novel could have been far richer and had more depth, but as is, it's a good read.