Rating: 4/5
Review:
Good, but slightly flawed
I enjoyed this novel, but perhaps not quite as much as some other reviewers. It is very good in many ways but I did have some reservations about it.
Set in post-war occupied Hamburg in 1946, the story follows the fortunes of the enlightened British Colonel Lewis trying to govern his sector with humanity, of his family, of some of the conquered Germans and of other British occupiers, many with attitudes very different from Lewis's. Rhydian Brook writes good, readable prose and conjures the atmosphere of ruined Hamburg in the freezing winter very well. He paints good portraits of the sense and attitudes of all shades of both German and British people there, I found many of his characters convincing and learned a lot about post-war Germany.
What I found less good was the character development and interaction, which seemed a little predictable and a slightly missed opportunity to look more deeply at attitudes to victory, forgiveness and grief, so the story itself didn't really grip me. I also found that anachronisms in the language damaged the sense of period: people simply didn't say things like, "It might send the wrong message," or "Do you think?" or "You have set the bar rather high," in 1946 and, although there wasn't enough of this to ruin my enjoyment, it did jar badly and kept throwing me out of the atmosphere rather.
This is a good read in many ways, and is certainly a well-researched and well-written book; I just didn't quite think it tackled its subject as deeply as it might have done and lacked a little originality in its plot.
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