A FITTING RETURN

A Review of Philip Kerr's THE ONE FROM THE OTHER

After finishing A GERMAN REQUIEM, author Philip Kerr took a break from Bernie Gunther to plough other literary pastures. That break lasted 15 years. Sure, the break today means nothing as all of the books are readily available, but, at the time, fans spent years wondering if we'd ever stalk through the filthy streets of Berlin with Gunther again. So when Gunther returned in THE ONE FROM THE OTHER, fans had high hopes and, more importantly, high expectations. I'm pleased to say that Bernie returned in style.

After a Prologue featuring Bernie Gunther's eventful trip to from Berlin to Palestine in 1937 where Gunther is embroiled in the wheeling and double-dealing around the exodus of Jews fleeing the Nazis, the novel jumps ahead to 1949 where we find Gunther in Munich. His wife has suffered a mental following the death of her father and Gunther finds himself trying to run a vacant hotel near the Dachau concentration camp. Needless to say, business is not good.

From here, a series of events begin that had me thinking, I will admit, that Gunther's fourth outing would be the first misstep in what had been, up until then, a stellar series. Following on the heels of the Palestine flashback, an American comes to the hotel with a hostage and forces him to unearth gold stolen from Jewish inmates of the camp. Then the situation with Bernie's wife comes to a head while he gets a case from a German woman hoping she has been widowed by the war so that she can re-marry and forget about the Nazi monster that was her first husband. From here, Bernie becomes embroiled in the Nazi underground railroad funneling wanted war criminals out of Germany to Argentina. Kerr hits us with so many plot threads that I found myself thinking that he'd made a few false starts over the 15 years between books 3 and 4 that he decided to just use all of the plots he'd come up with in a throw-everything-at-the-reader ploy to get Bernie back into action.

Man, was I wrong! THE ONE FROM THE OTHER hits its stride after Gunther is subjected to a cringe-inducing 'lesson' at the hands of skulking Nazi butchers though this is not evident at first. Recovering from his assault, Kerr gives Gunther yet another situation for the reader to absorb. This time, he is in a remote chalet where he is enlisted to secure the owner's inheritance. I should point out here that Kerr stoops to a creaking plot device to make this part of the story work. It is the novel's only misstep, but it is a doozy that could turn some readers off. This is fiction after all and one's suspension of disbelief should be operating at full power. That said, the twist does strain credibility.

However, once over that hump, Gunther is pummeled from all sides. The noose is tightening and it truly seems like there will be no way out for our hero. Watching Gunther squirm like a fish on a hook makes for some great reading as the bodies pile up as fast as the double crosses. He is a survivor and nowhere is that better displayed than in the ironic twist that characterizes the final pages of THE ONE FROM THE OTHER.

The novel, of course, features Kerr's unmatched eye for period detail and his ability to set each scene so vividly. The details are rich, precise, specific and prolific and yet, at no time, do they read like a Wikipedia entry. Kerr also demonstrates a singular knack for creating monsters that terrify us with their humanity. He gives us a glimpse into the Nazi mentality that few have managed over the years. Kerr has done his homework and it shows.

THE ONE FROM THE OTHER is one of the strongest entries in the series. However, it's not a good starting point for those new to Berlin Noir or the Gunther books. For the initiated though, it will get the job done. Do not miss it.

Next week we'll be breaking with tradition here at Berlin Noir. In the past, we've alternated between Gunther novel reviews and the books that have followed since the original trilogy. That format will return. However next week, I'll be reviewing A MAN WITHOUT BREATH since it has just been released and has Berlin Noir fans everywhere talking. See you next week.

RUNNING WITH BEASTS

A Review of Jeffery Deaver's GARDEN OF BEASTS

 

Jeffery Deaver had a long string of bestsellers under his belt before writing GARDEN OF BEASTS and snagged a Ian Felming Steel Dagger Award for his efforts. In the novel, Deaver utilizes what is rapidly becoming a Berlin Noir cliché, namely, the 1936 Olympics in Berlin as a backdrop.

Into this overused setting, mob hitman Paul Schumann is thrust. After being busted by the Feds, he's got a simple choice to make: go to jail or go to Berlin and assassinate Reinhard Ernst, the man spear-heading the re-armament of Germany. The US do not want to get caught up in another world war and figure that killing Ernst will prevent Germany from re-arming. I guess, sometimes, there really is only one man for the job. In exchange, Schumann will receive $10,000 and a clean record so that he can start again. Yes, the plot doesn't make a lot of sense but this is a thriller and, personally, I can overlook a paper-thin premise in favor of well-crafted action.

GARDEN OF BEASTS features a bit of both. Schumann is a schizophrenic character. Deaver describes him as a machine when it comes to planning his kills. He leaves no stone unturned and is meticulous to a fault. Once in Berlin, however, Schumann soon seems to be going out of his way to draw attention to himself by beating up Brownshirts in the street, falling in love, meeting famous historical figures, involving himself with the local criminal element and barely devoting any attention at all to Ernst until halfway through the book. He is an assassin who seems to love the spotlight. It isn't long before the Berlin police are on his tail while the Nazis have gotten wind that an operation is in the works involving a Russian (Schumann's cover) who is up to no good.

This odd plotting is soon complicated by Deaver's switching back and forth between far too many points of view. Beginning with Schumann's perspective, the narrative switches to Ernst's and we see him dodging the arrows flung at him by Goering as they vie for Hitler's attention. A study Ernst has headed up may or may not involve Jewish elements and Goering is trying to use this as a bludgeon. We also learn about Ernst's background, his family life and just about everything else you can think of. Deaver also introduces us into the life of a Holmes-like police inspektor Willi Kohl, his family life (a son with Hitler Youth problems), his work life and the people he butts heads with. Frankly, Kohl is the most interesting character in the novel as Schumann starts strong but soon becomes a mere device to move the plot forward. We are treated to a few other points of view as well. Göring gets to take center stage for a few sections as do some pacifist Berlin youths who at least pay off at the end of the novel.

A minor aspect of the book I also found off-putting is Deaver's (or his editor's) choice of translating most of the German place names, streets and expressions. Nazis walk around saying "Hail Hitler", all of the streets and locales are given English translations - except the Tiergarten which is odd given the title of the novel. For this reader a lot of mystique is lost when characters meet up on Under the Lindens. Yes, the translations are accurate but I think most readers should be able to follow the narrative without these needless changes. And, for Berlin Noir or history fans, yeah, we know what the German means.

The early meandering of the narrative aside, once the book gets going, Deaver does an admirable job with the action. Famous for his twists, GARDEN OF BEASTS does not disappoint in that regard. The Schumann of the opening section returns with a vengeance in some great action. However at the climax of the novel, he once again reverts back to trying too hard to be a hero for the reader. The ending suggests a sequel and, considering the book's success. it wouldn't surprise me if Deaver gives us another Schumann adventure.

Deaver is a capable writer and his descriptions of Berlin, while accurate, fail to envelope the reader with that all-encompassing sense of place, which is so crucial to historical works. When he wants to, Deaver can really get you turning the pages. I can't help thinking that the novel would have benefitted from the cutting of 100 or so pages. There's enough here for a taut, roller-coaster ride but Deaver's need to flesh his characters out bogs the narrative down.

Given Deaver's experience and ability, GARDEN OF BEASTS is a somewhat satisfying read. It's no Berlin Noir classic but you could do a lot worse. Parts of the novel are absorbing and worth your time and the book does make a stab at providing the reader with some sense of place. If you're a fan of his work, then this book will not disappoint. If not, then GARDEN OF BEASTS is a crapshoot. There's quite a bit to like and about as much to dislike in the novel, which is why I give it a reserved recommendation.

 

BERLIN NOIR GALLERY 4

WONDERFUL DESOLATION

A review of Philip Kerr's Prague Fatale: A Bernie Gunther novel 

Prague Fatale is the eighth novel featuring Philip Kerr's beleaguered and tormented detective but new readers shouldn't be scared off by this. After the first three novels (collected in Penguin's Berlin Noir omnibus) Kerr's subsequent Gunther adventures have jumped around between periods of the character's life and thus you can pick up any of the stand alone works and not be lost without the back story. Ultimately, Prague Fatale, is perhaps the best introduction to the hero than any of the more recent novels and it does not disappoint.

Unlike the last few Bernie Gunther adventures, which tended to jump around from Gunther living in hiding as a war criminal while incorporating flashbacks to pre-war and war-torn Berlin, Prague Fatale is firmly set in 1942 and echoes the approach used for the first three novels in the series. The novel finds Gunther back in Berlin after a traumatic, disastrous stint on the Eastern Front (the previous Gunther adventure, Field Grey) and the reluctant SS officer and disillusioned policemen is suicidal after being made an unwilling participate in war atrocities and this delving into the psychological effects of the war and living under Nazi rule has on the players in the story.

In Fatale, Gunther investigates the death of a foreign railway worker run over by a train. Or so it seems. As it turns out the man was stabbed before being run over and it's a murder case. A chance run-in with a women being assaulted during an air raid blackout provides Gunther with an excuse to hold onto life as their relationship develops. Just in time, too, because the Berlin police department is now under the iron rule of Reinhard Heydrich, chief of the Reich Main Security Office, and the insidious, high-ranking Nazi has taken a liking to poor Gunther. So much so that he orders the reluctant detective to Prague to act as his bodyguard following an attempt on his life.

 

Gunther has no choice but to comply and, with his new love interest in tow, the scene switches to a lavish villa where a group of Nazi bigwigs are assembled to discuss, among other things, the fate of Czech Jews and the rounding up of Czech partisans disrupting the Reich's occupation plans. Gunther's and Heydrich's exchanges really shine in this outing as you see these two morally opposed men learn to work together. Heydrich's menace is present in every passage and watching Gunther trying to straddle the razor blade between following orders and moral outrage that could get him killed make for compelling reading.

A locked room murder ensues and Heydrich makes it clear to Gunther that the Kripo detective is to solve the crime quickly before news of it reaches Berlin.

As is the case with all of the Kerr's Gunther novels, nothing is quite what it appears to be and the investigation soon leads the morally ambiguous Gunther down dark paths of manipulation and betrayal where everyone has an agenda and will do whatever it takes to see it realized. Although not filled with shoot outs and car chases, Prague Fatale is packed with compelling psychological suspense and when it is time to get down and dirty, Kerr pulls no punches.

It's easy to say that Kerr does his typical job of recreating war-weary Berlin in the early section of the novel but that doesn't do full justice to how excellent Kerr's depictions truly are. As a fan, and reviewer here at Berlin Noir, I've read a lot of the authors currently guiding us down Berlin dark byways. Some do it extremely well, others give us a Berlin that could just as easily be New York or any other big city. Kerr's ability to place on the streets and surround us with sights and sounds is second to none. I mention this because I did not feel that he managed the same magic with recreating the Prague setting. Oh, the manor house is detailed and wonderfully labyrinthine, but the novel left me with an indistinct impression of Prague. A minor matter to be sure, but it did jump out at me.

In the end, following along with Gunther as he tries to find a murderer amongst mass-murderers is compelling stuff. Especially when he is the tool of a heartless monster who will not tolerate failure. The result is a gripping read, one of the best Gunther cases to date and that's saying a lot. Prague Fatale is another winning entry in what is already a series for the ages.

Next week at Berlin Noir, we'll be looking at Jeffery Deaver's GARDEN OF BEASTS.

BERLIN NOIR COVER GALLERY 3