|
|
(Larger Image)
|
Fatherland
by Robert Harris
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Random House (1992-05-26)
ISBN: 0679412735
EAN: 9780679412731
Dewy Decimal #: 823.914
Hardcover: 338 pages
Edition: First
Release Date: 1992-05-26
SKU: 08080204
Condition: Very Good Very Good
Comments: First U.S.Edition. Hardback in very good condition with no markings. Dust jacket in very good condition with minor shelf wear. Tight binding and clear crisp text. Very nice book.
|
Editorial Reviews
|
Product Description
Fatherland is set in an alternative world where Hitler has won the Second World War. It is April 1964 and one week before Hitler's 75th birthday. Xavier March, a detective of the Kriminalpolizei, is called out to investigate the discovery of a dead body in a lake near Berlin's most prestigious suburb.
As March discovers the identity of the body, he uncovers signs of a conspiracy that could go to the very top of the German Reich. And, with the Gestapo just one step behind, March, together with an American journalist, is caught up in a race to discover and reveal the truth -- a truth that has already killed, a truth that could topple governments, a truth that will change history.
From the Paperback edition.
|
Customer Reviews
|
Worst ABRIDGMENT Ever
Rating  (1)
Date: 2007-09-10
Somehow they managed to abridge out all of the alternative history from this alternative history thriller. You'll never know anything about how the United States won the war against Japan and Germany won the war against Russia from listening to this abridgment. They took all of the history out and left a very uninteresting murder mystery. Oh, and Colonel Clink does a lousy job with the voices in his narration.
|
|
Truly disturbing
Rating  (4)
Date: 2006-06-07
The mark of real Alternate History are: 1. Believability of plot and story, 2. Historical Accuracy in that the story must be based on the facts. 3. Realism in that the characters must be people of their time and be belieavable.
In effect a Good Alternate History novel is one in which if the facts had gone the way the author writes, this could really be true.
Most works of this genre are Sci-Fis set in the past which do not comply with any of the above. Often poorly written and probably published because of the writer's connections and Politically Correct beliefs rather than talent like too many books on the shelf today.
This one is the exception. It complies with the above rules in a superb and disturbing detail.
A great murder thriller set in a disturbing world that could have been. Though I disagree with the author's belief that the nazis would have successfully covered up their crimes or even tried beyond a few crude attempts. (They hardly tried to conceal the mass shootings by their Ensatzkomandoes who took many disturbing pictures in additon to thos shot by casual observers. Security in Auschwitz in peticular was extremely poor in concealing the gas chambers and mass cremations from unauthorized witnesses). I certainly agree with the author's portrail of the American side.
Except for content which upsets me, I recomend this novel for those interested in the genre.
|
|
A compelling reading of a well thought-out mystery
Rating (4)
Date: 2002-08-24
3 out of 4 customers found this reveiw helpful
The audio cassette reading of this abridgement of _Fatherland_ is read by two-time Emmy Award-winning Werner Klemperer (who won twice for his portrayal of Colonel Wilhelm Klink on the former Television show, "Hogan's Heroes.") His fluency with the German language makes one feel as is one is in the middle of Germany right along side the detective Xavier March, the main character of the story.I thought that perhaps the alternate history component of the novel--namely, that Germany won World War II--would be a larger part of the story; however, the murder mystery actually has its origins in the 1930s, during the rise to power of Hitler. As March uncovers clues spanning three decades--the action takes place in the mid 1960s--one feels linked not only to the story itself, but the days of a horrible past gone by. One such clue is a series of diary entries by a visitor to one of the concentration camps the Germany ran to destroy the Jews. The reading of the diary sneaks up on the listener and suddenly the listener is aware that this novel isn't just fiction, but contains a chilling historical account of the life and death of the victims of the Jewish Holocaust by Nazi Germany. Toward the end of the novel one genuinely wants Marsh and his investigative reporting American ally to succeed in their efforts to uncover the conspiracy and bring the truth to the world. If they succeed it would bring this alternate history closer to reality--in that the real world knows what actually happened to the Jews, that they had not just "disappeared" as this alternate world believes. The running time of this audio abridgement is three hours. I wish it had run longer as I was hooked into the plot and characters by the novel's end. I highly recommended this story, but for mature listeners only. This story contains foul language (in English and German!), as well as graphic descriptions of violence and death.
|
|
Read this book.....Now
Rating  (5)
Date: 2001-07-01
4 out of 4 customers found this reveiw helpful
"Fatherland' is stylish, disturbing, and depraved. It is a masterpiece of noir fiction. The plot is an historical "What if." What if Germany won the war? What if Joseph Kennedy became President, not JFK? What if the world never found out about the Jewish exterminations that took place at German concentration camps? All scary prospects to be sure; but Harris does a fine job with the story and details, and truly makes the reader feel that, not only is it plausible, but could have very easily happened. The first part of the book is a murder/conspiracy mystery, and then when the mystery is solved, the second half hinges on suspense. While reading 'Fatherland", I could not help but feel like I was reading an important piece of fiction. That may not have been the case, but I am sure that I was reading one of the finest alternative histories ever written or imagined. If you like historical fiction, or if WW2 fiction interests you, then do not miss this fine novel.
|
|
Disappointing audiocassette
Rating  (2)
Date: 2001-02-20
It almost doesn't seem fair to rate this audiocassette in the same pool with the book. I'm sure, after reading a sampling of the reviews, that the book is MUCH better. Something is lost in the translation and abridgement for audiocassette. Sure, the interesting premise is still there as is the big secret. But the page turning suspense is lost in the process. That's what I get for being cheap and checking it out of the library - right?
|
|
|
|
|