Thriller set in 1960's Nazi Germany (Fatherland - Robert Harris)

Member Name: Martin52

Product:	Fatherland - Robert Harris
Date:	05/06/09 (37 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Well researched and well written

Disadvantages: Another clone of a detective and an unsurprising conspiracy

This well-known thriller is certainly not new and yet, somehow, despite it sounding just like my cup of tea, I'd never quite got around to reading it. Finally, with a four hour bus trip ahead of me, I was tempted to snap it up from the fairly limited selection that the bookseller was offering as entertainment for the journey. Before the bus had even left the bus park, I was plunged into Nazi Germany in the 1960's.

Yes, that's right, it's not a typo, the book is set in the 1960's. This book is based on what I believe is called a Counterfactual, which in layman language means it is based upon a premise that history somehow worked out differently. In this case, Nazi Germany won the Second World War, Adolf Hitler is still Fuhrer, and Germany and the United States are cold war adversaries with détente in the air.

The story itself involves a German policeman who finds himself called upon to investigate the discovery of a dead body floating in a river in Berlin. Unsurprisingly, this turns out not to be a simple matter and he is plunged into a life-threatening situation involving the higher echelons of the Nazi regime.

The plot itself is very cleverly worked out and well written and, as with all good thrillers, there are enough twists and turns to keep anyone interested. However, ultimately, I was disappointed by this book. Why is it that every detective has to be a clever but world-weary character with a disastrous personal life? Much as it might help the plot, I'm afraid that I'm just getting a bit tired of the monotony of it. Also, the conspiracy turns out to be unsurprising and obvious to anyone with the slightest knowledge of twentieth century history. Sadly, I just found it all rather unsatisfactory.

However, if you, like me, have a four-hour bus journey ahead of you and the scenery is uninspiring, then you could probably do a lot worse than read this book. It will keep you entertained whilst it lasts. Just don't expect too much from it.

Summary: A decent enough thriller but which will ultimately disappoint