Robert Harris – Fatherland

Since Phillip K. Dick’s ‘The Man in the High Castle’, writers have often wondered ‘what if’ big historical events hadn’t turned out the way they did, and where would that leave us? This is the subject my latest review, Robert Harris’ ‘Fatherland’, a book that looks at the decisive moment in recent history- the end of World War Two – and what would have happened if Hitler and his Nazis had somehow won.

Now alternative history may seem to be a fairly recent genre, and the idea of a Nazi victory has arguably been one of the most covered subjects, but Harris’ novel proves perfectly how history can be a background and not the focus; the historical changes are key elements to the story in creating an alternative world…much like a good fantasy book.

The story is very much a detective thriller about Xavier March, a German police officer who is good at his job, but that’s all he has. He is divorced with a child, Pili, with whom he has grown distant from. Xavier blames this on his long working hours and lack of time he spends with his son, though mainly he blames the Nazi system itself for brainwashing Pili like every other person in the state. Xavier loves his country but he sees the cracks in the Nazi’s image of a perfect society, he then finds out from his friends the Gestapo have been asking about him and realises that it can’t be an opportunity for promotion.

The book follows Xavier as he deals with the case of a dead man who washes up on the banks of a lake. He soon finds out he was a high ranking Nazi officer in the war, but by that time the Gestapo have taken over the case. Xavier, though, has nothing else in his life to do and he knows there’s something going on; it’s got something to do with the Jews who everyone knows were moved east, right? And all this in the lead up to Herr Hitler’s 75th birthday? Adding even more interest, it seems that President Kennedy of the US is also coming to talk business; I wonder what that could mean?

My expectations were not high at first; I always wanted to read this book as a history student, and I assumed that being a former Political Correspondent, Harris’ writing skills would not be very ‘literary’, but I was pleasantly surprised. The book is brilliant in not just being a great idea, it’s written with a good pace, style and memorable images. The best metaphor occurs early on, as Xavier drops off his son who’s wearing his Hitler Youth uniform, his mother answers the door along with her new husband, a propaganda minister and their German Sheppard. Xavier notes how the only one who’s remotely human is not wearing a uniform, the dog.

Unfortunately, the secret will not surprise you but the twists and turns all the way to the end will. It’s a story of blood, deduction and even a little romance so even if you’re not a historian, if you’re a thriller or detective novel lover it might be something for you.

Some of my readers may have noticed I never give a bad damning review, and there’s a simple reason for that. I’ve read a lot of good books and some bad ones, but who wants to read a bad book? Even if I do on occasion, I definitely don’t want to write about one.

2 Responses to “Robert Harris – Fatherland”

1. Billy Dailey says:

   February 18, 2010 at 3:58 pm

   I have been checking out your blog in my rss reader for the last couple of weeks, I enjoy what I read.
2. James says:

   February 18, 2010 at 7:18 pm

   Thank you very much , its nice to know I have a fan other than my mother!