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Fatherland: A Novel (Mortalis) | 
 enlarge | Author: Robert Harris
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
Buy New: $7.79
You Save: $6.16 (44%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 27307
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5 x 0.9
ISBN: 0812977211
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780812977219
ASIN: 0812977211
Publication Date: September 5, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand new condition, all pages intact w/o any marks or writing. Most items ships same day w/ FREE delivery confirmation. Great Feedback!
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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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
Chillling, bleak detective thriller set in alternate Nazi-triumphant Germany November 22, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Robert Harris's "Fatherland" is a bleak thriller wrapped in a detective story. Calling to mind some of the great Cold War entertainments ("The Spy Who Came in from the Cold," "Gorky Park," etc.), "Fatherland" tells the story of the individual's struggle against totalitarianism - and how destructive that struggle can be.
Our "hero" is Xavier March, divorced father of one and a mid-level detective working in Hitler's Berlin in 1964. Yes, Hitler's Berlin. The conceit of this book is that the Nazis "won" WWII, which has morphed into a Cold War largely being fought on the Eastern Front where Soviet terrorists are funded by the United States. Albert Speer's colossal architecture dominates the Berlin skyline. The SS keep rigid control over the German people. And everybody worships Hitler as a God.
That is, except for March. A born cynic, March is a former U-boat captain who is quietly fighting against the rigid structure of life in the Nazi party. But it's hard, as Naziism seems triumphant - even the American President Kennedy is coming to visit Berlin in a hugely important diplomatic mission representing the first step in the growing relationship between Germany and the U.S. (It's part of Harris's devious mind that President Kennedy is JFK's father, Joseph, who was less-than-critical of the Nazis in real life.)
On the eve of Kennedy's arrival, March finds himself embroiled in a murder investigation in one of Berlin's wealthiest neighborhoods - one reserved for the ultimate achievers in the Nazi Party. As March doggedly pursues his investigation, what appears to be an isolated murder of passion turns into one minor crime in perhaps the most monstrous crime of the 20th century. For March discovers clues confirming some of the darkest rumors circulating through the Reich - just what had happened to all those Jews who were shipped East for relocation?
This is a dark novel, and not for the faint of heart.
But "Fatherland" is impeccably researched, which gives it a realism that makes up for the occasional slow point or two. "Fatherland" does not invoke the Holocaust lightly, but like the novels of Daniel Silva uses its horror to great effect. And it serves as a reminder that even though the victors get to write the history books, they cannot completely eradicate the past and the nightmares it contains.
 Great premise, poor book September 24, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
The story takes place in April 1964. Germany was victorious in its war against the West in WWII, but did less well in the East, where the war lingers to an unclear extent. Hitler is about to celebrate his 75th birthday, and Joe Kennedy, who is also 75, is President of the U.S.
How did anti-Semitic, Nazi appeaser Joe Kennedy come to power? Did Hitler help him do so after the war? Is he a puppet? What happened to Joseph Patrick Kennedy, whom Joe wanted to make the first in a line of Presidents? Did he still die on August 12, 1944 at the age of 29? Did Joe Kennedy, the old bootlegger who made much of his fortune dealing alcohol with the New York crime families during prohibition, still have a stroke on December 19, 1961? Did he still lose significant ability to move his right side, and was his speech still affected? If so, how did that affect his presidency? What happened to John? Was he still banging Marilyn and assorted floozies in the White House? Did the Mafia grease him? Did the U.S. send advisors to Vietnam? Was Bobby still trying to get Hoffa? Those are only a few of the questions that the author didn't address or even indirectly allude to concerning the Americans.
What of Hitler? Hitler is only a vague background figure. And what of Eva Braun? Did Hitler marry her? Is he still with her? She is never mentioned. Goering, Goebbels, Himmler? The book contains few references to them. Numerous other subjects that could have been explored are unmentioned.
The "conspiracy" that is the subject of the book is the conspiracy in Germany to squelch information concerning the holocaust. Significant information regarding the holocaust was known outside Germany by 1942 or 1943, but perhaps the author did not know this. In 1964, the relocation and murder of Jews in Europe is supposed to be a "revelation," as to which only very few Nazis have personal knowledge (although many Germans were willfully blind concerning the subject, according to the author).
Huh?
When you finish the book you will probably wonder: if the protaganist and his accomplice succeeded (which should not be assumed), what was the result? That is also never addressed.
Why was this book written?
If you were expecting an imaginative speculative novel that Ellroy might have written when he was at his peak (something similar to "American Tabloid"), forget it. This is a dull, unimaginative tome, a half-baked rehash of "1984," with a new slant. It's written by a hack who apparently wanted to re-write "1984" so that it concerned not left-wing totalitarianism, but what willfully ignorant University professors, and those they deceive, continue to incorrectly characterize as a "right-wing" ideology (national socialism).
Two stars, and that's generous.
Good alternate history...an accomplishment... June 23, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I have tried several times to find a good alternate history novel dealing with the events of World War II. I've failed miserably on all accounts...none of the stories kept me captivated. Then I picked up 'Fatherland' and I am thankful I did. It succeeds by not trying to give all the details of the changed world from what we know...instead it gives little snippets here and there, and lets the reader fill in the larger gaps. Its main purpose is to tell a good story and in this it succeeds as well. The inner workings of the Nazi police state are explored in this fictional world and it is engaging and harrowing all at the same time. A murder mystery dressed up in the dark coats of the SS. Recommended for even the most jaded of alternate history readers, myself included.
On a quick note...one of my favorite scenes involved a statue made of "melted down Spitfires and Lancasters"...one of the examples of the teaser details. Very cool imagery...
Good book, but not mind-blowing June 13, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Fatherland makes for a solid read, engaging from beginning to end, but it could have done so much more. I initially purchased this book more for the purposes of exploring alternative history than for the main plot. The plot turned out to be worthwhile, but I was disappointed by a lack of exploration of this society. I was especially curious about Kennedy's meeting; the book did not elaborate on that as much as I would have liked.
The main plot is engaging, albeit somewhat cliched. A foreign journalist joins the protagonist? I've read that many times before. It's mostly the twists and turns that make this worthwhile. The end shocked me, although in hindsight I should have seen that coming. But I won't ruin it for those who haven't read the book.
A classic, intelligent thriller March 26, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I re-read this book lately, having read Harris' latest - The Ghost. The book, written in 1992, stands up very well. It centres around a murder in 1964, in a Germany which is still ruled by Hitler, who has won the war in the West, is fighting an interminable guerrilla war in the East and is pursuing a Cold War with the USA, which is run by President Joseph Kennedy. The murder is central to a re-writing of history which the Nazi's are attempting in launching a process of `detente' with the USA.
The strength of the book for me is the plausibility of the underlying society - the official silence, yet unofficial acknowledgement, that something awful happened to the Jews; the hero - A Gestapo detective - quizzes an American journalist about what is being reported about Germany in the USA; its plausible that Joseph Kennedy might have become US president and that King Edward would have been restored in a Nazi-controlled England, even the Beetles get a mention.
The story itself is quite gripping and pacy. Harris's trademark fascination with large houses make its first showing, the false trails and betrayals keep us guessing, and the book does not make up a happy ending.
There was one part which, when I read it this time, made me shudder. It was completely irrelevant when I first read this book (pre 9/11): " .. the Gestapo was licensed to practise what the Ministry of Justice called `heightened interrogation'. The rules had been drawn up by civilised men in warm offices and they stipulated the presence of a doctor'. I don't claim Harris is prophetic, however the tale is cautionary in this respect
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