Fatherland - Robert Harris - Book Review

 

                I have read Robert Harris quite often nowadays. Last year I read three of his books. Historical fiction has always been my favourite and when this concerns the World War my interest piques. That too was about the Nazi regime in particular. How could such a twisted bunch of people brainwash an entire country and almost win over the world? What if they had won the war? These questions had always stayed in the back of my mind. And then I chanced upon this book.

                The world war is over the Nazis have won the war. A disillusioned detective working with the Nazi police lands into a case where a dead body is found by the riverside. This is near one of the most influential residential areas in Germany. He tries to dig deep into the case; opening Pandora's box which can be a real threat to the nation. This makes the Gestapo make a move on him. The detective teams up with an American reporter to reach the bottom of the mystery which forms the remaining story.

                The whole plot was so impressive and having read a few of his other similar works, I found this interesting as well. I had always thought of what would have happened if the Axis powers had won the war. In this story, Germany controls Europe, the Japanese control the whole of Asia and the Americans are in a rather uncomfortable alliance with the Germans. In the whole novel, there is no place where we encounter Hitler or his inner circle in person. The name Hitler just resonates from the conversations of others. This was a great way to write this novel and I found this as one of the main positives of the story. The story of the Nazi world without the direct involvement of Hitler. The fictional story setup was rather engaging and the proceedings happened at a steady pace. But there were some parts of the story here and there which did tire me out. The other characters were well written especially the work partner and the American reporter. The relationship of the detective with his best friend and work partner, with his divorced family and the American reporter was rather intriguing. Even though he was an officer, the detective was staunchly against the Nazi rule while his family was strictly Nazi. This relationship was interestingly brought out and the last encounter of the detective with his son was unexpected for me. I read this at a leisurely pace and had taken my own sweet time to complete the book. I really liked how the novel ended even though it felt a bit cinematic.

                In short, this was a decent read for me. The book did not meet my expectations in terms of the pace; but a good story indeed. And it was interesting to think from a perspective where the Nazis had taken over the world. People who like historical fiction can give this book a try.