Has anybody else read Fatherland by Robert Harris? And what did you think? For me it's one of the best fiction books (along with Enigma) I have ever read. Being based around WWII be nice to know what people think. If you haven't read it then do, honestly you won't be disappointed. Fantastic.
Has anybody else read Fatherland by Robert Harris? And what did you think? For me it's one of the best fiction books (along with Enigma) I have ever read. Being based around WWII be nice to know what people think. If you haven't read it then do, honestly you won't be disappointed. Fantastic. I have a copy underneath my bed!! i tried reading it but could not get in to it. I think that was caused by watching the film. Anyway, i have only read fourteen novels in my entire life!
I have a copy underneath my bed!! i tried reading it but could not get in to it. I think that was caused by watching the film. Anyway, i have only read fourteen novels in my entire life! The film was so bad, shocking. It would have made a great film with some money spent on it and better actors.
The film was so bad, shocking. It would have made a great film with some money spent on it and better actors. I watched it because there was nothing better on TV, that was back in days when there was only four TV channels!!
The book is terrific. I was just flipping through it again this morning. It actually has one of the very best answers to Holocaust deniers within it, as to why there was no written Fuhrerbefehl for the Holocaust, or at least the befehl went up in smoke in 1945...by disassociating Hitler from this monstrous crime, if the truth ever came out, the whole thing could be blamed on the guys who attended the Wannsee Conference, thus preserving Hitler's image as the spartan, ascetic, objective Frontkampfer turned Fuhrer. It made me realize that one of the keys to the whole Nazi view of the Holocaust and how they intended to write the narrative of it was to say that the Jews were simply "removed." They "went East." They "disappeared." They were not going to "bore" the citizens of the Reich with the pettifogging details. Like Richard III, they wanted them "gone." And Hitler did it, by thunder. Got rid of the whole lot. So the destruction of the Jewish people, in the Nazi narrative, was the heroic Nazis cleansing the world of a dangerous bacillus, with the details deliberately vague. "A page of glory in our history that is never meant to be written," as Himmler observed. I also agree that had the Nazis won the war, after exterminating all the Jews, they would have then moved on the people who ran the Holocaust, thus eliminating all witnesses. The book also presents an interesting picture of Nazi Germany in 1964, putting it on the edge of the explosions of the 1960s. We see the Nazis locked in their own wasting Vietnam War, with an irritated and rebellious student population filled with dissent, and the Beatles playing to packed nightclubs, ready to strike the spark. Although I don't think Nazi Germany would have hosted Woodstock. This is the narrative of the Holocaust the Holocaust deniers want to create.
Background on book. April, 1964. The naked body of an old man floats in a lake on the outskirts of Berlin. In one week it will be Adolf Hitler's 75th birthday. Xavier March is an investigator with Berlin's Criminal police. Fatherland is set in a world that almost existed but never was; the Berlin that Hitler's architect, Albert Speer, planned to build - the hub of a victorious Third Reich extending from the Rhine to the Urals. The portrait of a modern Germany super-state under Hitler's rule is stunning.
I'll agree with the above. Dreadful film, Surprisingly good book. It was the same with Enigma. The film was so so. The atmosphere of the book was awesome. I think it gave you a glimpse of what it was like in the dark times of the early 40s.
The film was originally supposed to be a big budget epic, but something went wrong with the funding and it was scaled down. A pity, as apparently much was going to be made of the monstrous New Berlin architecture which is so vividly described in the book. Good as 'Fatherland' is, my favourite 'What-if-the-Axis-had-won' novel is still the fantastic 'Man In The High Castle' by Phillip K. Dick.
The film was originally supposed to be a big budget epic, but something went wrong with the funding and it was scaled down. A pity, as apparently much was going to be made of the monstrous New Berlin architecture which is so vividly described in the book. Good as 'Fatherland' is, my favourite 'What-if-the-Axis-had-won' novel is still the fantastic 'Man In The High Castle' by Phillip K. Dick. I didn't know that they were going to make it big budget. Gonna check out 'The High Castle' thou. Thanks.
Great book Gage, read it in College, Japs in Ca and Germans in New York with the Great Experiment in Africa...just a tease enjoy the read.
Great book Gage, read it in College, Japs in Ca and Germans in New York with the Great Experiment in Africa...just a tease enjoy the read. Thanks Oby, I will search it out. Do you know any other books in the same vain or WWII fiction I might like?
I am pretty much the same as Morse when it come to reading novels. I would have read a very few. I do however get talking books from the library which I play when Driving around my home state. Fatherland is a great example of this where one "actor" reads and takes all characters in the book. Some of these books are up to 24 CD's. One of my favourites is the "Fist of God" by Frederick Forsyth. Pity it was not WW2 but Iraq. Has anybody read the book?
Not really Gage, I'm not a bookworm. For fun I've read Dale Brown, Old Dog,Silver Tower...Most of the other reading is about WWII. James Lucas Hans Von Luck, Von Senger's book, The Rommel papers and Wehrmacht tech books. I prefer to spend the free time(What's That) at the range or I go to the gun shows. Most of my free time is with family.
I do however get talking books from the library which I play when Driving around my home state. Some of these books are up to 24 CD's. One of my favourites is the "Fist of God" by Frederick Forsyth. Pity it was not WW2 but Iraq. Has anybody read the book? No I haven't. Also like the audio books, an excellent way to relax. Shame the full versions are so expensive.
Great book Gage, read it in College, Japs in Ca and Germans in New York with the Great Experiment in Africa...just a tease enjoy the read. I tried to read the book, mate but I just couldn't get into it but I may try again. I can't understand the fuss with Dan Brown's Vinci Code. I read and liked the book but it's only a work of fiction. I suppose Mr Brown's rubbing his hands together in glee. We'll see what the film is like, be interesting as some of it was shot in Lincoln, not all that far from me.
I tried to read the book, mate but I just couldn't get into it but I may try again. I can't understand the fuss with Dan Brown's Vinci Code. I read and liked the book but it's only a work of fiction. I suppose Mr Brown's rubbing his hands together in glee. We'll see what the film is like, be interesting as some of it was shot in Lincoln, not all that far from me. A large part of the problem, at least in North America is that too many people seem to believe that there is some basis in fact to the novel. Probably because classical history is poorly taught if taught at all. Plus there is a great deal of mistrust towards the Roman Catholic Church's hierarchy due to the number of sex scandals that have come to light in recent years.
A large part of the problem, at least in North America is that too many people seem to believe that there is some basis in fact to the novel. Probably because classical history is poorly taught if taught at all. Plus there is a great deal of mistrust towards the Roman Catholic Church's hierarchy due to the number of sex scandals that have come to light in recent years. Yes Loki I also think that's very true. But I think there is something mysterious about the Roman Catholic Church which also feeds the fire to some extent. I think I'm gonna read Angels and Demons next. JK Rowling also benefitted from massive media hype, where certain people thought that her books were introducing children to witchcraft. Nuts.
I read the book a few years back and found it most enjoyable - except for the end, which I won't give away here. Very well written, with with wonderful imagination and clarity of expression. Took a while to get into, but for my money well worth the effort. I haven't seen the movie but I might check it out next time it's on. My experience is that the film is rarely up to the book - regardless of how much they spend on it. The beauty of reading, for me at least, is you get to use your own imagination and interpretation. Movies leave little room for such pleasures.
