An enjoyable epistolary novel. The two characters, Tina and Anders, have never met. Tina, a farm wife in England, has sent a letter to an author at a An enjoyable epistolary novel. The two characters, Tina and Anders, have never met. Tina, a farm wife in England, has sent a letter to an author at a museum in Denmark. Since the author has passed away, Anders, a museum curator, answers her letter. Gingerly, the two correspondents continue writing to each other. Gradually they reveal their lives to each other--their hopes, dreams, and despair. They find that their individual loneliness is somewhat more bearable when shared with a sympathetic soul. Over the course of a year and a half, we observe a wedding, a pregnancy, journeys, and a life-changing tear in Tina's marriage. The last portion of the novel has a more intense feel to it. Will Tina and Anders ever meet? The author leaves that up to us. The novel is thoughtful and at times philosophic as Tina and Anders explore their life journeys, encouraging and challenging each other. It stretches credulity that the two would carry on such a deep correspondence in this day and age. They do move from physical letters to emails, but these are very long letters. I enjoyed it most when each character tried to explain to the other about daily life, whether it is plucking chickens for Christmas or working in the museum. Recommended.
Just a smidgeon under 4 stars. 'Munich' tells the story up close and personal of the crisis and negotiations surrounding Germany's claim to the SudeteJust a smidgeon under 4 stars. 'Munich' tells the story up close and personal of the crisis and negotiations surrounding Germany's claim to the Sudetenland, part of Czechoslovakia, in September 1938. Most often viewed with 20/20 hindsight as a disaster of appeasement by Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, Robert Harris gives it the in-depth examination and reconsideration that it deserves. Whether things might have turned out better, or worse, if Britain and France had been firmer with Hitler will never be known.
Without a lot of preamble, Harris throws the reader into the midst of the political crisis that was caused by Germany trying to expand its territorial claims into Czechoslovakia, after it had recently taken over Austria. Hugh Legat is a Foreign Officer serving as an undersecretary in the office of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. He is used mainly as a flunky, but his fluency in German makes him useful in the crisis for translating Hitler's speeches and other documents. A counterpart in Germany is Paul von Hartmann,also in the diplomatic corps, but very unhappy with Hitler and the Nazis. Paul and Hugh had been friends at Oxford several years before, but they have lost contact with each other. Paul and his fellow conspirators decide to use the Munich Conference as an opportunity to make contact with the British diplomats and share some incriminating documents.
The story starts slowly, with lots of scenes of inter-office political backbiting, but finally takes off about half way through the book when all the parties are present in Munich. Will Paul be able to contact Hugh, who is being used as a go-fer at the hotel rather than a translator at the conference? Will Paul's treachery be found out by the Gestapo? Will Hugh be able to make his superiors listen to him before it is too late and Chamberlain and Hitler have signed the agreement? The personal lives of the young diplomats give the human touch to what is often seen as just political theatre. The Munich Conference had real consequences, delaying Germany's war plans by almost a year, allowing both sides to build up their armaments. Chamberlain, who sometimes seems like a Victorian gentleman stranded in the wrong century, comes across as an earnest, sincere, and flawed character. Hitler, who drifts in out of the conference like a ghost, comes across as a withdrawn, but demanding, narcissist. Robert Harris is thorough in showing what is at stake in this crucial time. His writing can be a bit stilted and stiff, like his characters. If you are interested in learning about the time before World War II, this novel is a very good depiction of a time gone by. It also provides some interesting, and worrisome, parallels to our own time.
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