Munich: a novel DB90239
Harris, Robert; Rintoul, David. Reading time: 9 hours, 41 minutes.
Read by David Rintoul.
Suspense Fiction
Historical Fiction
Spy Stories
Bestsellers
Germany, 1938. Hugh Legat works as a private secretary for English PM
Neville Chamberlain. Paul Hartmann serves as a German diplomat and is
secretly a member of the anti-Hitler resistance. Friends at Oxford years
earlier, Legat and Hartmann cross paths again in Munich, where each must
decide what he is willing to betray. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.
Bestseller. 2018.
Over many years, I've heard Neville Chamberlain referred to in very negative
terms because of how he dealt with Hitler. Over and over again, I've read
the disapproving sentence, "Chamberlain appeased Hitler". But this is the
first time I've read a book which actually describes in detail what
happened. True, this is a novel, but it has obviously been well researched.
The fictional parts deal mainly with Hugh and Paul, a bit about their lives,
their relationship, and how these are impacted by the meeting at Munich. The
book is well written and it provides a sense of how governments interact
internationally. Here is the leader of one country who is egocentric and
becomes angry easily. He sees his country's role in the world as a
reflection of his own personal power. He has a secret plan to conquer a
large number of countries, but the citizens of his country aren't aware of
it. They want peace. The author shows how the staff handles their leader,
making sure that he stays calm, coaching people who are meeting him for the
first time, how to behave, what to say. And then there are the other world
leaders with Chamberlain desperately trying to maintain peace between
England and Germany. After all, it's only been a few years since the
devastation of the first world war. Besides, England doesn't have the
armaments to fight right now. And Chamberlain does seem to really believe
that Hitler is amenable to reason. Even though we all know how this story
actually ends, the story that the book tells is fascinating. Part of the
story is how both Hugh and Paul have personality strengths and limitations
which influence their actions in a politically dangerous situation. How much
would each of us be capable of risking to support our values?
This book is a look back into history, but it also feels like a look at the
present as a potential prequel to our future.
Miriam
Miriam