Berlin

by Pierre Frei

Book Overview

Set in a devastated Berlin one month after the close of the Second World War, Berlin has been acclaimed as "ambitious...filled with brilliantly drawn characters, mesmerizingly readable, and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802118321
• ISBN13: 9780802118325
• Release Date: October 2006
• Publisher: Grove Press
• Length: 425 Pages
• Weight: 0.53 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Shockingly good!

I love a great detective story, and this is one. But what separates this story from most novels is the emphasis Frei places on the CRIME VICTIMS. Four or five blonde women are found murdered in post-war Berlin. A spree-killer is on the loose. The novel centers on the German policeman (and his family) and an American policeman, stationed in the occupied city, who team up to find the killer. But, not neglected are the women who were murdered. All were "fleshed out". All the women had played a role, some large and some small, in anti-Nazi activities during the war. All were on the verge of life-changing events that were cut still by the murderer's chain. Along with the crime story is an often-humorous story of the German policeman's 15 year old son, playing the angles to try to buy a well-cut suit that will win him the heart - and body - of a hot-to-trot girl. (The tailor's daughter). As the author's note says that author Frei was born in 1930, I wonder if this part was "his" story. This is a very good book.

Pretty Good Mystery but May not Appeal to Many

An unusual mystery in that the focus is on the murdered women rather than on the killer. The life of each victim is revealed from about the early 1930s to the present period of the story which is summer of 1945, Berlin. Each woman has a different story to tell which I found interesting, and in revealing their story, you can observe what German life was like during the rise of the Nazis and during the war. This is not a comprehensive history of life under the Nazis, but it is focused down to the life around these women. A couple of the victims had incredible stories to tell, and then you feel the sadness of their death--after all that, their hopes were ended because of a disturbed serial killer. Pierre Frei is an old correspondent that has lived in many parts of the world. His worldliness shows in this story. He does not have any pretensions; nor do his characters. They have had to learn to take what has been dished out to them. A story worth reading if you are tired of the standard detective novel.

Weak as a Thriller, otherwise Interesting

I was disappointed in the thriller aspect of this book. There was not any in-depth analysis and narration dealing with the criminal. Also, any ties to link the criminal to the suspect as revealed in the end were almost non-existent and/or vague. On the other hand however, the sections of the book dealing with the victims lives were very interesting. I found them enlightening as to everyday life in Nazi Germany. Overall, I think the book would have been better and not so disappointing if it had been about the lives of these women in Nazi Germany and omit the thriller plot altogether. Yes, I am disappointed but will be generous and give 4 stars.

Emerging from the ruins

Living in Berlin in 1945 was a challenge. Rubble from bombed out buildings was everywhere - people tried to live in the remnants. Negotiating the roads was an obstacle course and transport severely restricted. Food was in limited supply and cigarettes were an important commodity. Frei, who lived in Berlin at that time, and may have crafted one of his characters, teenager Ben, after his own image, paints a vivid picture of how people struggled and survived after the war. Towards the end of 1945 people start to feel that life might be getting better - at least in the western parts of the city. The author's primary subject, though, is not the portrait of a city emerging from the ruins. His narrative concentrates on the hunt for a serial killer and the young women he stalks. The story centers on the American sector and the American administrative compound around "Uncle Tom's Hut", a well known Berlin underground train station. The victims, actual and potential, work in the US compound and have passes that allow them to move outside past the curfew. The same appears to apply to whoever the killer is. This situation forces the US officers reluctantly to work with the German detective, Ben's father, who is charged with the case. Interesting tensions between victor and defeated develop as a result. Alternating with the chapters that describe the hunt for the mysterious killer are those that narrate the stories of the victims. These descriptions move the book beyond the usual thriller genre. Frei carefully chooses women from very different social strata and backgrounds. They range from an aristocrat to a village girl turned actress to a street kid from a poor housing estate to a young widow trying to protect her disabled child. The author explores their lives from early childhood through the Nazi period and the war to the period when they are stalked by the killer. This technique allows Frei to expand into the historical background, relating the whole spectrum of German attitudes toward the regime: the enthusiasts, the middle-of-the-roaders, the naïve and the odd critic. The locales shift with each character, it could be Berlin or Spain, or a concentration camp commandant's lavish home. Some background characters turn up in different scenarios adding linkages and depth to the individual stories. The women, while very distinct and well depicted, have some traits in common: they are all beautiful, blond and blue-eyed. Frei also bestows them with a rather easygoing life style open to intimate adventures, whether for material gains or not. This would seem to be somewhat surprising for the times, but the author clearly enjoys recounting details. Frei's Berlin is not so much a thriller as a social portrait of a city in its historical context. While the hunt for the killer keeps the reader intrigued, the real attraction of the novel is in the life stories of the young women, their background and struggles through the most dramatic and devastating p