Author:Heinz Rein,Shaun Whiteside
'A wonderful rediscovery. . . human, suspenseful, shot through with hard-earned wisdom' - Lee Child
One of the first bestsellers in Germany after the Second World War, Berlin Finale is a breathtaking novel of resistance set against the downfall of the Third Reich
April 1945, the last days of the Nazi regime. While bombs are falling on Berlin, the Gestapo still search for traitors, resistance fighters and deserters. People mistrust each other more than ever. In the midst of chaos, a disparate group - a disillusioned young soldier; a trade unionist and saboteur; a doctor helping refugees - continues to fight back. And in Oskar Klose's pub, the resistance plan their next move, hunted at every step by the SS. Published in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, Berlin Finale is an unforgettable portrait of life in a city devastated by war.
Translated by Shaun Whiteside
A wonderful rediscovery, like a perfectly preserved time capsule, but also a terrific novel by any standards - human, suspenseful, shot through with hard-earned wisdom
—— Lee ChildCaptivating, moving, unputdownable. . . One of the best Berlin novels, sitting alongside Hans Fallada's Alone in Berlin
—— Jens Bisky , Süddeutsche ZeitungAn unbelievable rediscovery, much like Hans Fallada's Alone in Berlin. . . Very few books recreate in such a way the nightmarish and intense hell that was the end of the Second World War
—— Frankfurter Allgemeine ZeitungMagnificently vivid. . . Art has a habit of resurfacing, when it is worthwhile
—— Budapest TimesAn epic work of documentary fiction. . . Its driving narrative and emotional heft keep us rapt. . . compelling and moving
—— Herald ScotlandHeinz Rein lived through the final fighting when Hitler, from his bunker, decreed that any German officer ordering a retreat was to be killed on the spot by his own men. Berlin Finale is of interest now chiefly as valuable testimony from one who was there. . . It has the kind of doom-laden splendour of one of John Martin's apocalyptic visions
—— New StatesmanSpellbinding . . . vividly conveys the devastation wrought on Berlin by Allied bombing raids and the terrible, almost sub-human existence endured by its surviving citizens
—— Richard HoptonGlittering characterisation, sharp and eloquent writing.
—— Sunday TelegraphAn important 20th-century writer who paints a complex relationship between gender and power with wit and sensitivity.
—— Lauren Elkin, author of FlâneuseLush and lyrical - and darkly funny even at its most gut-punching - Olivia Manning's Balkan Trilogy manages to simultaneously be a sweeping panorama of a Europe in crisis and a discomfitingly intimate portrait of a no-less-broken marriage.
—— Tara Isabella Burton, author of Social CreatureAn addictive, gripping literary saga ... A sharp portrait of a young marriage under pressure and a vivid picture of being a Brit in an increasingly hostile and impoverished corner of Europe.
—— The TimesOlivia Manning takes autobiographical writing to a refreshingly new dimension. In The Balkan Trilogy she follows the well-worn mantra that authors should write about what they know, but she does so without sounding self-centred, a quality that so often dogs memoirs. Her's reads like wholly invented fiction with made-up, yet believable characters. It has been such a joy to re-read Manning's Trilogy...Manning's characterisation throughout the Trilogy is excellent. Her most astute depiction of a person in genuine inner conflict with himself is Guy Pringle...The author's depiction of Bucharest and the places Harriet and Guy visit are bold and colourful.
—— BookmunchA twisting murder mystery combined with a chillingly plausible alternative history of a divided Cold War London. Brilliant
—— Mason Cross, Richard and Judy bestselling author of The SamaritanRubin constructs a tantalising alternative world with 1950s Britain riven apart by its own version of the Berlin Wall - and all because the D-Day landings failed. Against this dystopian nightmare, the author overlays a murder mystery that's sure to appeal to fans of SS-GB, The Man in the High Castle, and Fatherland
—— David Young, CWA Dagger-winning author of Stasi ChildA gripping murder mystery set in an alternative 1950s Britain. Rubin's London, split between American and Soviet zones after a disastrous World War Two, is vividly realised and his story is elegantly constructed. One not to miss
—— William Ryan, author of The Constant SoldierIn the great tradition of SS-GB and Fatherland, Rubin's alternative-1950s murder mystery takes an ingenious premise - the Americans and the Soviets have carved up Britain between them after rescuing the country from the Nazis - and makes it come alive through sheer storytelling skill
—— Jake KerridgeStrange and haunting.
—— Robert Collins , ProspectArguably his best…. A must-read
—— Victoria Moore , Daily MailStunningly simple and profound.
—— Will Gore , Catholic HeraldThe strength of this masterly novel is that it illuminates without pretending to explicate.
—— Ronan Farren , Belfast Telegraph MorningIt’s signature Amis at his most inventive, and it is through…inspired and irreverent fluency that his dead-serious purpose is realized.
—— Tova Reich , Washington PostMost fiction would break under the weight of so much self-reflection, but The Zone of Interest does not even bend... Deft, ironic and horribly funny... A brilliantly believable account of an episode which is beyond belief.
—— Frances Wilson , OldieThe Zone of Interest succeeds because in it Amis is seriously funny - that is to say, funny for serious purposes.
—— Ben Cooke , Cherwell NewspaperMartin Amis’s best novel in years
—— Ian Rankin , GuardianIt’s a brilliant feat of imagination and chutzpah.
—— Viv Groskop , ObserverIs the Holocaust a fit subject for fiction? … The only proper response is to read this remarkable, deeply disturbing and quite original novel.
—— Alan Taylor , HeraldMartin Amis’s The Zone of Interest achieved the near impossible, confounding his detractors with this horrifying glimpse into the heard of Nazi darkness.
—— Bert Wright , Irish TimesThe Zone of Interest is Amis at his boldest and best.
—— Allan Massie , ScotsmanWhat would be otherwise be light entertainment…becomes sinister and strange, warped by the enormous atrocities happening just offstage.
—— Lev Grossman and Radhika Jones , Time MagazineMartin Amis’s best novel in years.
—— Ian Rankin , Guardian WeeklyIt is always hard to read factual material about the Holocaust but in fiction Amis has shined a light into this darkness which offers no answers but is still profoundly moving.
—— Richard Jaffa , Birmingham Jewish RecorderIt was very, very good.
—— Joseph Connolly , LadyI think everyone should read it – it is so horrific.
—— Kirsty Wark , LadyA well-received return to form
—— Charlotte Heathcote , Daily ExpressAstonishingly bold novel… [It] is Amis’s best work in years
—— Mail on SundayAmis’s best work since Money
—— Richard Susskind , The Times