This novel would make an excellent film.
It has all the elements of a box office smash or a highly streamed miniseries. Period drama. Likeable characters. Sneaky dealings. A love story.
Two teenage boys meet one evening just before the second world war. James is Irish and from a very poor family. Otto is the privileged son of a German diplomat stationed in Dublin. Otto engages James and his sister to run the house he and his father occupy, and soon after, romance blooms.
As time passes, James and Otto become part of a plan to sneak Jewish refugees out of Nazi occupied countries. This is done through what Otto learns about German war tactics from his father, and by James hoodwinking his brother who is a member of the IRA (at the time, the IRA supported the Germans because they shared Britain as their common enemy).
Part of what makes this book interesting is Ireland’s neutrality.
So while the war doesn’t directly affect its citizens, there are characters who become aware of the genocide. Otto has a naive view of what his nation’s army are up to until the truth becomes apparent. His early denial, and the guilt he experiences later, are relationship hurdles James must deal with.
James’ sister, Bella, and Otto’s American tutor, Howard, are important players too. While Bella cooks and cleans for Otto and his dad, she also holds strong views about the freedoms awarded to her brother which she can’t enjoy. James can disappear for a night, chasing romance, while she needs to be chaperoned.
James has very Catholic views about his own sexuality. Part of this story’s charm is the way Howard assures James he will not go to hell for enjoying sex with someone of the same gender. And Otto’s more mainland European views on intimacy also add to James’ awakening.
The writing is as solid as the plot, as is the authentic feel of both time and place.
A well deserved five stars!
I mentioned that the characters are likeable. This was a lightbulb moment for me as often I’ve had people review my books saying they didn’t like all the characters. I never understood why it was a thing as obviously, some characters need to be unlikeable for juxtaposition within the story.
In this novel the enemy is very much part of the background, so like in many much loved movies, you can to relate to all the characters. It’s an odd thing to concern oneself about when consuming a story, but in this instance I finally understood why some think it’s important.
kevin klehr 