- Paperback: 206 pages
- Publisher: Faber and Faber (17 Sep 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0571254136
- ISBN-13: 978-0571254132
- Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.6 x 1.8 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,018,298 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
Michael, an attractive young medical student, is eager for experience as he travels to the German University town where he and his English friends will stay in the homes of local undergraduates with whom they debate, attend lectures and seminars, picnic and swim in the hot summer of 1948.
He is prepared for the desolate landscape, even for the hunger of the people. He, too, cannot forget the bombing of London and Coventry; Hitler; the concentration camps. But does the cheerful friendliness of their welcome mask any antagonism? How do the Germans cope with their guilt - if they feel any guilt? How do they suppress their memories of horror? Are the British too crass and patronizing?
As Michael struggles to understand what is going on beneath the surface - and to understand why he is at once attracted to and repelled by the good-looking Jurgen - he comes to realize these few weeks are an experience which will mark him for life.
Francis King, whose 'writing is always accomplished and elegant', (A. S. Byatt) displays those qualities with characteristic aplomb in this subtle, intelligent novel of distinction.
'One of his tautest plots . . . alive with period detailand vividly exhuming an era, King's reconstruction of Germany demoralized and bankrupted by military defeat frequently calls to mind Christopher Isherwood's depictions of the country after the First World War.' Peter Kemp, Sunday Times
'So good and so disturbing . . . reading Francis King closely, as he deserves, is both rewarding and punishing: he forces you to perform your own acts of darkness . . . marvellously described.' Victoria Glendinning, The Times
About the Author
Born in Switzerland, Francis King spent his childhood in India. Whilst at Oxford he wrote three novels and then joined the British Council. He was the drama critic of the Sunday Telegraph and reviewed fiction extensively. He wrote over twenty novels and his non-fiction includes E. M. Forster and his World.
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1 review
Not everything is spelled out
30 Jun 2007
Format:Hardcover
In "Punishments" at one point the narrator tells of "...an incident which, to this day, still both puzzles me with its sense of things unacknowledged and even unknown, and infuriates me with its sense of opportunity lost."
I would suggest reading this short novel with that quote in mind. Much of the beauty in this book is the main character's struggle to understand his situation - and his lack of power over how he was manipulated. He continues to yearn for his first love, a man who toyed with him, even after many years of subsequent marriage, which he considers a shame. He feels he is "...partaking of a sacrament of a religion in which I can never do more than pretend..."
He was, unbenownst to him, a punisher, and one who is punished. It's worth keeping in mind another quote: "One of the best ways to punish people is to show them what they are." Why is he made to suffer? Why are others cruel, what drives some to dominate, others to be sacrificial lambs? What exactly happened in Germany, and who knew what? Why do people punish themselves? Not everything is clearly understood by the last page - like life. But the walk through the fog, and the occasional bump into sudden revelations makes for a wonderful read.
On a different note, being from Canada, I found myself having to look up many bits of British slang. But, if you have an Oxford Dictionary at hand, you'll be fine! Not exactly an easy book, but a good one.
I would suggest reading this short novel with that quote in mind. Much of the beauty in this book is the main character's struggle to understand his situation - and his lack of power over how he was manipulated. He continues to yearn for his first love, a man who toyed with him, even after many years of subsequent marriage, which he considers a shame. He feels he is "...partaking of a sacrament of a religion in which I can never do more than pretend..."
He was, unbenownst to him, a punisher, and one who is punished. It's worth keeping in mind another quote: "One of the best ways to punish people is to show them what they are." Why is he made to suffer? Why are others cruel, what drives some to dominate, others to be sacrificial lambs? What exactly happened in Germany, and who knew what? Why do people punish themselves? Not everything is clearly understood by the last page - like life. But the walk through the fog, and the occasional bump into sudden revelations makes for a wonderful read.
On a different note, being from Canada, I found myself having to look up many bits of British slang. But, if you have an Oxford Dictionary at hand, you'll be fine! Not exactly an easy book, but a good one.
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