The Secret Purposes: Amazon.co.uk: David Baddiel: Books

Amazon.co.uk Review

What might you expect in a novel such as The Secret Purposes from the talented David Baddiel? Apart from the laddishness of his Fantasy Football TV appearances with Frank Skinner, Baddiel has proved himself to be one of the sharpest and most perceptive of younger novelists, with a sympathetic understanding of human nature (perhaps we can blame Baddiel's TV persona on his co-compere, whose own literary efforts haven’t matched Baddiel's highly accomplished Time for Bed and Whatever Love Means). The earlier books were darkly comic pieces shot through with his trademark seriousness; the new book is a striking departure.

The subject is a hidden part of British history, treated with gravity: the internment of German Jewish refugees on the Isle of Man in the 1940s. June Murray is a translator who doesn’t share the unsympathetic incomprehension of her colleagues at the Ministry of Information, and travels to the Isle of Man in order to interview the Jews interned there. June hopes to expose the true horror of what the Nazis are doing, but her best efforts are wasted, and she can glean nothing. But her relationship with a man she meets, the highly intelligent (if ineffectual) Isaac Fabian, is to have a profound influence on her life and thinking--and nothing will be the same again for June, Isaac or his wife and daughter.

This is clearly a very personal subject for Baddiel, and he produced his most affecting and (in many ways) timely novel yet. Time and place are evoked with quite as much skill as the rich characterisation--June is a heroine to draw the reader ineluctably into the moving narrative.--Barry Forshaw --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

'Page-turning, cleverly constructed ... an entertaining book' GUARDIAN *'A satisfying, brave novel' OBSERVER *'An intriguing novel about history and truth ... The intelligence and inquiry of this book will surprise many' THE TIMES *'Wonderful ... brilliantly realised' INDEPENDENT *'It is a sombre, clever book, but, being Baddiel, is irradiated by flashes of dark humour' Sally Vickers, SPECTATOR *'Not just serious, but substantial: a big story with big themes' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH * 'David Baddiel's excellent new novel ... Sensitive, intelligent and deeply moving, The Secret Purposes is both a gripping read and a long overdue indictment of Britain's treatment of Jewish refugees' IMAGE * 'This is a well-written, interesting and earnest novel, in which some big ideas are thoughtfully handled ... There's much, in other word, to respect and enjoy here' TELEGRAPH * 'A bright spark ... Baddiel's novel provides an unusual glimpse into the ignorance and prejudices of war-torn Britain. Fusing fact and fiction, it's a war story and a love story inspired by his own German-Jewish grandfather's wartime experiences. It's an ambitious novel, full of sadness, regret and horror' MIRROR * 'David Baddiel has turned his undoubted narrative skills to a serious subject, without losing either his sense of humour or his fluid style ... page-turning, cleverly constructed ... an entertaining book' Eva Figes, GUARDIAN * 'A sombre, clever book, but, being Baddiel, is irradiated by flashes of dark humour' Sally Vickers * 'The Secret Purposes is a satisfying, brave novel ... By leaving behind the postmodern irony overload of the stand-up comic's novel, Baddiel has been able to confront the ironies of history' OBSERVER * 'An intriguing novel about history and truth ... The intelligence and inquiry of this book will surprise many' THE TIMES * 'Moving ... his tone is one of wry despair rather than outrage' SUNDAY TIMES * 'Taking a shameful part of Britain's wartime history, Baddiel vividly personalises it in a love story that questions the nature of romantic love' MARIE CLAIRE * 'An exuberant and compelling story of bigotry, displacement, love and loss, it deserves to liberate its author entirely from the category of 'celebrity novelist' ... The compassion of Baddiel's confrontation with one of the most harrowing episodes of twentieth century European history is as magnetic as his witty and meticulously articulated insights into moral frailty' ZEMBLA * 'This is excellent. Impeccably researched, intellectual without being over-erudite, and above all incredibly moving. I remember being surprised when they made him a Booker judge, but based on this I won't bat an eyelid if he wins it' Suzie Doore, Waterstone's Fiction Buyer *'The story that unfolds encompasses plotted murder, romance and, more significantly, the wilfully blind eye that British officials turned to the genocide taking place across the Channel' DAILY MAIL * 'His third novel is not just serious, but substantial: a big story with big themes ... it has a quiet pathos which is more effective than any amount of blood and thunder. The opening is masterly ... THE SECRET PURPOSES sheds welcome light on aspects of the Second World War that have too long been neglected' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

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47 of 51 people found the following review helpful

Good old-fashioned melodrama 23 Jun 2004

By Keris Nine TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback

There are quite a few surprises in store for the reader of The Secret Purposes. It’s not so much the fact that David Baddiel confounds any expectations you might have of him from his TV comedian persona or that he shows himself here to be a first-class writer and storyteller – what’s more surprising is that, barring one or two concessions to modernity, this book remains so resolutely old-fashioned with the kind of storyline that would not be out of place in an old 1930s or 1940’s black and white movie melodrama like ‘Waterloo Bridge’.

The novel is set against the background of the forced internment of German nationals to the Isle of Man in 1940. Most of the German nationals resident in the UK just happen to be Jewish refugees fleeing from the persecution that is beginning to escalate against them in Europe. At this stage however, the scale of the Nazis’ genocidal activities is not yet fully comprehended, and it’s deemed more important to minimise risks and just lock-up anyone who might scare members of the public by speaking with a German accent until the government can decide how to deal with the situation.

Caught up in this situation is Isaac Fabian, a German Jew who has turned against his religion in favour of Communism and a forbidden marriage to a non-Jewish girl of Aryan appearance, Lulu. When Isaac is repatriated to the Isle of Man, Lulu petitions for his release, but this puts her into an awkward situation with a man who volunteers to help her out. Meanwhile, June Murray, a translator for the Ministry of Information is becoming aware of the growing problem in Germany and is appalled at the seemingly callous indifference of the Ministry, so she sets out, unauthorised, to the Isle of Man to gather some first-hand reports for herself. There she meets Isaac, and despite the circumstances, a relationship develops between them that is to have unforeseen consequences.

The relationships that are struck-up between June and Isaac and between Lulu and Douglas rely too much on coincidence and contrivance to be really convincing, but Baddiel makes a good case of presenting the contradictory elements of desire and responsibility and how the characters accommodate their actions to best suit their circumstances and rationalise those actions later. The characterisation is thoroughly convincing in this respect – each character having their own motivations and personalities, intensely pragmatic and driven – whether by desire or by their situation – by who they are and what they believe in – an immigrant, a German, a Jew, a wife, a mother, a prisoner, a government official. This kind of characterisation is carried through to even the smallest of secondary characters – the bumbling Army officials who dither between doing their duty (while not being entirely sure what their duty is) and not wishing to appear incompetent or even ungentlemanly to a lady. Only Douglas comes across as a something of a pantomime cad, but if you are prepared to go along with the whole old-fashioned romantic melodrama of the story, you’ll not worry about this too much.

This is a remarkably good book, carrying the reader along through some brilliantly constructed and insightful prose. From the premonitory musing of the elder Rabbi Fabian on the seven deadly sins as he crosses the seven bridges of Konigsberg, presaging the weaknesses of man to the culmination of those evils in the holocaust forcefully brought home in the epilogue of the book – and from all the smaller human dilemmas of love, loss, duty and responsibility in-between – Baddiel presents a story that is clear, coherent, purposeful and serious in its tone and themes, yet is still a good, old-fashioned read. Absolutely superb.

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

Worth a look... 3 Oct 2006

By M. G. Jones

An interesting story throwing light onto a little known area of our wartime history; David Baddiel has created a thought-provoking narrative partly based, as I understand it, on his own family's circumstances.

The story starts in pre-war Germany and follows the fortunes of the Fabian family as they experience the ominous events of thirties Germany and escape to an uncomprehending UK. Isaac Fabian is then interned as an enemy alien along with thousands of other Jewish refugees, and meets with a WASP woman working for the Ministry of Information, who is trying to establish the truth behind the many stories coming out of mainland Europe.

There are many ironies uncovered in this novel, and the nature of truth, history and information are all explored to good effect, with romance and Nazis thrown in for good measure.

My only complaint would be a certain clunkiness in the writing just very occasionally; quite strange, almost as if someone else had come in and quickly tapped out a line. I put it down to that Monday morning feeling many writers suffer from!

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A really good read 1 April 2006

By qangela

I'd read that David Baddiel is not just a comic but is also an extremely talented writer and here's the proof. The Secret Purposes is really commendable as it is a meticulously-researched historical novel that's also an enjoyable, lucid read.

Baddiel also very cleverly uses a very small cast of characters to say big things about cultural identity and how that impacts on political decisions. I'm from the Isle of Man and I was extremely impressed with the way that he uses a single Manx character to sum up, accurately in my experience, the attitude that the Manx had (and still have) to outsiders. There's also a great twist towards the end of the book that really stays with you and which has relevance way beyond the time in history that it is set in. I won't spoil the book and say what it is!

Saying all that, this book's not "high literature" and I mean that as a positive comment: it's a really good read, pure and simple. I doubt that anyone's going to be studying it for English A Level but I can see it being made into a very good film.