News from Berlin by Otto de Kat
Seventy years after the end of the second world war, the conflict remains a popular topic for contemporary novelists. Last year I reviewed “HHhH” and “Look Who’s Back“, both books having been very successful and taking WW2 as their starting point in some way. A new book arrived from MacLehose Press at the end of 2014, “News from Berlin” by Otto de Kat, which promised to cover similar territory and it looked as if it might be the kind of thing which appealed to me.
So what would you do if you were in the middle of a war and you came into the possession of some vital information about the conflict; but if you pass it on, you could put your family members into mortal danger? That’s the intriguing idea behind NFB, and it is the main character, diplomat Oscar Verschuur, who is given a hint about the date of Operation Barbarossa by his daughter Emma, married to a ‘good’ German. His estranged wife Kate is nursing in London and the whole set-up seems a little fanciful, frankly. Oscar as the perfect diplomat, adept at keeping secrets; so he can keep this one as well to safeguard his daughter. However, his wife seems less concerned about their daughter’s safety and wants Oscar to take action; her view may be affected by her nursing experiences in London, and her contact with an injured soldier from the Congo, Matteous. Having seen the effects of war more directly, it may be that she is seeing the bigger picture, while Oscar is only thinking of his daughter.
However, if I’m honest, despite the interesting premise, this novel(la) – it’s quite short – doesn’t really deliver. The book just feels too thin (artistically as well as physically!) – the characters aren’t developed enough to let you care about them, and you end up wondering what exactly was the point? Compared with say “HHhH”, the tale feels very surface level, which is a shame because the plot had the potential to develop into a substantial moral dilemma. As it was, I just ended up feeling too uninvolved with the story and the characters – the book has no real clout.
Author Otto de Kat (a pseudonym of retired publisher Jan Geurt Gaarlandt) has written a number of novels set in the 1930s and 1940s which have been well received, and he’s apparently been praised for “his observant, hushed style”. The Dutch Foundation of Literature comments that “He creates a rather detached atmosphere in which people travel the world without ever finding what they are looking for or escaping their fate.” That may be so, but NFB seemed to me to be lacking in depth. I can read between the lines when necessary (Christa Wolf being a good example) but here there is nothing there to read.
I’d be interested in tracking down more of de Kat’s fiction as he comes highly recommended – but unfortunately this particular book was not for me.
(Review copy kindly provided by MacLehose Press)
JacquiWine
Jan 16, 2015 @ 08:48:13
Oh, what a shame. I’ve heard of Otto de Kat via another of his books, Julia (also from the Quercus/MacLehose stable). I haven’t read it but I wonder whether other bloggers may have reviewed it?
kaggsysbookishramblings
Jan 16, 2015 @ 09:14:34
Well, it may be just me, as he is very highly regarded. But I couldn’t get a handle on the characters or relate to them in any way, so it made the book very hard for me to get into.
Caroline
Jan 16, 2015 @ 09:37:07
I’ve heard of him as well but maybe this sin’t the book to start with.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Jan 16, 2015 @ 09:53:44
Well, it may be me – it has 5 star reviews in the original language. But it just wasn’t a book I could take to.
Caroline
Jan 16, 2015 @ 11:06:18
Maybe the translation?
kaggsysbookishramblings
Jan 16, 2015 @ 11:08:29
That’s a thought – maybe there were subtleties in the original language that didn’t quite transfer. I shall try and give his books another look sometime…
Cathy746books
Jan 16, 2015 @ 09:51:10
It’s always disappointing when a book doesn’t live up to a great premise – the description of this sounded really good. Shame you didn’t enjoy it.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Jan 16, 2015 @ 09:54:29
What’s frustrating is that I *wanted* very much to like it – but I got no real sense of the characters and it just didn’t gel for me. I guess you can’t win with every book!
heavenali
Jan 16, 2015 @ 16:07:24
The premise is interesting as you say,always so disappointing when books don’t quite live up to expectations.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Jan 16, 2015 @ 21:14:50
Very much so – but at least it was a small book so I didn’t spend to much time on it…. 🙂
Kat
Jan 21, 2015 @ 01:16:39
I’ve read so many World War II books: they have to be outstanding for me to read them. Good for you for telling us this isn’t one of those!
kaggsysbookishramblings
Jan 21, 2015 @ 09:02:36
No, it was just too slight for me – short doesn’t have to be insubstantial, as Edith Pearlman is proving!
Liz Dexter
Jan 23, 2015 @ 09:16:52
It’s hard to read a review book and not love it and then feel you have to say SOMETHING, so I am impressed by your fair and detailed review. I hope you find better things from this author next time!
kaggsysbookishramblings
Jan 23, 2015 @ 10:07:42
It *is* difficult – and it was the characters that let me down, they were just not realised strongly enough for me. Shame.
Lisa Hill
Aug 08, 2018 @ 05:27:12
Well, vive la difference! I liked this one, and I could feel the sense of panic about what to do for all three characters, Emma, Oscar and Kate. FWIW here’s my review: https://anzlitlovers.com/2018/08/08/news-from-berlin-by-otto-de-kat-translated-by-ina-rilke/
kaggsysbookishramblings
Aug 08, 2018 @ 07:57:01
😁😁 It certainly would be dull if we all liked the same thing and I’m glad you got more out of this than I did!