Reviews

Два брата by Бен Элтон

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carolinerd's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This is a story about two boys born in Berlin in 1920, a Jew and a gentile, who are raised by a Jewish family. The ‘twins’ – hot-headed Otto and shrewd Paulus – have a strong bond. They do everything together, look out for each other and are fiercely protective of their family and of the girl they are both in love with. For years they have no idea that they are not blood relatives, something that their parents always believed was of little consequence. But the Nazi party’s rise to power brings unimaginable horror and suddenly blood is everything.

The novel paints a fascinating and deeply disturbing picture of Germany between the wars, capturing the crazy hyperinflation of the 1920s, with people struggling to buy basic provisions, and the decadent, avant-garde creativity of Berlin, epitomized by the hedonistic jazz clubs where the boys’ father works. It depicts the political instability, showing how the seeds were sown for the terrifying rise of fascism. The research and attention to detail brings the period to life very well. There is also another part of the plot set in 1956, which evokes the Cold War era. All very interesting for a history buff like me.

I really liked the main characters and cared very much about what happened to them, particularly the boys’ parents, Frieda and Wolfgang, who start the book with so much to look forward to, very much in love and excited to be starting a family, Frieda on her way to qualifying as a doctor, Wolfgang a talented musician, only to see their world destroyed in an astonishingly short time. Then there is Dagmar, the beautiful, sporty, rich girl who loses so much and whose character develops in a most unexpected and fascinating way. She turns out to be far more complex than I first thought her to be. Silke is another strong character, plucky and spirited, treated like 'one of the lads' but struggling with feelings of jealousy over the boys' slavish devotion to Dagmar.

I liked the way that the author deliberately doesn’t tell us which of the brothers is adopted until relatively late in the story, so for a long time we don’t know which one is Jewish and which one is not and we don’t know the identity of the brother featuring in the 1956 section of the plot. That adds to the intrigue.

It’s a tense, gripping, heart-rending, brutal read - sometimes a bit too brutal. There were times when the horror of it all just overwhelmed me and I had to put the book down and take a break from it. On the one hand, you're reading about something that happened a long time ago, but in today's intolerant, hate-filled world it feels chillingly relevant.

winyeemichelle's review against another edition

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4.0

I picked this one up on my Kindle on my boyfriend’s recommendation, as it is one of his favourite books. (There is truly not much more special than sharing favourite books!) Following our trip to Berlin in July, it felt like a good one to start immediately and I’m so glad that I did. I’m completely new to Ben Elton, so I’ve since done a little extra-curricular reading and it seems as though this was his first ‘more serious’ book. He does it great justice.

Two Brothers tells the story of two brothers – Otto and Paulus Stengel – born and raised in Berlin, ‘twins in everything but blood’. Beginning in the 1920s and continuing through as Germany marches into its Nazi Armageddon and the World War II, one family is tested to its limits. Given the sobering subject matter of this book, there’s a heavy sense of foreboding throughout the first half – we all know what happened next. Ben Elton does an incredible job, however, at telling the story of being Jewish in the Third Reich without overplaying or underplaying it. You truly connect with the family and all of their everyday happenings, to their emotions, jobs and relationships.

Brothers Otto and Paulus form a ‘gang’ with their friends and sweethearts Dagmar and Silke, ‘The Saturday Club’, making a promise to one another that runs throughout the book. The narrative takes us back and forth between wartime Berlin and post-war London, at times this threw me off but it also beautifully builds tension and emotion. Be warned that I sobbed throughout my read of this, yet I’d still wholeheartedly recommend it.

(My boyfriend has good taste! … But we knew that already, right?!)

misha_devi's review against another edition

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5.0

Pain pain pain pain pain.
This is one of those books that leaves you feeling empty and painful when it's finished.
I felt such a connection with the characters, and as per usual fell in love with one of them. In this case Paulus particularly but Otto almost as much. Wolfgang was hilarious and brilliant, Frieda was strong and so so kind and I loved them both so much. It was hard to see Wolfgang fall apart and Frieda's suffering. I especially loved Silke because she was headstrong yet still Feminine, and refused to take any of Dagmar's bull****. In fact the only one of the Saturday club I disliked was Dagmar, as she seemed to be exactly the spoilt and self centred princess Silke described her as.
It was also very upsetting reading about the extent to which Jews were treated. I knew some things but therw were a number of rules and events which were just painful to read.
This book deals with so many things: love, heartbreak, betrayal, friendship, growing up, kindness, hurt, and discrimination. I highly recommend it.

jefecarpenter's review against another edition

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3.0

I was absorbed in the book because it presents the story of the onrushing anti-semitism in Berlin in an engaging narrative, and gave more detail than I had ever absorbed before. I didn't even notice that it was a young adult novel at first, but then was fine with that, except when it got a bit over the top with sexual yearning and fumbling. But then, at three-quarters of the way through, just after Kristallnacht, it went over the top into the truly puerile. Such a shame.