A review by carolinerd
Two Brothers by Ben Elton
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.
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.