A review by markhoh
An Honest Man by Ben Fergusson
5.0
Ben Fergusson’s An Honest Man, is an absolutely multilayered, multi themed, provocative narrative set in 1989 at one of the most pivotal period’s in the modern history of Berlin, Germany, Europe and indeed the world. I remember being glued to the television as the Berlin Wall came down, mesmerised by the desperation and triumph symbolised by this event, and wondering what it truly meant for those whose lives had been defined by this foreboding barrier.
Against this backdrop we meet Ralf, a West Berliner, at a cusp and cross road between school and university, caught in his own web of confusion and repression. An Honest Man is a journey into dishonesty, deceit, lies, humanity, fear and discovery. The notion that people are not what they seem underpins this journey and the evocative space of political unrest and Cold War espionage, give this theme fertile ground.
Ralf is a complex young man, coming to grips with himself in a totally relatable way. “I was constantly second guessing what people wanted from me, always aware that there were many thoughts and feelings I was necessarily burying.” (p58). As his family, Berlin and the communist bloc unravels around him, Ralf embarks on his own personal journey of unravelling as he navigates himself. Ultimately, Ralf is very courageous, and there is a resolve that is realised as the wall succumbs, symbolic of the breakthroughs in Ralf’s own life.
One thing that stood out to me too was the revelation that people aren’t necessarily who we know them to be. I’m confronted by this thought. Who are people anyway? Are people the sum of what I believe them to be or of what my experience of them is? Or are people inherently individual and ultimately unknowable?
I’m going to give this 4.5 stars and definitely round to 5. The 4.5 is only because of the slightly cliche very last few sentences for me - just a personal opinion but otherwise absolutely mesmerised by this one.
Against this backdrop we meet Ralf, a West Berliner, at a cusp and cross road between school and university, caught in his own web of confusion and repression. An Honest Man is a journey into dishonesty, deceit, lies, humanity, fear and discovery. The notion that people are not what they seem underpins this journey and the evocative space of political unrest and Cold War espionage, give this theme fertile ground.
Ralf is a complex young man, coming to grips with himself in a totally relatable way. “I was constantly second guessing what people wanted from me, always aware that there were many thoughts and feelings I was necessarily burying.” (p58). As his family, Berlin and the communist bloc unravels around him, Ralf embarks on his own personal journey of unravelling as he navigates himself. Ultimately, Ralf is very courageous, and there is a resolve that is realised as the wall succumbs, symbolic of the breakthroughs in Ralf’s own life.
One thing that stood out to me too was the revelation that people aren’t necessarily who we know them to be. I’m confronted by this thought. Who are people anyway? Are people the sum of what I believe them to be or of what my experience of them is? Or are people inherently individual and ultimately unknowable?
I’m going to give this 4.5 stars and definitely round to 5. The 4.5 is only because of the slightly cliche very last few sentences for me - just a personal opinion but otherwise absolutely mesmerised by this one.