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A review by winyeemichelle
Two Brothers by Ben Elton
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?!)
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?!)