Workers' Paradise
Having gone thru Checkpoint Charlie several times in the 1980's to visit the Central Bank of the German Democratic Republic, I recognize the same atmosphere that the author paints in his novel - drab concrete buildings, an environment lacking in any color at all, food shortages (how about an ancient piece of cold chicken smothered in thick, hot gravy for lunch washed down by as much liquor as you can consume), streets full of smelly two-stroke Trabants and citizens wearing similar mismatched clothes - Welcome to the Workers' Paradise! But I digress.
Wake's novel is a well-written and entertaining murder story that folds around the sudden erection of The Berlin Wall on August 13th. 1961 - die Berliner Mauer had started. The hero Ritter is a greenhorn detective who sets out to solve two grisly and mysterious deaths that appeared to have taken place at a Soviet monument commemorating their war heroes. Between enjoying the sexual pleasures of two women and the mocking of his more experienced colleagues, he does find the time to bring the killer to justice. There's a lot of reflection and discussion about fleeing to West Berlin but Ritter seems to prefer to remain where he is - he has a good job, he's part of the elite, he has contacts in the right places. But The Wall will bring an end to most people's desire to escape - the mines, the machine guns, the searchlights will deter asylum seekers except for the very brave or foolhardy.
This review was written by Shawn Callon, author of The Diplomatic Spy.
A Death in East Berlin
Wake's novel is a well-written and entertaining murder story that folds around the sudden erection of The Berlin Wall on August 13th. 1961 - die Berliner Mauer had started. The hero Ritter is a greenhorn detective who sets out to solve two grisly and mysterious deaths that appeared to have taken place at a Soviet monument commemorating their war heroes. Between enjoying the sexual pleasures of two women and the mocking of his more experienced colleagues, he does find the time to bring the killer to justice. There's a lot of reflection and discussion about fleeing to West Berlin but Ritter seems to prefer to remain where he is - he has a good job, he's part of the elite, he has contacts in the right places. But The Wall will bring an end to most people's desire to escape - the mines, the machine guns, the searchlights will deter asylum seekers except for the very brave or foolhardy.
This review was written by Shawn Callon, author of The Diplomatic Spy.
A Death in East Berlin
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