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Behind the Mask is Nothing

Judy Birkbeck (Goodreads Author)

3.83 · Rating details · 12 ratings · 9 reviews

Stef, an overworked teacher who questions her husband’s fidelity, is drawn into a community on a remote Exmoor estate run by the couples counsellor and slowly descends into the cult without even realizing it. Meanwhile, her grandmother, who is writing her memoir about the Hitler Youth girls in Berlin with a mixture of guilt and nostalgia, looks on helplessly as Stef is dra ...more

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Paperback, 331 pages

Published May 17th 2017 by Holland House

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Jul 18, 2017 Giulia rated it it was ok

I don't particularly like to trash books or be overly critical when I post any reviews. I mean I have never published a book-I imagine how difficult that must be. But in my opinion, this book misses the mark. It is extremely confusing and choppy. The main plot involves Stef, a selfish and self absorbed woman approaching mid life. Stef has two healthy daughters and parents and a loving grandmother, Gran. Unfortunately, she has a husband who she believes is straying and a hateful boss who wants he ...more

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May 11, 2017 Jackie Law rated it it was amazing

Behind The Mask Is Nothing, by Judy Birkbeck, is a devastating exploration of the abuse of power and the complicity of those who enable such abuse due to their inherent desire to belong. The protagonist is a woman named Stef who is a teacher, a wife, and a mother of two university aged daughters. She has a close and supportive family although, as is the way with families, the shadows from their shared history stretch long.

Stef’s grandmother, Hilda, helped raise Stef and her sister while their pa Behind The Mask Is Nothing, by Judy Birkbeck, is a devastating exploration of the abuse of power and the complicity of those who enable such abuse due to their inherent desire to belong. The protagonist is a woman named Stef who is a teacher, a wife, and a mother of two university aged daughters. She has a close and supportive family although, as is the way with families, the shadows from their shared history stretch long.

Stef’s grandmother, Hilda, helped raise Stef and her sister while their parents worked. The reader is offered a glimpse into Hilda’s past through a memoir she is writing recounting her youth in Berlin and as a member of Jungmädel. The tragic consequences of her desire to be regarded by her peers have darkened her life.

Stef likes to be organised and in control. When a new headteacher is appointed at the school where she works she finds her abilities undermined. Initiatives she enjoyed are changed for the worse and she is drowning in paperwork. Alongside these problems her younger daughter is visiting Africa and Stef worries for her safety. When she receives photographs and messages informing her that her husband, Mark, is cheating on her she doesn’t know who she should believe.

Mark and Stef approach a couples counciller, Oliver Diamond, who suggests they spend a weekend at a remote commune he runs on Exmoor. Here Stef discovers a group of people she feels accepted by, who listen to her concerns in a way her family have failed to do. Mark becomes suspicious of the setup and Stef bristles at his negativity. Over the following months she is pulled further and further into the Diamond Academy web. The charismatic Oliver controls his acolytes with an unpredictable mix of humour, endearments and viciousness. Stef will hear nothing against him.

Stef’s descent horrifies her family, especially Hilda, who understands that only Stef can make the decision to help herself. Hilda has experience of being drawn into cultish behaviour and the personal devastation this can wreak. She too had a happy childhood yet was persuaded that her family could damage her prospects of finding continued happiness. She paid a high price for her loyalty to a regime she wanted so much to believe in for how it made her feel.

“We were together, joined in spirit, we had new values, refined in the fire. Only later did I find out that all our noise was made to drown out our cries and the cries of those we trod on in the scramble for self-esteem.”

The casual cruelties of children and the more subtle yet equally devastating cruelties of adults are disturbing to read. The realisation that power is within a megalomaniac’s grasp, that they may harness the herd instinct and desire to belong to feed their ego and strengthen their position, results in situations where followers are used and then disposed of with little concern for their psychological cost. There is a conspiracy of silence for fear of rejection. The abused are complicit in that they allow themselves to be manipulated and will not question why such cruelties are deemed necessary.

The author makes clear to the reader what is happening yet also generates empathy for Stef and the young Hilda. The penultimate experiences of both are traumatic to read. What comes across is why cult members struggle to fully break away even when they finaly recognise the truth of their situation. The conflicted desire to recapture the feelings they enjoyed whilst within such organisations seems akin to addiction.

This is a powerful story, deftly presenting a situation often difficult to comprehend. It challenges the reader to consider how they would act under societal compulsion. In the world we live in today, it is an important lesson.

My copy of this book was provided gratis by the publisher, Holland House. ...more

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Jun 17, 2018 Rekha Shane rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 52-good-books-in-2018

I have to say I love, love, loved this book! And yet, it wasn't love at first sight. It was a slow burner. To begin with, the story wasn't grabbing me. It felt like it was jumping around too much and the language was too flowery. I just couldn't get a handle on it. But a few short chapters in as I began to make sense of the storylines, everything began to flow beautifully. Birbeck's metaphors had a wonderful cadence to them and I began to draw parallels with Ali Smith's poetic yet humorous style I have to say I love, love, loved this book! And yet, it wasn't love at first sight. It was a slow burner. To begin with, the story wasn't grabbing me. It felt like it was jumping around too much and the language was too flowery. I just couldn't get a handle on it. But a few short chapters in as I began to make sense of the storylines, everything began to flow beautifully. Birbeck's metaphors had a wonderful cadence to them and I began to draw parallels with Ali Smith's poetic yet humorous style. And once I noticed this, I was hooked.

Behind the Mask is Nothing tells the story of Stef who is seeking a way of repairing her marriage. She attends a help group set in a remote closed off community that live on an estate. Well alright, they're a cult, but they don't call themselves that. 'There's no deprivation of food, sleep or contact with family members,' they keep repeating. Only there is.

Gradually as Stef gets sucked in, leaving her husband behind, the group leader starts to manipulate her into cutting off family ties. Worse still individuals are ritually humilated in the name of self improvement and pretty much everyone is made to believe they must have been abused in their youth. But Stef's desperation to belong and the genuine bonds she shares with individual group members make it difficult to see the wood for the trees. With this level of emotional manipulation can Stef escape? Can anyone?

Stef's story is interspersed with that of her grandmother Hilda, who is writing her memoirs of growing up in Nazi Germany. Hilda's stories were excruciating. I braced myself to read each one as she descended into gruesome tales of ordinary people following the edicts of the Nazi's. Her shame all these years later at how she was brainwashed and delighted in the misery of others was horrifying and yet relatable. As Hilda's story progresses she reveals the betrayal that she still hasn't forgiven herself for. Birbeck hits the nail on the head here. Despite the fact that circumstances might play their part in how we behave, sometimes the hardest thing to do is live with your own fallibility.

Birbeck's stunning portrayal of these women and their vulnerability is wonderfully told. If you're a fan of literary fiction and a sucker for a beautiful metaphors then this is the book you've been waiting for. ...more

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Sep 04, 2017 Jenny Cooper rated it it was ok

Shelves: book-club

Stef suspects her husband Mark is having an affair and cracks are starting to appear in their relationship. They are introduced to a couples counselor, Oliver, who is the leader of a commune based in a remote part of Exmoor. While Stef feels accepted by the community and becomes fascinated by both the lifestyle and the charismatic leader, Mark become suspicious. As Stef becomes more deeply involved, their relationship deteriorates further and both Mark and Stef’s grandmother, Hilda, can only loo Stef suspects her husband Mark is having an affair and cracks are starting to appear in their relationship. They are introduced to a couples counselor, Oliver, who is the leader of a commune based in a remote part of Exmoor. While Stef feels accepted by the community and becomes fascinated by both the lifestyle and the charismatic leader, Mark become suspicious. As Stef becomes more deeply involved, their relationship deteriorates further and both Mark and Stef’s grandmother, Hilda, can only look on helplessly as Stef falls under the influence of this cult. Hilda has her own story to tell about growing up in Nazi Germany and this narrative is interspersed with that of Stef as the novel progresses.

Unfortunately there were more negatives than positives with this book so reluctantly I am going to start this review with the things which I didn’t like. I found the whole book a real struggle, not because of the content but because of the writing style. The sentences seemed badly constructed and didn’t flow easily which made it difficult to read fluently. Another problem was that Stef, the main character, and to some extent her husband Mark were just too self-absorbed to be likeable, a problem which may not have been insurmountable if the character development had been good enough to make them come alive as people that I could recognize and relate to in some way but sadly this was not the case. The upshot of this was that I didn’t really care what happened to them. In fact this was true of all the characters with the exception of Hilda, Stef’s grandmother, who seemed like the only really genuine person in the whole narrative. Another confusing aspect of the book was that new characters kept being introduced but they were not introduced well enough for me to remember who they were when they cropped up again - Stef’s family members were a prime example of this. My final criticism is that it was one of those books which jumped around between two narrators but I often didn’t know which of the two was “speaking” until a considerable way into their narrative.

So what are the plus points? There must be some surely! The story did seem plausible, even though it was outside of my range of experience (thankfully!). Also, the book redeemed itself a little at the end as the last few pages were very interesting indeed which elevated it to 2-star status. Despite the fact that the book was very boring and repetitive at times - lots of times - Hilda’s story introduced a more gripping narrative and it was a welcome relief when it was her turn to “speak”.

I have read a number of other novels based around cults and I am afraid that this one doesn’t fare well in comparison. ...more

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Aug 12, 2017 Elizabeth Robinson rated it it was amazing

I found Behind the Mask is Nothing a very good read from various angles. To me the characters were extremely believable. I related to Stef well, especially having been a full time teacher and also to Mark. The differences between female and male teachers in their attitudes to the job and relationships with their pupils is accurately shown, along with the pressures of modern day pressures of teaching. Stef's confidence is being eroded both from a professional angle and then in the ensuing mistrus ...more

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Oct 06, 2017 Anne Clark rated it really liked it

A very absorbing and detailed novel dealing with the power and arrogance of cults and their leaders that exist today and in the past, in a Nazi run Germany...with devastating consequences.

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Oct 17, 2017 Helen Broughton rated it it was amazing

I found this to be a thoroughly absorbing book on the very timely theme of charismatic leadership, and how easily it can become an abuse of power. Stef and her husband are gradually drawn into a 'psychotherapeutic community'. As things begin to unravel for them both the line between a personal development group and a cult become increasingly blurred.

In parallel Stef's grandmother is recollecting her teenage years in Nazi Germany when she was completely swept up by the excitement of the Hitler Yo ...more

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Oct 06, 2017 Jude Taylor rated it it was amazing

I was gripped by this thought-provoking, unputtable-down novel which links haunting past events from Nazi Germany with current day issues involving psychological manipulation and mind control. This book came along during a quiet period and I was able to indulge myself, which of course meant that the story came to an end all too soon, but I couldn't put it down. ...more

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Oct 21, 2017 Bob Newbury rated it it was amazing

A poignant modern tale of vulnerability, manipulation and betrayal, coupled with astute parallels with life in the Third Reich and the universality of human susceptibility.

Deep and thought-provoking.

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About Judy Birkbeck

Judy Birkbeck

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Judy Birkbeck has an MA in Creative Writing from Exeter and has stories published in Litro, Lampeter Review, Liars’ League, Unthology 9, Manchester Review, Aesthetica, Leicester Writes, MIR15, Ellipsis Zine, The Shadow Booth, 2019 Dinesh Allirajah anthology, 2019 Sun Story Award, Lighthouse and Aftermath Magazine, and an essay in Permaculture Magazine. A novel, Behind the Mask is Nothing, is publi ...more