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The Kingdom of Ashes
Germany, spring 1946. The Nuremberg Trials are underway. Three hundred miles north, in the Rehstadt Institute, an “Assessment and Evaluation” centre, Alex Foster interrogates a succession of lesser war criminals, deciding their futures in the soon-to-be-reborn Germany.
But Rehstadt, a town largely untouched by the war, is a place of old hostilities and burnished hatreds; a place where the certainties of the past are still weighed favourably against the uncertain promises of the future. It is in the confusing geography and history of this unsettled town that Alex Foster finds Eva Remer, a German interpreter, through whom he sees the true nature of the world beyond the privileged military enclave he and his companions inhabit.
As spring progresses, and events in the wider world quicken to their own closely-observed conclusion, Alex finds himself at the centre of a conflict involving British, American and German interests, and for the first time in his career, he also finds himself compromised — forced into subterfuge and deceit as he struggles to weigh personal convictions and loyalties against the greater political and military good.
Eventually, the rising conflicts of that incendiary environment pass beyond his control, drawing Alex, Eva and everyone close to them into a rushing tide of events, as inescapable and, ultimately, as destructive as anything Rehstadt suffered during the war itself.
But Rehstadt, a town largely untouched by the war, is a place of old hostilities and burnished hatreds; a place where the certainties of the past are still weighed favourably against the uncertain promises of the future. It is in the confusing geography and history of this unsettled town that Alex Foster finds Eva Remer, a German interpreter, through whom he sees the true nature of the world beyond the privileged military enclave he and his companions inhabit.
As spring progresses, and events in the wider world quicken to their own closely-observed conclusion, Alex finds himself at the centre of a conflict involving British, American and German interests, and for the first time in his career, he also finds himself compromised — forced into subterfuge and deceit as he struggles to weigh personal convictions and loyalties against the greater political and military good.
Eventually, the rising conflicts of that incendiary environment pass beyond his control, drawing Alex, Eva and everyone close to them into a rushing tide of events, as inescapable and, ultimately, as destructive as anything Rehstadt suffered during the war itself.
- GenresFiction
352 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2007
About the author
Robert Edric
37 books30 followersRobert Edric (b. 1956) is the pseudonym of Gary Edric Armitage, a British novelist born in Sheffield.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 20, 2012
A tedious novel...boring to read. It seemed to gloss over obvious story lines. The first 2 chapters dealt with bodies found in a bombed out basement...some locals...others wearing prisoners striped clothes. I thought I was in for a good crime/mystery read...but I was wrong. This particular plot was superficially dealt with and forgotten. Shame. It had the potential to hold the reader. The rest of the book seemed to focus around small town intrigues and gossip after the war...not of which was of much interest.The ending was also rather a let down too... It could have finished on a high!!The book wouldn't tempt me to read another by this author.
February 22, 2009
This was a disappointment after The Book of the Heathen, the first novel I read by Edric. Set in Germany after the war, when the Nuremberg trials were on, it never really goes anywhere and to be perfectly honest I found it rather boring.
May 5, 2017
I'm sorry to have finished this book. Whitaker, Eva, Foster, & Peter Remer are lightly sketched yet vivid characters whose futures I'm invested in.
If you've had the good fortune of viewing the film, "Judgment at Nuremberg," this story will be familiar in setting and atmosphere (post WWII haggling of allied forces and the impact on individual lives). In both, the point of view is privileged, ethically committed, but ultimately powerless. The life-grinding machine of international politics (spelled: pragmatic compromise) ultimately decides the fate to too many and too much.
Whether or not Mr. Edric follows these characters, I'll revisit them and more of this fine writer's work. Great read.
If you've had the good fortune of viewing the film, "Judgment at Nuremberg," this story will be familiar in setting and atmosphere (post WWII haggling of allied forces and the impact on individual lives). In both, the point of view is privileged, ethically committed, but ultimately powerless. The life-grinding machine of international politics (spelled: pragmatic compromise) ultimately decides the fate to too many and too much.
Whether or not Mr. Edric follows these characters, I'll revisit them and more of this fine writer's work. Great read.
August 4, 2019
This is typical Robert Edric. The setting is a small town in Germany a year after WW2 ended and the winning armies are in town interrogating suspected war criminals. This is not a remarkable story but gives a flavour of how Germans and Allies interacted at the time and of the tragedies and privations which befell all concerned. The characters a well depicted and the story keeps you interested throughout. As with mots Edric novels there is no happy ending.
September 6, 2016
This compelling novel tells of a team of Britains situated in the German town of Rehstadt near Hanover, in early 1946, who are tasked with questioning alleged lesser war criminals, whilst further south in the city of Nuremberg the trials of the international tribunal are taking place against the major perpetrators.
Alex Foster is the main character who we read about and observe questioning these men, as we are party to these interviews, primarily with Johannes Walther and Ochmann-Schur, both accused of direct involvement in horrific incidents during the war. On some cases the interrogators are 'working alongside' the Americans, though it seems that they are actually doing the bidding of the Americans who are controlling matters to their own ends and that the British are helping them out with the prisoners. Foster, despite their alleged crimes, is not without some sympathy that the supposed perpetrators, in particular Walther, are seemingly being toyed with when their deathly end has probably already been decided for them by the Americans, and he becomes increasingly irritated about this, and he voices this with Preston the American, and Dyer the irksome and pompous British superior, to whom he reports on his interviews. Foster is shown to have more peaceful interviewing tactics and non-violent behaviour than that of some of those working alongside him.
The town itself has been affected by the war to a lesser extent than many others, though the opening chapters will reveal that the town is certainly not untouched or untainted by unsettling acts of wartime loss. Key to the development of the story are the local inhabitants working alongside the occupiers, who become involved in the lives of both Captain Alex Foster, and his friend at the institute, Doctor James Whittaker, namely office girls Nina and Eva, the latter of whom Foster becomes romantically involved with. Forster has some companionship with the British doctor Whittaker, who longs to return home to his family, but a decision he makes out of kind-heartedness in the face of the local hospital director's cruelty to Nina's younger sister may come to haunt him. Other key characters who are introduced are Eva's remaining family, her father and brother, and an American soldier named Jesus Hernandez who is close to the end of his time in Germany, and looking to make some extra money selling goods and antagonising Alex along the way.
The lives and fates of the main players are cleverly drawn together into the closing couple of chapters with a thrilling, nail-biting closing scene. The novel left me asking quite a few questions though about what might have happened next, and I would have liked to have known even more about Alex Foster. Edric writes in a very readable, enjoyable style, which may be called clean and crisp, there is no excess of description or dialogue, just what is needed to move the story on and to progress the situations. The tone is rather bleak and sombre, being set in the immediate aftermath of such devastation, but their are moving moments of kindness and hope. The first time I have come across Edric, and a satisfying novel shedding some light on the ashes and remains of war-torn Germany and it's people, showing that there was a lot of work to do to rebuild towns and lives. The novel's interesting title is referred to in the book and explained by one of the prisoners being held at the Institute.
Alex Foster is the main character who we read about and observe questioning these men, as we are party to these interviews, primarily with Johannes Walther and Ochmann-Schur, both accused of direct involvement in horrific incidents during the war. On some cases the interrogators are 'working alongside' the Americans, though it seems that they are actually doing the bidding of the Americans who are controlling matters to their own ends and that the British are helping them out with the prisoners. Foster, despite their alleged crimes, is not without some sympathy that the supposed perpetrators, in particular Walther, are seemingly being toyed with when their deathly end has probably already been decided for them by the Americans, and he becomes increasingly irritated about this, and he voices this with Preston the American, and Dyer the irksome and pompous British superior, to whom he reports on his interviews. Foster is shown to have more peaceful interviewing tactics and non-violent behaviour than that of some of those working alongside him.
The town itself has been affected by the war to a lesser extent than many others, though the opening chapters will reveal that the town is certainly not untouched or untainted by unsettling acts of wartime loss. Key to the development of the story are the local inhabitants working alongside the occupiers, who become involved in the lives of both Captain Alex Foster, and his friend at the institute, Doctor James Whittaker, namely office girls Nina and Eva, the latter of whom Foster becomes romantically involved with. Forster has some companionship with the British doctor Whittaker, who longs to return home to his family, but a decision he makes out of kind-heartedness in the face of the local hospital director's cruelty to Nina's younger sister may come to haunt him. Other key characters who are introduced are Eva's remaining family, her father and brother, and an American soldier named Jesus Hernandez who is close to the end of his time in Germany, and looking to make some extra money selling goods and antagonising Alex along the way.
The lives and fates of the main players are cleverly drawn together into the closing couple of chapters with a thrilling, nail-biting closing scene. The novel left me asking quite a few questions though about what might have happened next, and I would have liked to have known even more about Alex Foster. Edric writes in a very readable, enjoyable style, which may be called clean and crisp, there is no excess of description or dialogue, just what is needed to move the story on and to progress the situations. The tone is rather bleak and sombre, being set in the immediate aftermath of such devastation, but their are moving moments of kindness and hope. The first time I have come across Edric, and a satisfying novel shedding some light on the ashes and remains of war-torn Germany and it's people, showing that there was a lot of work to do to rebuild towns and lives. The novel's interesting title is referred to in the book and explained by one of the prisoners being held at the Institute.
April 19, 2013
Given the praise his long backlist has received I am surprised that I had not come across Robert Edric before. Although I have only rated this as 3 stars, I will certainly look out for him in the future. This is set in occupied Germany just after WW2 and deals with some of the issues between the occupies and the occupied. I liked his writing style, but found it hard to get involved with the main character.
Want to Read
February 3, 2014I found yet hard going so put it aside to read another time
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews