The Collaborators

by Reginald Hill

From the bestselling author of the Dalziel and Pascoe series, a superb novel of wartime passion, loyalty – and betrayal When Janine Simonian was dragged roughly from her cell to face trial as a collaborator in the days of reckoning that followed the liberation of France, she refused to conceal her shaven skull from the jeering crowds that greeted her. Before the jury of former Resistance members pledged to extract vengeance on all who had connived in Nazi rule, Janine stood proudly in court – and pleaded guilty to the charges. Why did so many French men and women collaborate with the Nazi occupation forces whilst others gave their lives in resistance? Were the motives of those who betrayed their country always selfish – and those of the Resistance always noble? The Collaborators is a superb novel of conscience and betrayal that portrays the human dilemmas brought about by the Nazi occupation of France, and asks uncomfortable questions about the priorities of personal and national loyalty in time of war.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, World War II, Wwii Fiction, Historical

Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Reginald Charles Hill was a contemporary English crime writer, and the winner in 1995 of the Crime Writers' Association Cartier Diamond Dagger for Lifetime Achievement.

After National Service (1955-57) and studying English at St Catherine's College, Oxford University (1957-60) he worked as a teacher for many years, rising to Senior Lecturer at Doncaster College of Education. In 1980 he retired from salaried work in order to devote himself full-time to writing.

Hill is best known for his more than 20 novels featuring the Yorkshire detectives Andrew Dalziel, Peter Pascoe and Edgar Wield. He has also written more than 30 other novels, including five featuring Joe Sixsmith, a black machine operator turned private detective in a fictional Luton. Novels originally published under the pseudonyms of Patrick Ruell, Dick Morland, and Charles Underhill have now appeared under his own name. Hill is also a writer of short stories, and ghost tales.

Reviews

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Reginald Hill's writing (especially the Dalziel and Pascoe series), but I had to put this book away for a while. A long while.

It is a story that takes place during the Nazi occupation of France during World War II. I have read many books involving the war, but I found this one painful. Somehow living under foreign occupation felt more insidious than the actual battles.

Men slaughtering each other with various armaments on the front lines seems more honest, somehow.

This story about a humane German occupier and a French family with Jewish relatives made me consider what I would do.

When your husband or your children are threatened in the most heinous ways, is there any way that your country can take precedence Are you a collaborator if you do anything within your power to save them? Who can judge individuals' actions in the face of war?

Thought-provoking, often painful read, with enough redemptive scenes to make me happy I went on and finished it.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Collaborators was set in German occupied Paris during WWII. Through the main character, Janine, and her close associates it explores the range of reactions by the French towards the German occupation - from militant resistance through to collaboration. The story is interesting, there are some surprising twists and the characters are well cast. I found the characters' reactions to be quite realistic.

***SPOILER***

The beauty of this book is that it is not overdone. Many WWII books attempt to pull at the heart strings with overly emotional language or events. This book is more potent because of its simplicity. For me, one of the most expressive scenes was little Pauli running into the house as the Germans arrive and eating - shoving every piece of food he can into his mouth and his pockets, eating while his aunt is taken away, eating while his cousin betrays him as a Jew, eating as the Germans question him. His calmness is unnerving particularly when he knows firsthand about the privations he is about to suffer. That any child should have that knowledge is horrific.

One of the themes is clearly stated towards the end of the book as the French start to hunt for collaborators: "This world.. was not too different from the world it replaced. Oppression and blood, revenge and hate; the basic materials were much the same."
However, the book was also about love - the overwhelming love of a mother for her children, the love between life-long friends, the love of a woman refusing to abandon her husband, the love of a grandmother staying strong for her grandchildren and then for other people's grandchildren, love for one's country, love for one's battlemates. And for Janine, the contrast between a husband whose hate for the enemy overwhelms his love for his family and an enemy who will sacrifice his freedom and, perhaps, his life for love.

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having REALLY enjoyed my first Reginal Hill book (the woodcutter), i was keen to read the first in his Dalziel and Pascoe series. Unfortunately i found that slow and 'nothing special'. However, this book renewed my faith in him. Yes, it's a little long and somewhat slower than it could be but i love this style of writing. The resolutions always (so far) leave me with a smile on my face. Definitely kept me wanting to pick it up again, which is the mark of a good book.

[Julia Newton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy all of Reginald Hill's books, especially the Dalziel and Pascoe novels. This one is a one-off, about life in Paris in 1945, during the continued German occupation. It is seen through the eyes of many characters - a French mother, her unpredictable husband and her two children, and various members of the German occupying regime and the French resistance. Fascinating.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gripping especially with this narrator. A look at when you actually help the enemy and when you don’t. Perhaps a bit too predictable, but good at depicting everyman.

[Sue]

This is the first Reg Hill book i've read(it won't be my last), which was leant to me by a friend at work. I thoroughly enjoyed it, the style of writing was great and the depth of characters held my attention. I loved the toing and froing of the characters, all their good and bad points. it really made you think about in a certain situation what would you do? Even when you think someone is maybe the bad person, their actions sometimes conflict otherwise and maybe they are not what they really are but are only portayed as such because that is what you are told to think, and then people who think will act one way will actually act another through desperate times and needs. I didn't want to give anything away on plot here as the story unfolds at its own pace and you find out how each person ends up at the end of the war good or bad. This is a book worth reading if you want a different view of the occupied french at a most difficult time.

[Stuart · Rating 3 out of 5]

By the author of Dalziel and Pascoe, it is set in wartime ( World War Two to be exact) Paris. Yet it is mainly a story of people rather than fighting. Janine, the main character, is on trial for collaborating with the 'Boche' including the death of her own husband, a Resistance fighter. Her Jewish husband, her German Army contact, her middle class parents, her Black Market cousin all put pressure on Janine but her focus is very straightforward - her two young children who are under constant threat from the Gestapo and others because of their Jewish father. She could not save her mother-in-law from the concentration camps but is desperate to save them.
It is not a happy book given the circumstances but gives an insight into the war from the perspective of ordinary Parisian families and is worth the read even by people who don't enjoy war stories.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first Reginald Hill book I've read, despite always enjoying the Dalziel and Pascoe adaptations on TV. I read this in two installments four weeks apart, thanks to accidentally leaving the book behind. I found the characters had been so well developed that I was able to carry on as though I'd only put it down the day before. Hill really makes you live and breathe next to these characters, as a story of love and loss unwinds with the backdrop of WW2 and the Final Solution having an enormous impact on the lives of our protagonists in Paris. The question of loyalty runs right through this novel, with loyalty to spouse, children, family, friends and country all thrown under the microscope. A bloody good read.

[Cathy Ace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoy Reginald Hill's Dalziel & Pascoe novels, and picked this up on the off-chance that it, too, would be good. It is an excellent novel. It just goes to show that good writers are good writers, even when they write outside their genre. This is an insightful, touching, thrilling, thought-provoking read. Ideal for book clubs, as there are so many layers that can be discussed. It challenges the reader to consider the rights and wrongs (or even if there are such concepts) of collaborating with the enemy during war. A memorable cast of characters, a wonderfully drawn 1940's Paris, and depth.

[Susan Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Timeline not chronological. Gripping story. This reader asks herself over and over: who are the collaborators in this story? Who is the protagonist? Complex main characters. Setting is Paris under the occupation, 1940 - 1944. Hill understands Paris and his characters and what a woman will do for the return of her children—their fate, unknown until the end. He also understands mob psychology and political correctness.

[Wild · Rating 4 out of 5]

The topic of the German occupation of Paris did not appeal to me, but I am glad my admiration of Reginald Hill led me to read this book. It allowed me to absorb some historical background and, more importantly, gave insight into how events and circumstances affect individuals and their relationships.
The book contains darkness and some light. I found it quite moving.

[Kristie Kirkpatrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think Reginald Hill is a marvelous writer and am a particular fan of the Dalziel and Pascoe series, but this may be my favorite book though an old one. I've never read anything that communicated as well the horror, heartbreak, resilience, and complexity on all involved in the occupation of France during WWII. Highly recommend.

[Flapidouille · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having read a few of Hill's books I found this one very surprising.
This is a historical novel, a sentimental one at that, and I cannot really see the point.
It is not bad in the way it emphasizes the fine and fluctuating line between good and bad, but otherwise I felt it had been done numerous times already.

[Ram · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gripping wartime tale of love and betrayal, Reginald Hill’s The Collaborators explores the impossible choices ordinary people face under extraordinary circumstances.

More at

https://medium.com/@vram45/the-collab...

[Paschalis]

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[Gordon Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exceptional read.

[Rob Cohen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable, suspenseful, well-written -- an interesting perspective on a part of the WWII history I know very little about.

[Craig Heron · Rating 3 out of 5]

It sure isn’t a Dalziel and Pascoe. It has its moments, but I much prefer his police procedurals.

[John Marsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story and at the same time learn loads about the German occupation of France. And how judgmental people can be and hypocritical.

[Kirsty Darbyshire · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hard one to sum up. Probably my least favourite Reginald Hill book. It's a reissue of a twenty year old not-exactly-a-mystery, set in occupied Paris during 1940-1945. Quite different from his usual stuff.

It wasn't the different-from-usual that put me off - the story just got off to a really slow start, seemed to be populated with indistinct characters and din't engage me at all. I kept going hoping it would get better, and it did. Occassionally it felt like a really good book, but mostly I found it mediocre.

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Asuperbly told tale of one French woman's fight to protect her children during the German occupation of Paris during WWII. Married to a Jew, rejected by her own mother, adored by a German officer, could her life be more complicated or her choices more difficult? A wonderful find in a "reduced" bin at a newsagents, definitely worth looking out for.

After reading this book, walking around the Marais area of Paris took on even more meaning. Highly recommended.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was a point in this book when I thought I might give up - it felt unbearable, just too painful. However, it is a good story and I am glad I carried on with it. Almost inevitably, you ask what you would do in various characters situations which is uncomfortable. But then the best fiction often isn't.

[Petra Willemse · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Reginald Hill. However this was a huge disappointment. So huge it almost made it to my 'unfinished' list. I understand an author wanting to branch out, but historical fiction is just not Hill's best genre. I just didn't get engaged with the characters and found the history glossy at best. Stick to the Dalziel and Pascoe series instead.

[Joni · Rating 5 out of 5]

French people who collaborated with the Nazis in Paris, and the revenge of the Parisian mob against collaborators

[Mick Maye · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mistakening bought this from a mail out thinking it was a historical account of collaborators in France.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was ok, not bad. I've read other works by this author that I thought were better than this effort, though.

[Ann Tonks · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unexpected read from the author of the Daizel and Pascoe crime thrillers. A fascinating take on the complexity of life in Paris under German occupation. Engaging and informative.