Zoo Station (John Russell, #1) in Espionage Aficionados

Jul 29, 2019 Sam Reaves rated it liked it

The Berlin that was bombed into rubble in the Second World War is a vanished world. As documented by writers as diverse as Remarque, Kästner, Döblin and, in English, Christopher Isherwood, Berlin between the wars was a vital center of cultural and political ferment, a colorful and dramatic setting all the more poignant for being doomed.
Lost worlds are fascinating, and David Downing is obviously fascinated with 1930's Berlin. He has done his homework; he knows the streets and the high-class joint The Berlin that was bombed into rubble in the Second World War is a vanished world. As documented by writers as diverse as Remarque, Kästner, Döblin and, in English, Christopher Isherwood, Berlin between the wars was a vital center of cultural and political ferment, a colorful and dramatic setting all the more poignant for being doomed.
Lost worlds are fascinating, and David Downing is obviously fascinated with 1930's Berlin. He has done his homework; he knows the streets and the high-class joints and the low dives, the monuments and the parks and the train stations, one of which gives this book its title. He has chosen to set his story in the thirties, as the ebullient city is succumbing to the rise of the Nazis. It is, naturally, a great setting for a dark and despairing espionage tale.
John Russell is a foreign correspondent, an English expatriate who has lived in Berlin long enough to acquire a German ex-wife and son and a German mistress. As the Nazis tighten their hold and it becomes plain that war and genocide are just over the horizon, Russell finds his divided loyalties increasingly stressed. A Russian acquaintance wants him to work for Soviet intelligence, his son is a good little Hitler Youth member, his mistress doesn't like the Nazis any more than he does but is happy to cash the checks she gets making their propaganda films. When another foreign reporter dies mysteriously after confiding in Russell about evidence of Nazi plans for extensive euthanasia, it's time to make a stand.
It's not bad; as a history buff I'm a sucker for a lost world tale any day. The general reader may tire a bit sooner of the tracing of Russell's routes through the city and the carefully placed details of life in thirties Berlin. It does capture the outrageous brutality of Nazi rule and the hopelessness of a society where the fight for decency has been lost. Probably more for history buffs than espionage fans per se, but it kept me entertained for a few nights and I'll probably read more in the series. ...more

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