Review: Stettin Station, Book 3 by David Downing

Book #3 in the John Russell Series

Title: Stettin Station
Author: David Downing
Publisher: Soho Crime Press May 1, 2010
Genre: Fiction
Labels: Nazi Germany, Germany, World War II, Soviet Union, Communism, Socialism, Espionage, Spy, Holocaust, Historical Fiction
Format: Hardcover
Age: Adult
Pages: 320
Rating: 4 stars

Summary:
It is late 1941, Berlin. America has not yet entered into war with Germany. John Russell as an American citizen knows he must leave Germany, but he does not want to leave his son Paul, nor his girlfriend Effi. The clock is ticking and it is the 11th hour. The Gestapo pogrom has heightened. Their rampage and abuse continue, trains leave Berlin with Jew's headed to concentration camp's. Berlin citizens begin to feel the sting of their country at war because household supplies have become harder to find. Anxiety about how long the war will continue is on everyone's mind.

My Thoughts:
All throughout Stettin Station I can feel the tension and fear leap off the pages. This feeling made for a page-turning story!
I have become very involved with the characters of John Russell and his girlfriend Effi Koenen.
I've not mentioned much about Effi so far, so in this review I'll focus the attention on her character.

• She is a character that evolves, grows, becomes stronger. She is not a character that becomes mean or vengeful. She becomes savvy and resilient.
• She is a selfless person. She never comes between John and his son Paul. She loves John enough to give him freedom to be with his son, even if it means he will be gone for lengthy periods of time.
• She is a lovely person, she is an actress. People remark on her beauty or stardom, yet she is humble. 
• She is approaching middle age, but she does not feel sorry for herself, she is accepting. 
• She loves John without regard for her own safety. 
• She states her feelings and opinions without trying to control John's decisions.

Link @ Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Stettin-Station-David-Downing/dp/1569476349/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1368803766&sr=1-1
Paperback $11.06
Kindle $8.40

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Train_station_Berlin_Stettiner_Bahnhof.jpg

Review: Silesian Station, Book Two by David Downing

Title: Silesian Station
Author: David Downing
Publisher: Soho Crime Press May 1, 2008
Genre: Fiction
Labels: Nazi Germany, Germany, World War II, Soviet Union, Communism, Socialism, Holocaust, Espionage, Spy, Historical Fiction
Format: Hardcover
Age: Adult
Pages: 320
Rating: 4 Stars

Book Two in the John Russell Series

Summary:
Berlin 1939. John Russell and his 12 year old son Paul have just returned from a trip to America. Paul has been exposed and indoctrinated to Hitler's Jungvolk, his trip to America was an eye-opening experience and he came home with different feelings about his Germany. John has now been approached by a Nazi Party spokesperson that wants him to engage in spying. In Silesian Station, John has perilous meetings with unsavory people. Each opposing side are looking for people who are willing to take a risk in giving them information. John fears arrest. He fears for his family. He fears for Effi. He knows that he should leave Germany, but is torn.

My Thoughts:
The series is building with several elements:

1. Each opposing side: Nazi Germany, Soviet Union, America, Great Britain---desperately need information on what the other side is planning. It is a serious game of gaining information with the hopes of outsmarting the other. 
2. John Russell is being approached by all parties wanting him to work for them.
3. John and Effi want to fight the Nazi pogrom, but how to do it most affectively. 
4. Jewish people are terrified of what the future holds. Should they escape, but how? Should they hide, but where? Should their family split up in order to survive in smaller numbers?
5. Nazi Germany's past speeches and promises are showing to be a lie, all a lie. The invasions begin. The carefully laid plans begin.

Link @ Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Silesian-Station-David-Downing/dp/B005EP2T7I/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1368802280&sr=1-1
Paperback $11.55
Kindle $9.99

Post war Berlin

Review: Zoo Station, Book One in the John Russell Series by David Downing

Title: Zoo Station, First Book in John Russell Series
Author: David Downing
Publisher: Soho Press, Inc. May 2007
Genre: Fiction
Labels: World War II, Holocaust, Nazi Germany, Berlin, Spies, Communism, Journalism, Espionage, Historical Fiction
Format: Hardcover
Age: Adult
Pages: 304
Rating: 4 Stars














Zoo Station, is book one in a series of five books that I've read over the past three weeks. Book six Masaryk Station will be available @ Amazon June 18. I plan to read this book as well. I've loved all the Station books by David Downing, they are just my type of read. 

Summary:
Berlin, Germany 1938-1939
John Russell is American born with strong English ties, World War I Veteran, divorced with one adolescent son named Paul, in a committed relationship with a German actress, an ex-patriot living in Berlin, and working as a journalist.
When the book begins 1938 will end in a couple of hours. There is an "absence of a festive spirit." People are uneasy in what the new year will bring to Germany. John is offered a paying job by an old Russian colleague. This work will entail writing "a series of articles" on the Nazi Party. John is also asked to gather other types of information. John is at first reluctant, but a paying job during a time of uncertainty will be security....he hopes. 
John's lovely girlfriend Effi is busy making German films. She loathes the Nazi Party, but wants a paying job.
Both John and Effi worry about the future. How will the threatening climate of the Nazi Party affect their families, friends, jobs, and their beloved Berlin? Who is trustworthy? Even family and friends have been known to turn-in those they find are against the Nazi belief system.

My Thoughts:
John Russell is an imperfect character. I like that. Why? Because his imperfect nature gives a freshness and a realness to these series of books. It also gives an unpredictable nature to the stories. In his heart his priorities and motivations are his son, Effi, a good story, friends, and his survival comes last. His way of going about these priorities should not be compared to a pristine "polished pair of boots". He works all the angles. Then he frets over whether the right decision has been made.
Zoo Station, lays the ground work for the future books. I did not read the books in numerical order, I had to wait till my library had them available. I didn't have a problem reading out of sequence. I did have a few questions about John's background, various people that are remarked on in later books. When I was able to read Zoo Station, it all came together for me. If you're unable to read the book in sequence don't worry, but if you can it will help.

Why I gave Zoo Station 4 stars:

• As a journalist the main character John has a keen intuitive eye for a story. He seems to be in the right place at the right time in order to see events that will become a story for him. 
• The author David Downing's writing style has great descriptive details, giving me a candid view of:  Berlin, Germany, Nazi's, Jewish people, civilians, the building crisis, and various political groups scavenging for information.
• Graphically depicted and making a strong impression on me: the assaults, abuse, murders of Jewish people, the mentally handicapped, those in asylums, those the Nazi's considered non-Aryan and not perfect.
• John's faithful love for Effi and for his son. 
• John's travels through Germany; I too traveled with him. This gave me a panoramic view of what was going on in Germany at this time.

For those interested, the book has curse words, no sexual acts described. If I were going to rate this book as a movie I'd give it a PG 13.

Link @ Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Station-John-Russell-ebook/dp/B004HYHB48/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1369229233&sr=8-1
Kindle $3.82

Bahnhof Station 1900

Review: Freud's Sister by Goce Smilevski

Title: Freud's Sister
Author: Goce Smilevski
Interpretor: Translator from the Macedonian language, Christina E. Kramer
Publisher: Penguin Group August 28, 2012
Genre: Fiction
Labels: Sigmund Freud, Holocaust, Nazi Germany, Germany, Austria, Family Dysfunction, Freud's Analysis and Beliefs
Format: Paperback
Age: Adult
Pages: 272
Rating: 3

Before I begin my review, Freud's Sister is FICTION. It is not a work of non-fiction. It is not a memoir, nor biography. I even hesitate to call it historical fiction. The author states in the Author's Note that little is known about Freud's sister Adolfina. There is a lot of freedom for artistic expression or interpretation by the author in Freud's Sister. The author chose to use the first person voice of Adolfina (I'll explain more about that underneath My Thoughts).

Summary:
Adolfina was born Esther Adolfine (Dolfi) Freud on 23 July 1862 and died 5 February 1943. She was a younger sister to Sigmund Freud. Sigmund, or Siggi, as his mother called him, was the child doted on in the family. His parents sent him to college, and to medical school. His parents were of humble means.
Although they were Jewish by blood, they were not Jewish by religion. The children knew little about their ancestry. They were considered to be agnostic.
Aldolphina grew up with a passive-aggressive mother. She could be loving one minute and vindictive the next moment. This is one of the few facts known about Adolphina, was the hostile relationship between mother and daughter.
Adolphina was a super-sensitive person dependent clingy. These character traits were magnified having an abusive mother.
Adophina's world was her thoughts and dreams. Her voice in this story is mainly of her thoughts, of words that never bring forth her feelings. Her life is a life of repression.
Freud's Sister, begins shortly before Sigmund Freud's departure to London, England. Then, the story backs up to the beginnings of the Freud family, centering around Adolphina.

My Thoughts:
I have mixed feelings about this book and give it a 3. I'll explain.

• A book about Sigmund Freud's family, with himself as a secondary character, would not be complete without using his beliefs. These beliefs include his thoughts on monotheism, religion, dreams, sex, after-life, repression, and psycho-analysis. We will never know if any of these beliefs were believed by Adolphina. We can only speculate. I did wonder at times if the author made Adolphina the female version of Sigmund Freud. Maybe Adolphina believed as Freud did, and maybe she did not. 
• The family was dysfunctional. The mother had large "issues" in repressed and unacknowledged anger, that she took out on her daughter Adolphina. She abused Adolphina.
• Sigmund, was poor in character for his lax of moral judgment as far as his sister was concerned. Even children who've had little parental authority do not act out in some of the ways he did. What he did, and what any one like him does, leaves scars. (I know this is a thought in story that is fictional, but it is my opinion). 
• And further....Freud is a repressed individual as well. He is repressed in morality. He is repressed in the ability to make moral decisions. He is repressed in the ability to believe period. He prefers discussions and detached actions.
• The descriptive prose in the book went on too long at some points. I felt a bit over-done, like burnt toast.
• Symbolism is over-used, using the word and descriptions of dreams, repressed words and feelings, birth and babies (signifying life). 
• There is zero happiness or lightheartedness in this book. If you're already depressed, don't read it. 
• It is a book that would make a good book discussion. Skip any appetizers or dinner, just conversation on a controversial belief system. 

Why did I give this book a 3 for good?

1. Gave me a better understanding of Sigmund Freud's belief system.
2. Gave me a better understanding of Austria during the Holocaust, and World War II.
3. Gave me a better understanding of what happens when a person becomes a VICTIM of his or her thoughts. 
4. Was a different sort of read for me. 

A quote from the book (I did not say I like the quote or agree with it, just a quote):

"All normal people are normal in the same way; each mad person is mad in his own way." 

Link @ Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143121456/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0143121456&linkCode=am2&tag=pgus-20
Paperback $11.64
Kindle $9.99

Freud 1926

Review: The English Monster, Or, The Melancholy Transactions of William Ablass by Lloyd Shepherd

Title: The English Monster, Or, The Melancholy Transactions of William Ablass
Author: Lloyd Shepherd
Publisher: Washington Square Press 2012
Genre: Fiction
Labels: Ratcliffe Highway Murders, 19th Century, Murder, Suspense, Investigation, Slavery, Historical Fiction, Serial Killer
Format: Paperback
Age: Adult
Pages: 432
Rating: 3-4 Stars (Sorry still can't make up my mind if it's a 3 or 4)

Painting of Wapping by James Whistler

I recently read and reviewed Murder As A Fine Art by David Downing. Last Saturday I was in my favorite used book store and came across a copy of The English Monster, with the same subject of the Ratcliffe Highway Murder's.
I had to read it:

• I was intrigued by the subject. 
• I wanted to see where the author would take me in "their" story. 
• I wanted to compare the two fictional stories.
• I could not pass up a chance to read both books in the same week.

Summary:
The story has two pivotal points in its history, beginning in the late 1500's, and then traveling forward to December 1811 (the month of the Ratcliffe Highway Murder's). In 1585 I was introduced to a young handsome man named Billy Ablass. He has left his young wife, and was hired to work aboard a ship named Jesus of Lubeck (known the rest of the book as simply Jesus). Billy is anxious and ambitious to make money, lots of money. He does not intend to be gone long. Yet his adventure turns sour.
Early and mid December of 1811, two sets of murder's take place on the east end of London. This swampy land was called Wapping. It was a low geographical area where water had to be drained out, then it would flood, then the area drained out again. Eventually wharves were built, houses, fishing businesses.
Crime was common in this area. The gruesome Ratcliffe Highway Murder's shocked everyone. People were frightened. They asked what monster could have done this?
Charles Horton is the constable of the new police office. The scant knowledge of this type of investigator work during the early part of 19th century requires Charles to be a man of insight and wisdom.

My Thoughts;
When I first began reading this book I wondered how these two time periods would tie in? I told myself to settle back and try and enjoy the story. It would take a while before I had the aha moment.

What I liked about this story:

• Authors great imagination at writing two stories from two time periods and putting it all together. 
• Detective work in the early part of 19th Century. 
• Author transported me, through the descriptions, to the time periods, including the types of people involved: pirates, police, people who lived in Wapping, and slave trader's. 
• Evil and the depraved were realistic, frightening. 
• Displayed the cruel and tragic consequences man's inhumanity to another. 

What I disliked about this story:

• I wondered if symbolism was used in naming the ship Jesus? Jesus is the savior of the world. Was the ship Jesus to be looked at as Billy's savior, to save him from a life of humanity, and poverty. Was it his ship to eternity? 
• Lewdness in Billy's life. It was NOT so much the lewdness, but his spiraling demise was so sad to me. Tearfully sad. This part of the story showed just how far Billy had surrendered himself into giving up and in to depravity.
• Back and forth too much with the time periods.
• Coarse talking. I'm very aware that pirate's did not talk like Sunday school teachers but it still made me wince. 

How do the two historical fiction books I've read compare with each other?
Murder As A Fine Art is my favorite. It was written more grounded, meaning realistic. It was a more readable book, easy to keep up with the time period. I learned more about detective work. I learned about the methodical work of a serial killer. I enjoyed having a strong female character. Over-all an excellent read.

http://www.lloydshepherd.com/writing/the-english-monster/

Link @ Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/English-Monster-Melancholy-Transactions-William/dp/1451647573
Paperback $12.81
Kindle $10.38

Another book I've seen mentioned swirling around these two Ratcliffe Highway Murder's themed books I've recently read.
The Invention of Murder by Judith Flanders.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Invention-Murder-Judith-Flanders/dp/0007248881