February 2016 Host: Jennie
Leaving Berlin by Joseph Kanon
Summary
This novel is set in Berlin in the winter of
1948-49. The main character Alex, a
writer, flees from the United States to Germany after defying a congressional
investigation into communism and begins spying for the CIA in order to return
to the United States and reunite with his son.
Ironically, being half Jewish, he had fled the Nazis in Germany 15 years
earlier. Alex becomes an instant
prominent artist comrade in the Soviet Occupied Zone. Alex soon learns that this is not the city of
his youth and becomes embroiled in secrets, lies, and danger. What was supposed to be a quick and easy job
turns into a deadly and life threatening situation. In this espionage thriller, Kanon delivers
realistic characters and invokes the atmosphere of a postwar Berlin that has
become a gray and bleak wasteland, and what Berliners had to do to survive
their new reality. This is an intriguing
page turning thriller and we highly recommend it.
Menu
Salad
Cheddar Biscuits
Taco Bar
Apple Caramel Cheesecake
