All That I Am- Anne Funder

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All That I Am is the story of those brave individuals that risked everything to try to prevent the Second World War. Based on the lives of real people, and real events this book provides insight into what happened in Germany in the years between the wars. This book has been short listed for the prestigious 2012 Miles Franklin Award.

Funder’s past writing has been more traditional non-fiction, notably her acclaimed book Stasiland(which I suspect I will be tracking down at some point). There is no question that this book is very well researched and goes into extraordinary detail to describe events that are shamefully unheralded. I am  ashamed to admit that I had never heard of Ernst Toller, Dora Fabian or any of the people in this story. There is a mountain of literature out their both fictional and non-fiction about the two world wars and the horror of Nazi Germany, and yet I didn’t know this story. Her description of life for the German refugees living in England is particularly interesting.

Ernst Toller

Even though I knew enough history to know that the story wasn’t likely to end well, I found I was compelled to keep reading to see what would happen next. It was like I was reading hoping that maybe this time these remarkable people would get their message out and that the great tragedy of the Holocaust might be prevented.

If I had any criticism of this book, it is that I struggled to care about the characters as human beings. I suspect that Funder’s intention was to demonstrate that the people who risked so much were ordinary people. But in the end I think she stood a few too many steps removed. I don’t think I am giving too much away when I say that a number of the characters are murdered by Hitler’s regime. While I was suitably outraged and angry, I was not especially moved by the fate of the individual in question. Even when Dora dies, something that is foretold early on in the book, I felt nothing. It doesn’t usually take much for me to well up over the outcome of a character, whether in literature, film or television, but with this I was remarkably dry-eyed.

That deficiency notwithstanding this is a good book. If you have an interest in history this is for you. I can understand why this getting so much attention. Definitely worth checking out.

Other reviews:

The Magic of Exile: Anne Funder’s ‘All That I Am’- David Marr (The Monthly)

All That I Am, By Ann Funder- The locked room mystery that provides a warning from history- Rachel Hore (The Independent)

Anne Funder and All That I Am (The Book Show- Radio National)

A Feast for Crows (Book 4- A Song of Ice and Fire) George R R Martin

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What a disappointment! A Feast for Crows is the fourth instalment of the Song of Ice and Fire series, and after three fantastic books culminating in the third truly sublime masterpiece, we have this sorry excuse for a book. If it weren’t for the fact that the first three were so good, and that I have become invested in the story I probably wouldn’t have finished it. But I did, and I will more than likely read the next book too, although probably not right away. (There are spoilers for the previous books in this review, so if you haven’t read them please check out my reviews of Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, and A Storm of Swords.)

The problem is that the story now seems to be stuck in the mud and isn’t really moving anywhere. In the first three books what was so great about them was that they were unpredictable, fast paced and the game could be completely flipped over at any stage. The ‘Red Wedding’ from A Storm of Swords is a case in point. I don’t think anyone can honestly say they saw THAT coming. You might have had an inkling that the Frey’s weren’t happy campers and that they might want revenge, but the murder of two of the central characters? It was a stroke of genius. Alas there isn’t much that is comparable in this fourth instalment.

It isn’t ALL bad though. The chapters concerning Kings Landing and in particular the unravelling of a certain Queen we all love to hate are pleasurable, as are the adventures of Brienne and Arya (not that we get to see that much or her). But, the book spend far to much time focusing on minor characters and storylines that sub-plots at best. There is NO Tyrion, nor Daenerys. Jon Snow is only in it long enough to send Ser Piggy (I mean Sam) on the voyage that goes forever without achieving much at all.

The time spent with the Vikingesque (I assume that’s who they are meant to represent) Ironmen and the supposed chaos caused by the death of their King in book three. I found the chapters devoted to this storyline incredibly hard to work through. I don’t know that we needed to be subjected to the dreary lead up to the kingsmoot, especially since the kingsmoot itself is something of a non-event. Surely a couple of ravens sent to Kings Landing or wherever could have established that there was a new King and that they had started to harass the coast near Highgarden.

I think I’ve made my point that this is not a shining example of what can be achieved in the genre, nor does it do credit to what Martin was written until now. As I said I mainly stuck with it out of deference for what has gone before, and a faint hope that this is an aberration that will be rectified in book five. We’ll see. 

For those of you like me who have become invested in the series you will probably read this, and as I said seeing Queen Cersei making a dog’s breakfast of the regency is almost worth wading through all the other rubbish.

Other reviews:

Book review-A Feast For Crows- George R R Martin (The Caffeinated Symposium)

Book review- A Feast For Crows- George R R Martin (Riverwords)