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Munich, 1950 Oct 06, 2009
Greene, Sheldon. "Prodigal Sons", BookSurge Publishing, 2009.
Munich, 1950
Amos Lassen
In 1950 Munich was part of occupied West Germany and Sheldon Greene uses it as the setting for adventure, romance and mystery. This is a dark read mainly because it takes place in an era that there is not a lot of available information about. We see the violence and the chaotic happenings that were going on right after World War II.
Horst Vogle works at the Munich Art Museum and he is hard at work trying to reassemble the art collection of the area. A friend, a concert pianist, Greta Furster, introduces Horst to a group of veterans of the war who are anxious to restore a sense of German pride as well as help others escape from the East which has become Communist. Horst discovers that the source of their money is gold from the Nazis and that it is being used to help Egypt buy arms to use against Israel. Horst, we learn, is really Jan Goldberg, a Jewish partisan and a man who served in the Israel Defense Forces during Israel's War of Independence. He is also an agent for the Israeli government--an assassin who is targeting Nazi fugitives. He feels that he must recover the gold that was taken from Jewish prisoners and in this way there will be some payback for the horrible crimes of the Holocaust. This is much easier said than done and we read how both his aim and his identity are tested by his enemies.
The book is more than just a novel--it is also a careful look at how the Nazis lived in post-war Germany as well as a look at the politics of reconciliation, revenge and ideologies and the importance and power of love. The book is a page turner not only because of the plot but also because there is so much to learn here. Sheldon Greene gives us a look at a Germany we do not know and we can only hope that we will never have to know it. We see the most absolutism of ideology and the how love helps to redeem a situation. The story is masterfully told and the characters of Horst and Greta are skillfully drawn.
Greene Is In Top Form in Prodigal Sons Sep 06, 2009
I've been a fan of Sheldon Greene's work ever since the publication of his first novel Lost and Found. In Prodigal Sons he's in top form. Once again Greene has designed a plot that make you want to keep turning the pages. The two main characters --Horst Vogel, assassin and Jewish freedom fighter, and Greta Furster, concert pianist--grab you from page one. You want to know--need to know--how they are going to survive the dangers that surround them at every turn.
Greene has always had a talent for combining the kind of fine writing that is a hallmark of literary fiction with adventure, mystery, and romance; and he has a knack for picking exciting subjects. Prodigal Sons is set in a dark era that has not been extensively explored. There are a number of novels that deal with Germany just before or during World War II, but few that look at the chaos, violence, and clandestine fascist societies that continued to function after the fall of Nazi Germany.
Prodigal Sons can be enjoyed as a spy-thriller, yet on a deeper level, it's a revelation. There are scenes in it reminiscent of The Third Man, director Carol Reed's classic noir film about post-war Vienna. In short, this is a fact-based, thoroughly entertaining, compelling novel that will appeal to a wide audience of readers.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Prodigal Sons is a Great Read Aug 25, 2009
Greene has another great story for readers, and this one is a real page-turner. Set against the backdrop of the Polish resistance in WW II, the founding of Israel, and post-war Munich, Prodigal Sons has something for everyone -- sadness, anger, despair, revenge, spies, murder, art, music, intrigue, a multi-million-dollar heist, and finally a triumphant romance. Highly recommended.
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