A compelling WWII drama — I’ve discovered I’m a big fan of books from that era. They come ready-made with all the conflict you could ever need; all you have to do is add some compelling characters and a slightly different scenario than what’s been done before.
In this case, the main character is Jewish physicist Dr Hannah Weiss, who was working in Germany on the atomic project before she escaped to America to help with the Manhattan Project instead. The story is told in two layers: Hannah’s interrogation by the American Jack Delaney, who believes she is a spy for the Germans, and her memories from Germany. She’s brilliant and excessively beautiful, as the narrator mentions often, but as a Jew, she was often accused of assisting the enemy (and as a woman, her contributions are constantly minimized). She certainly did aid the Germans for a time, and was entangled romantically with Dr Stephan Fry. But was she still aiding the Germans by feeding their own competing project information about the American progress? It certainly looks that way, and Jack is determined to prove it. The problem is, he’s falling in love with her at the same time.
The story is entirely fictionalized, but it’s compelling enough that I almost believed it was real. Hannah’s role in this version of events is certainly pivotal. Very well done!
My rating: ****
Language: present and at times a bit excessive
Sexual content: present, and I could have done without it, but it’s not constant. There’s a few scenes.
Violence: it’s WWII so it has to be there, but it was tastefully done I thought.
Political content: none that I could tell (historical only)
