'Fatherland' by Robert Harris

Hello Hivers and Book Clubbers,

I've been trying to think of ways to integrate the non-fictional and fictional subjects that I talk about in my reviews of the corresponding books. And a short while ago it hit me like a brick; there's a lot of novels about alternative history, i.e. novels set in a 'what if' that differs from the way things went in our own world/timeline.

Today I'm making a first try at this new format, where I take an alternate history novel and mostly talk about its setting and motifs, the differences with our timeline (OTL) and how well I think the whole thing is constructed. It allows me to talk about actual history in the fiction-setting too, which could make for an interesting product. So let's get to it.

The book that I'm reviewing today is titled 'Fatherland', written by British writer Robert Harris in 1992. It clocks in at about 350 pages, but in terms of language is easy to follow if you're proficient at English. I'll try to keep the story proper, which is a detective/murder mystery, as spoiler-free as possible, while focussing on the alternate history and worldbuilding of the novel.

Alternate History Setting

The massive swastika on the book cover shown above might have given the premise away, which is a common scenario in alternate history; what if Germany won WWII? The book is not too indulgent in the 'what ifs' of the Alternate Timeline (ATL), as in what happened compared to Our Timeline (OTL), but let's go through them.

In this ATL, WWII lasted from 1939 until 1946. The key point on the Eastern front is the conquest of Moscow in late 1941. This corresponds with plans of the Prussian general staff in OTL, but the attack was diverted to Kiev on Hitler's orders, to the dismay of the generals. The ATL conquest of Moscow splits the Soviet Union in half; Leningrad and the armies to the west, and the Caucasus and the Urals and the factories/supplies to the east.

The Germans are able to conquer the whole of Russia up to the Urals; to the east, a remnant Soviet state still exists at the start of the book time in 1964, supplied by the Americans in a Cold-War form of proxy warfare. Siberia has seemed to grind the German war apparatus to a halt.

The French are overrun in the same way as in OTL, but there is no D-day style counterattack, because the British are overrun as well. On reading the book once, it seems that the Germans have starved the British out using submarine warfare. I'm not sure if this holds up in WW2; one recalls that in OTL submarines were wildly effective in WW1. After that, navies became better at dealing with them. Would it still work as well? Maybe, but the book doesn't delve into how the Germans would beat the British at sea, which is the latter's strong point.

The book also implies (it's pretty vaguely mentioned) an invasion of Britain, after which Edward VIII is put back on the throne. Edward VIII was deposed a few months after his accession because he wanted to marry a divorced American actress, and the Church of England was in vehement opposition. He was also known to be very pro-German, which isn't strange considering the fact that the house of Windsor is essentially a German dynasty (look to its old name: von Saxe-Coburg Gotha).

America seems to have been having a tougher time with Japan in ATL, yet it still drops the atomic bombs on Japan. It is not explained further how America did, but it seems to me that America realized the war in Europe was lost, and devolved into a Cold War strategy, but with Germany as its opponent in ATL compared to the Soviets in OTL.

On to people and places, though I already talked about Edward VIII before; Adolf Hitler is still alive in 1964, and his 75th birthday takes place during the book. Goring and Himmler died, the latter in a helicopter crash (he wouldve been in his sixties). Heydrich survived the assasination attempt in Prague which he died to in OTL, and remains the top man of the Gestapo, the German secret police. Goebbels is mentioned as still alive, but does not play a part in the story.

The German empire has become significantly bigger because of its victory; Lebensraum has been aqcuired with differing success. All the Baltic states, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine and Russia west of the Urals now are part of the Greater German Empire, and are in the process of being colonized. The local peoples are having a rough time, with preferential treatment being given to the Germans. Though the situation is presented as rosy in the German media, the story lets slip that not all is well; Poland is altogether hostile, Russia's vastness is becoming a big issue, etc.

One of the more remarkable things in my view, is that the Slavs are allowed into Germany proper. As in, they are used as guest workers in Berlin and its surroundings. That seems to me to be inconsequent with the goals of the German government at this point; if you're looking for space for your people, why are you letting other people into your cities? Especially since the story mentions several times that the Slavs are notorious for disobedience and terrorism; they are the clear fifth column. A weak point in story-building, in my view, but a useful plot device in the novel.

Many of the European nations are corralled together into a European Union, with 12 member states, which mirrors the start of our European union, with Germany clearly at the helm. I'm not sure if Harris, a British writer, is taking an early stab at the EU (book was written in the 90s) here. In OTL, Germany is also clearly the big dog of the bunch. How this union functions, is not really mentioned further.

Conclusion

If you're looking for a detective/murder mystery novel in a remarkable setting, this might be one you can look into. The alternate history elements are not that well developed, or are kept pretty basic. Yet some of them are plausible, at least. I hope that by staying away from the story proper, I've been able to give you a good impression. I'll try my hand again at this format in a next installment. Until the next one,

-Pieter Nijmeijer

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