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As Ralf's relationship with Oz deepens he is forced to question where is own loyalties lie, and who is willing to betray. Ralf struggles with several dualities in his life, amongst them his German-Britishness, being at the verge of finishing high school, and having a longtime girlfriend when he begins to explore his attraction to men. Set in Berlin just before the wall came down this is a wonderful coming of age story, spy thriller, love story, full of wonderful characters, some witty observations about life as a teenager in 1989 and some really touching moment.
If you check Ben Fergusson’s bio, you will find he was very well placed to understand the venue and time from his own personal experiences which tailor nicely with the conclusion (no more spoilers here). His life is stretched between sexual reality and fantasy: his love for Maike Willert and his desire for Osman Ozemir-- the mysterious Oz. Can Charles extricate himself from a chess game played from the shadows by corrupt police officers and warring gangs without once again turning to crime himself? Not quite halfway through, you will begin to worry and desperately hope events will work out for our hero as he accidentally becomes involved in espionage between east and west that threatens him and his family. I thought about bergschrunds, the long crevasses that form when the glacier pulls away from the stagnant ice at its sides.I remember being glued to the television as the Berlin Wall came down, mesmerised by the desperation and triumph symbolised by this event, and wondering what it truly meant for those whose lives had been defined by this foreboding barrier. This is a gentle spy story but more importantly it is a tender coming of age and moving evocation of Berlin in the months before the fall of the wall. He has translated numerous essays, poems and short stories from German for publishers internationally, including texts by Daniel Kehlmann, Alain Claude Sulzer, Byung-Chul Han and Antja Wagner and in 2020 won a Stephen Spender Prize for poetry in translation. Although we might not like or forgive Ralf's parents, Fergusson does give these characters some nuance.
Growing up in a bilingual household (his mother is English), Ralf has always felt like a bit of an outsider. Each chapter is a roller coaster ride, and the adrenalin is pulsating without a sip of caffeine, simply the turn of the page.
Based on real Old Bailey cases and genuine court documents, An Honest Man is the second in the series of Charles Holborne novels by barrister, Simon Michael, set in the sleazy London of the 1960s. This is just one of many reasons that Michael Koryta is beloved by his colleagues, critics, and fans.
EXCLUSIVE: Independent studio wiip has preemptively acquired An Honest Man, an upcoming novel by Michael Koryta, to develop as a television drama series, with Koryta attached to pen the adaptation. This one involves a twelve-year-old boy named Lyman Rankin who lives on Salvation Island with his violent and angry father. Showing no remorse for what his nephew did fifteen years earlier, Sterling is quick to want to place serious shade and suspicion upon Israel for this mass homicide. I enjoyed this description nearing the critical moment as local prostitutes see their usual clientele swept away in the moment.That fact is certainly not lost on his Uncles Sterling, brother to his late father, who wants nothing more than to put Israel back behind bars and out of his sight at any cost necessary. Let's be clear, this is not a tawdry M/M romance although there is some sex, almost all of it suggested and completely tasteful. Certainly there is more to this thriving city which is dynamic and fascinating in many ways but walking through the streets there are evident battle scars around every corner. As well as a poignant love story, it's also a gripping, original thriller; a final twist I definitely didn't see coming sets a powerful climax in motion . The novel is written from the present, but looks back to the months prior to November 1989 when the Berlin Wall fell.
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