Journeying to Europe in search of her lost love, journalist Helena Latimer discovers the diary of a woman who witnessed the brutality of the two world wars and learns a special truth from the writings. Reprint. K.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
What Appignanesi (Memory and Desire) seems to have intended as a multigenerational erotic thriller is instead a jumble of story lines that span seven decades and attest to an overindulged imagination. London journalist Helena Latimer receives a letter from her longtime friend, environmental activist Max Bergmann, but it's postmarked days after his reported death two months past. Following clues in the letter, Helena tracks Max to Seehafen, an estate in the foothills of the Bavarian Alps. In the library there, she discovers Max's name in an old journal entitled "Anna's Book?the Possessed." Written between 1913 and 1934 by Anna von Leinsdorf, daughter of Seehafen's former owner, the journal lays bare the family's dark secrets. Among the revelations: both Anna and her sister Bettina had disastrous affairs with profligate painter Johannes Bahr; Bettina's son Max (as in Max Bergmann?) was fathered by Johannes and not her husband; Anna's son became an enthusiastic member of the Nazi Youth, despite his father's being Jewish. But Seehafen's new owner, handsome American anthropologist Adam Peters, denies knowing anything about Max's connection to the house. As the story returns to the 1980s, the links between past and present pose sometimes predictable, sometimes outlandish, questions about links between all the major players. Lushly overwritten, this is for readers who want to overdose on mystery, suspicion and passion.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
In one of the threads of this story within a story, Helena searches for her friend and mentor, Max Bergmann. She journeys to Max's house in the Bavarian countryside and comes across a diary titled "Anna's Book." Anna's Book tells of two sisters: radical activist Bettina and lovely Anna. When Anna's husband dies early on, she marries the revolutionary artist Johannes Bahr. Anna's Book proves more than a fluffy love story; it also tells of the time between the two world wars, describing how Germany tried to recover from the loss of the first conflict, the bleakness of the worldwide depression, and the growth of hatred and viciousness that followed. Bettina and family flee to America, but Anna and Johannes choose a darker fate. The story returns to the present as Helena speculates on what happened to Max. Although the resolution to this novel by the author of Memory and Desire (LJ 1/92) borders on tedium, it remains a very good story. For popular collections.?Dawn L. Anderson, North Richland Hills P.L., Tex.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not recommended,
By Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (TOP 100 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Dreams of Innocence (Paperback)
Journalist Helena Latimer has led a hard life, growing up as an orphan among foster families that use and abuse her. But, now that she has met Max Bergmann, ecologist and possibly eco-terrorist, her life seems complete. But, when Max goes missing, Helena sets out to find out what has happened to him. The trail leads to Germany, where Helena finds the journal of Anna von Leinsdorf, a young Viennese woman who lived and loved in the Germany of the inter-war years. This book is a vital link in understanding what has happened to Max, but there are a lot of pieces that Helena must put together first!
Hmmm. This is a somewhat hard book to review. Part way through the book, the storyline drops completely from the 1990s to the 1910s when you get to the journal, and at that point the story is quite excellent, with a lot of interesting characters and occurrences. However, when you return to the 1990s, the story returns to being slow moving and rather heavy. Plus, politics hangs over the modern side of the story like a smothering blanket - everyone is either an eco-terrorist, a fighter for native rights, or what have you. It gives the story a very odd feeling. The cover proclaims the book to be "lushly erotic," but do not take that too seriously. There are a number of sexual encounters between characters in the book, but they are handled in a very clipped and hurried manner, taking away any feeling of eros or even of romance. So, I guess I must say that while this book does have its moments, there are simply not enough of them. I give it three stars for its interesting plot twists and wonderful inter-war storyline, but I do not really recommend it.
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