Customer Reviews

Enemy

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Two lost soldiers stumble on each other in the desert after a tank battle. English and German, their first instinct is to take the other prisoner, but as their main preoccupation is survival, this is clearly not possible. The book traces their subsequent relationship. Robin Maugham (1916-1981), nephew of the famous Somerset Maugham, is an accomplished writer.

During World War II, in the African desert, a British soldier survives a battle and stumbles upon a German soldier in the same predicament. The two form a truce to survive, and ultimately become friends. Each slowly learns to trust the other, and they share dark secrets. The British soldier was incarcerated for indecency with a young girl, and the German soldier is gay. Brilliantly blending politics, human frailties, and lush storytelling, Maugham's final book is a fascinating tale of two soldier on opposing sides who find common ground in being human. Even though the story ends with one character killed, the book is ultimately hopeful and uplifting in its message of the commonalities of all people. Sheer genius storytelling.

"The sincerity of the author and his gift of narrative and brief, certain powers of describing a scene or a character make him a fiction addict's delight." --Sir John Betjeman, Daily Telegraph

"It is part of the Maugham genius to be able to transmute romantic cliche into a realistic, gritty narrative... to probe the barriers of caste." --London Times