1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Downhill Racer Dynamite, February 22, 2005
Here's another out-of-print gem that isn't always easy to find--but the author tells me it may be reprinted in the near future. The title is a German word for ski-racer and the story takes place at a remote ski resort in the Austrian Alps. The racing champion is a young man named Dieter Schnell ("fast" in German)and his parents own a ski-pension outside a small village. In the middle of winter, while Dieter practices for the world championship in downhill skiing, his parents have four guests. Baldur is a young north German architecture and design student. His wife, Freia (real name Ada Levin) is a Jewish-American girl from the edge of Beverly Hills. Stanley M is an old college friend of Freia's, who shows up in the same place entirely by accident. Herr von S is a former Nazi officer, also from northern Germany. Everyone has an attraction to Dieter. It should be noted that the book takes place in the period 1963-1965, so that prominent Nazis are still alive and young people such as Baldur would have spent their early years in the Hitler Youth. The war is much closer than it would seem to people today. The interaction of the characters is laced with delicious irony, and no one is who he or she seems to be. Freia is trying so hard to be more German than the Germans, except when it gets difficult. Baldur at first seems kind, loving and a bit dense, until his past is reawakened by some childhood friends. Stanley M doesn't speak German and is truely clueless as to the game he plays along with, to his peril. Herr von S is so diabolically clever, he outsmarts himself. The story builds against an impressive backdrop. A tragedy occurs, and people start to reveal themselves, building up to an ending of truly horrifying possibilities. Nina Galen is a brilliant writer, and I highly recommend this book. Although she uses German words at various places, I can tell you that she translates for English readers, and the usage is correct. Hopefully the book will be reprinted.
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