Customer Reviews

Winter (MM to TR Promotion)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Although 'Winter' is about the family of the same name and although it reads quite well as a stand alone novel, I appreciated it more having already read quite a few of the Bernard Samson stories. It puts Bernard in historical context and provides background for some of the central characters of the 'Samson series'- most notably Bret Rensselaer.

As a novel in it's own right Winter tells the tale of two German brothers - Peter and Pauli Winter. Starting from their childhood in 1899 we see them develop. Peter, the elder blossoming under the care of his father, while Pauli, easygoing and carefree is in his father's shadow - the second son complex - striving unsuccessfully to please his father. We end up liking Pauli more than the serious, staid Peter and this is surprising because Pauli becomes the chief legal advisor to Nazi Germany.

The strength of the story is in character development. Pauli is not weak, or evil. There is no basic character flaw here that led him to serve the Nazis. He's not A Nazi himself, nor is he anti-semitic.

The book is a good read because he is believable and plausible and is an interesting study of a good man gone wrong. It's a bit long for the story it tells though, and it's not because it details the historical events taking place - these are only mentioned in passing in conversations amongst the characters.

All those who have read any of the stunning series of nine linked novels about Bernard Samson and his friends, enemies and relatives - which begin with 'Berlin Game' and end with 'Spy Charity' - long to know more about the central characters and how they came to exist
'Winter' is the chance to find the answers to many tantalising questions. Whilst it is a splendid story in its own right - covering a German family's rise and fall from pre-war times of Zeppelins and long dresses to the fall of Nazism in 1945 - the story appeals primarily to those readers who have already some aquaintence with the main characters of the novel series.
This is not Deighton's most poetic book - too much to cover in so short a space - but it is still a good read of the 'family saga' genre.

Master spy novelist Len Deighton has created a chilling history of Germany from 1900 through 1945, told through the characters of an upper middle-class German family - the Winters. Deighton, with his knowledge of Germany and the German people, along with his meticulous research, brings his characters and history alive in "Winter: A Berlin Family."

Veronica Rensselaer Winter, a wealthy American heiress married to a patriotic and ambitious German, Harald Winter, gives birth to her second son Paul in Vienna in 1900. Paul and his older brother Peter are the novel's central characters in this complex family drama that gives chilling insight into the "normal," everyday men and women who made the horrors of Nazi Germany possible. Deighton creates an excellent backdrop for pre-World War I Germany, with the brothers' wonderful boyhood in Berlin. They suffer all the horrors of fighting in the Great War and both change considerably as a result. The war's aftermath brings political anarchy to the country, where money is so inflated it is worthless and jobs are almost nonexistent. Although poverty scarcely effects the wealthy Winter family, they are very aware of their fatherland's turmoil. Communists and Nazis battle for power and more people turn to Hitler as the answer to Germany's recovery from its humiliating defeat. Deighton paints a sinister picture of the rise of Nazism and WWII, as well as the Final Solution for the Jewish population of Europe. People like Pauli Winter, who becomes the quintessential Nazi bureaucrat, is portrayed superficially as a "nice Nazi." Underneath, he is just the type of murderer who helped make the deaths of countless millions possible. His brother Peter takes an entirely different route, but never fails in his loyalty and love for his younger brother.

This book is unusual for a novel about Nazi Germany. The author has created realistic characters and developed them well. The horrors of the Great War's effect on the German people are demonstrated clearly enough that it becomes obvious, if not acceptable, why they turned toward Hitler for relief and change. It is easy to care for both brothers, their family and friends, so that when Deighton's characters change their morality, for the sake of political expediency, some readers may justify (temporarily) their actions and many others will loathe those who went with the flow - or directed it. This novel is much more than a family history - it is a well-written and amazingly accurate history of Germany during the first half of the 20th century. Highly recommended!
JANA

If you can picture an episode of Dallas taking place in central Europe during the first half of the 20th century then you have "Winter-A Berlin Family 1899-1945" Deighton,who in the past has been somewhat longwinded,has produced a rollercoaster ride through the lives of an average family in far from average times. It is the story of two brothers who, for reasons beyond their control find themselves taking opposite paths in life.It is a myriad small stories of the friends and families of these brothers,and the effects of changing times and societies. Historically it is very informative incorporating figures from the Kaiser to Hitler himself. It is by no strech of the imagination a "war story".The fact that the majority of the novel is set in wartime is purely coincidental.It is a story of lives and loves set in a backdrop differing from the norm for such a yarn. Peter and Pauli Winter are characters so intriguing that their destiny is in doubt until the final pages This multi-faceted book will also act as a great introduction to Samson series and I would strongly recommend reading this before entering that longest of journies. For all these reasons this book is well worth a look.I can assure you that you will not be disappointed.

Deighton's work, "Winter" was a masterpiece about a German family from 1900-1945. Through their eyes we watch the chaotic and destructive era of 1914-1945. The two brothers, Peter and Pauli were allegorical of the German people themselves. Pauli as a young boy fights in the trenches of the Western Front, he is unready, but he goes anyway and gives his all. Peter flies dirigibles for the Kaiser's Navy. Both are horribly scarred by the war and this affects their postwar and WWII lives.

The backdrop of the Berlin that Peter and Pauli live in is very rich in detail. Deighton seems to have an excellent understanding of German history and culture. He gives us a whirlwind tour of the suffering in the postwar economy, taking us right into the '30s. Deighton gives a human face to the Gray ranks of the Germans of World War II. Speaking of which, we see the humanity of his characters, as none are black and white, all falling into shades of gray. I read this book months ago, and I still sometimes ponder on the great good and the great evil within Pauli. I do highly recommend this book. It is a great literary work.

It's hard to imagine that you could believe, much less sympathetically understand, how a seemingly normal person could get caught up in the craziness of the 3rd reich. Evil person, yes. Psychopathic person, yes. Cruel, inhuman person, of course. But the brilliance of this book is that is shows how an ordinary person did it. And if a normal German could do it, then so could anyone. Ultimately as scary a book as I have read.

I borrowed this book from my father who is an avid spy/mystery reader. This book caught my attention because I am an avid reader of non fiction and much of my reading has focused on the world wars and related subjects.
What I like about this book is the human face that Deighton puts upon the events of the period. He helps us to understand how nazism was a direct result of the men who spent years in the brutality of WWI. The book is chock full of little vignettes showing how the Nazis tried to maintain a veneer of legality to all their acts even through Hitler's first few years as Chancellor. The character Pauli proves the lynchpin of a number of such schemes and while he is a fiction it helps you to understand how perhaps though there were many people who were not fully committed Nazis they contributed to the advancement of the regime in a number of small ways. Combined, the acts of these people helped create the monstrous horror that most of us have come to know and loathe.

Deighton also does a masterful job of making outsiders to German culture understand that they were hardly a totally unified nation. Bavarians and Prussians often conflicted. Most Americans view Germans as relatively homegeneous and while I was aware of the differences Deighton rams the regional differences home.
On the down side most of the characters are somewhat cartoony or at least more fit for soap operas. Depending on your interest in the subject matter one may find the story intolerable. I find this era, particularly the interwar period, fascinating and so was able to forgive it. A great read if you are interested in the time and place.

"Winter" is one of the few novels of its genre that I found myself enjoying a second and third time round after a lapse of 2 or 3 years, for its excellent characters and authentic historical background.

As the editorial reviews indicate, the ending is a bit contrived, and I found it a bit unsatisfying, especially perhaps because I was so totally immersed in the story I expected more resolution for the long involved plot.

However, this is **not** a "spy thriller" as one might expect from the author, but a complex historical novel about life, family, culture and generational conflict from 1900 through WW2, and as such I feel should be judged more as literary art rather than by the mechanical framework a typical mystery or thriller novel that requires everything to be neatly tied up at the end.

One side consequence of my being completely immersed in the story's characters and milieu is that I nearly finished the book before tumbling to the fact that while a genuinely superb standalone novel, it is also sort of a backstory or prequel to Deighton's "Spy" series.

Since that series was one of my favorite "spy" stories, (or at least the first 3 or 4 books- before Deighton got blindsided by the fall of the Berlin Wall, etc., causing him to flail around for a few years trying establish a new "enemy", in which situation Deighton was not alone among "spy thriller" authors), I naturally felt like an idiot for not tumbling to the "prequel" bit sooner.

Almost finished.

Found unused "new" 1988 1 st issue hard back cleaning out shelves.

Glad I started reading it(is large book and a little intimidating). With the exception of a very few sections that had to bring you up on historial facts it goes faster than expected.

Wonderful insight of Germany from the 30's through 1945. A great story of a Berlin family pre-Hitler through the end of world war 2.

Characters include Rich and Poor Germans, Americans in Germany, Jews caught in the middle, and English / US events during the war. All built around the Winter family of Berlin.

Good reading and helps get a "feel" of what it was like for various people during some very intense time.

i hv read many len deighton's books ( mostly the samson series ), but i think " winter " so far is the best.

i wish i can find another book like this one which is written by another writer.

any suggestion readers? :)