Red Army Faction Blues

by Ada Wilson

Welcome to West Berlin, 1967. Undercover agent Peter Urbach is tasked with infiltrating a group of radical students whose anti-consumerist message is not without propaganda value on both sides of the Wall. Soon, high-minded political activism will move to the terrorism of the Red Army Faction. In 1989, the Wall is coming down and Urbach is breaking cover to track down Peter Green, the genius behind British blues rock band Fleetwood Mac. There's unfinished business to resolve after their chance encounter twenty years earlier at a party in Germany. What exactly did Peter Green walk into that day? ""[An] intriguing period thriller. . . Resonances with the Occupy Wall Street Movement make this novel's themes timely.""-Publishers Weekly

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Music

254 pages, Paperback

First published January 2, 2012

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

At some point early into this book, I googled Rainer Langhans, and from then on it was read-google-read some more. This is a fascinating account of West Germany in 1967 just as the student protests are impatiently moving beyond protest to resistance. The second half of the book is largely set in 1989 around the time of the dismantling of the Berlin Wall, and revolves around Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green. (I found myself watching the entire BBC documentary The Peter Green Story-Man of the World on YouTube during the reading of the novel). The entire book is about communication, commercialism, and how change does and doesn't happen.

With all these various interruptions, it took a while to read, but was well worth the effort. Fascinating.

[Steven Davies-morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very dark and dense piece of historical fiction. Clever use of real people to colour the tale. Student riots. Government agent provocateurs. Tension in West Berlin. Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac. All combine into a first rate story.

[El Sh'Booms · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting as a reasonable thumbnail sketch of post-war German far left groups in the '60s intertwined with a decent portrait of Peter Green and this lesser known era of Fleetwood Mac and the should-be-more-famous tale of how the two collided one night.

[Chlo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was pretty enjoyable but I did find it a little hard to follow at times. Lot of history I didn’t even know existed, it piqued my interest enough to explore further

[Karol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe the coolest thing about this book to me is that it's historical fiction that doesn't pull its punches or hold your hand - you're thrown into the middle of a messy, confusing, fraught period with a bit of context, but it hits the ground running. The 1960s student protest movements in West Germany (and their evolution into armed resistance) are also simply a fascinating topic.

[Pace · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent use of real life people and events intertwined in this story. You will simultaneously search for these characters and events on the internet. It left me wanting more though. Felt it didn't end correctly. What do I know?

[Kieran · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating story, set in West Germany, as the utopian dreams of the Sixties are starting to fade, and the German Autumn is lurking over the horizon.

What's even more fascinating: the events, and many characters are real. Definitely an area of history I'll be returning to.