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Love and War Series #6
My Brother the Enemy
Fear on the streets. Death on every corner. But the real enemy is the brother at his side.
For fans of Sebastian Faulks, William Boyd and Helen Dunmore, comes a short historical novella on a large canvas from the founder of History In An Hour.
"My Brother the Enemy" is a story of jealousy, sibling rivalry and betrayal against a backdrop of Soviet oppression, violence and a desperate bid for freedom.
Hungarian twins, Lukacs and Janos, and their parents have survived the war and the Nazis.
But in 1949, aged 13, they find themselves victim of Hungary’s Soviet masters and exiled into a forgotten village. Ostracised and persecuted for being Jewish, the twins fall prey to the whims of their violent father. Janos’s love for his brother is slowly eroded as Lukacs proves himself to be ruthless and manipulative. When Monika comes into their young lives, their mutual jealousies heighten and threaten to tear them apart.
1956 – Hungary is in the grip of revolution, rebelling against Soviet oppression. As the Soviet tanks roll in to crush the uprising, Lukacs and Janos find themselves in Budapest at the epicentre of events. Amid the violence and death that descends over the city, the twins’ seething bitterness and their shared love for Monika finally explodes with devastating consequences.
“A good, fast, page-turning read and I cared about the characters and wanted to know what happened to them.”
“Fraternal jealousies and rivalries are searingly drawn.”
Rupert Colley is the founder, editor and writer of the highly successful "History In An Hour" series of ebooks and audio, published by HarperCollins.
"My Brother the Enemy" is his first novel.
For fans of Sebastian Faulks, William Boyd and Helen Dunmore, comes a short historical novella on a large canvas from the founder of History In An Hour.
"My Brother the Enemy" is a story of jealousy, sibling rivalry and betrayal against a backdrop of Soviet oppression, violence and a desperate bid for freedom.
Hungarian twins, Lukacs and Janos, and their parents have survived the war and the Nazis.
But in 1949, aged 13, they find themselves victim of Hungary’s Soviet masters and exiled into a forgotten village. Ostracised and persecuted for being Jewish, the twins fall prey to the whims of their violent father. Janos’s love for his brother is slowly eroded as Lukacs proves himself to be ruthless and manipulative. When Monika comes into their young lives, their mutual jealousies heighten and threaten to tear them apart.
1956 – Hungary is in the grip of revolution, rebelling against Soviet oppression. As the Soviet tanks roll in to crush the uprising, Lukacs and Janos find themselves in Budapest at the epicentre of events. Amid the violence and death that descends over the city, the twins’ seething bitterness and their shared love for Monika finally explodes with devastating consequences.
“A good, fast, page-turning read and I cared about the characters and wanted to know what happened to them.”
“Fraternal jealousies and rivalries are searingly drawn.”
Rupert Colley is the founder, editor and writer of the highly successful "History In An Hour" series of ebooks and audio, published by HarperCollins.
"My Brother the Enemy" is his first novel.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
100 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 8, 2013
65 people are currently reading
121 people want to read
About the author
Rupert Colley
32 books131 followersFounder, writer and Series Editor of History In An Hour (http://historyinanhour.com), owned by HarperCollins UK, and now author of two novels.
The first, "My Brother the Enemy", a novella, is set during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.
The second, "This Time Tomorrow", set during and following World War One, is a compelling story of war, brotherly love, passion and betrayal.
My third novel, "The Black Maria", is set in Moscow in 1935, the height of Stalin's reign, about love crushed by the machine.
The first, "My Brother the Enemy", a novella, is set during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.
The second, "This Time Tomorrow", set during and following World War One, is a compelling story of war, brotherly love, passion and betrayal.
My third novel, "The Black Maria", is set in Moscow in 1935, the height of Stalin's reign, about love crushed by the machine.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 22, 2013
Turbulent historical setting? Check. Vivid descriptions? Check. Realistic and likeable central character? Check. Page-turning excitement? Check. Heart-stopping denouement? Check. Passion, heroism, betrayal? Check, check, and check.
It all adds up: My Brother the Enemy is an excellent work of historical fiction from Rupert Colley (his first written, my second read), this one set in Hungary, beginning a few years post-WWII and moving through the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. The book follows a set of Jewish twins, Janos and Lukacs, who have managed to escape from the Nazis during the war only to be forced afterwards by the communists to relocate to an impoverished little village where they attend a state-run school and watch their once-prosperous father drink himself into oblivion and inebriated rages. A few years later they manage to attend university in Budapest where they take an active role in the revolution.
Janos and Lukacs may be identical twins but their strikingly different personalities and love for the same woman create the book's central tension and keeps those pages turning throughout the novel's vivid historical settings. However, just occasionally, the verisimilitude of those settings cracks when Colley lets slip a Britishism or two. Words and phrases such as "buggered" "sod off" "bloody liar" " the f-ing lot of them" "things were a-changing" (OK, that last one is as American as Bob Dylan), might have been replaced by more generic terms or even possibly Hungarian words with translations somehow neatly tucked nearby.
But this is just an occasional issue. For 99 percent of My Brother the Enemy I nearly believed I was closely observing the conflicted lives of two brothers as they experience the dreary oppression of post-war communist Hungary and the heady thrill of its mid-century revolution.
It all adds up: My Brother the Enemy is an excellent work of historical fiction from Rupert Colley (his first written, my second read), this one set in Hungary, beginning a few years post-WWII and moving through the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. The book follows a set of Jewish twins, Janos and Lukacs, who have managed to escape from the Nazis during the war only to be forced afterwards by the communists to relocate to an impoverished little village where they attend a state-run school and watch their once-prosperous father drink himself into oblivion and inebriated rages. A few years later they manage to attend university in Budapest where they take an active role in the revolution.
Janos and Lukacs may be identical twins but their strikingly different personalities and love for the same woman create the book's central tension and keeps those pages turning throughout the novel's vivid historical settings. However, just occasionally, the verisimilitude of those settings cracks when Colley lets slip a Britishism or two. Words and phrases such as "buggered" "sod off" "bloody liar" " the f-ing lot of them" "things were a-changing" (OK, that last one is as American as Bob Dylan), might have been replaced by more generic terms or even possibly Hungarian words with translations somehow neatly tucked nearby.
But this is just an occasional issue. For 99 percent of My Brother the Enemy I nearly believed I was closely observing the conflicted lives of two brothers as they experience the dreary oppression of post-war communist Hungary and the heady thrill of its mid-century revolution.
November 10, 2020
Ok. I’m loving the story telling but not the ending in this book and others in the series. This author really captivates me with his style. Unfortunately, part of his style seems to be endings that leave the reader hanging. These cliffhanger endings made me initially think these books were an actual series, ie, continuing story. They’re stand alone. I’m still reading his books because the story value out weighs the endings.
July 17, 2017
I much preferred this to Colley's "history in an hour" book (ww1) and really got into the story of the two brothers growing up persecuted and their rivalry over love and education etc. The descriptive copy was great and I could visalise myself in the moment with them. I wasn't sure what to make of the ending, but I did enjoy this and I'd read more like this from this author.
February 16, 2021
Great Author
Have enjoyed all her books I’ve read. So glad she is writing again and glad her health is better. Will recommend her to numerous friends who read a lot and I’m sure will enjoy as much as I have
Have enjoyed all her books I’ve read. So glad she is writing again and glad her health is better. Will recommend her to numerous friends who read a lot and I’m sure will enjoy as much as I have
November 24, 2020
I’m so confused. The book I read was about twin brothers in Nazi Germany not Hungary. But I must agree that I live Mr. Colley’s characters and writing styles, his endings are never anticipated
April 29, 2013
“The sky was grey as lead. With cold fingers wrapped round their rifles, the twins sheltered behind a burnt-out Soviet tank at the edge of the square, Monika crouched between them. Janos surveyed the scene – the city square a jungle of wreckage: fields of broken glass, torn up paving stones, trailing cables, uprooted tramlines. Among the chaos, the occasional corpse – Russian or Hungarian, their bodies twisted and grotesque. Monika, her face lined with dirt, looked at him. Janos tried to smile and found himself turning away.”
So opens 'My Brother the Enemy', a short historical novella set in 1950s Soviet-occupied Hungary. It describes the carnage witnessed by twenty-year-old twin brothers, Janos and Lukacs, and their childhood friend, Monika, as the people of Hungary revolt against the oppression of Soviet rule. How did these young people get here? What atrocities have they witnessed along the way? And what horrors lie in store?
With a narrative which skips deftly back and forth in time, 'My Brother the Enemy' follows Lukacs and Janos - fraternal twins who are physically identical yet poles apart in temperament and personality - as they struggle to find their way in a cruel and unforgiving world which is characterized by violence, poverty, prejudice and injustice. It is also a story of sibling rivalry, seething jealousies, divided loyalties, human frailty and remarkable bravery.
This is a superbly written and acutely observed book, with well-rounded characters and convincing dialogue, while the tension and pace are perfectly judged. At around 100 pages, this story is a short one - but for all its brevity, it certainly packs a considerable punch.
'My Brother the Enemy' is Rupert Colley’s first fictional outing, having already written ten non-fiction titles for his highly successful 'History In An Hour' series, which is now published by HarperCollins. If this first offering is anything to go by, we can expect some very good things from this author in the future.
So opens 'My Brother the Enemy', a short historical novella set in 1950s Soviet-occupied Hungary. It describes the carnage witnessed by twenty-year-old twin brothers, Janos and Lukacs, and their childhood friend, Monika, as the people of Hungary revolt against the oppression of Soviet rule. How did these young people get here? What atrocities have they witnessed along the way? And what horrors lie in store?
With a narrative which skips deftly back and forth in time, 'My Brother the Enemy' follows Lukacs and Janos - fraternal twins who are physically identical yet poles apart in temperament and personality - as they struggle to find their way in a cruel and unforgiving world which is characterized by violence, poverty, prejudice and injustice. It is also a story of sibling rivalry, seething jealousies, divided loyalties, human frailty and remarkable bravery.
This is a superbly written and acutely observed book, with well-rounded characters and convincing dialogue, while the tension and pace are perfectly judged. At around 100 pages, this story is a short one - but for all its brevity, it certainly packs a considerable punch.
'My Brother the Enemy' is Rupert Colley’s first fictional outing, having already written ten non-fiction titles for his highly successful 'History In An Hour' series, which is now published by HarperCollins. If this first offering is anything to go by, we can expect some very good things from this author in the future.
September 3, 2013
Set in Hungary after Facism was replaced by the Soviet Communism, the fates of twins Janos and Lukacs and their love for the same woman come to a head during the Hungarian Revolution in 1958. This is a fairly short novel but the characters are fully dimensional, and the old plot device of good twin/bad twin comes alive and anew without over-sentimentalization.
This could be a great book, I believe, if the author had given us a more visual sense of place, especially of Budapest where much of the book takes place. The old architecture of the glorious city by the Danube is its own magnificent argument that any regime that represses the human spirit and crushes individualism is evil. Various locations in Budapest are mentioned, but if the reader is unaware of how they look, one has no idea what a grand stage this story is enacted upon and what a black aberration a line of army tanks crossing the Chain Bridge past the proud stone lions would have been.
This could be a great book, I believe, if the author had given us a more visual sense of place, especially of Budapest where much of the book takes place. The old architecture of the glorious city by the Danube is its own magnificent argument that any regime that represses the human spirit and crushes individualism is evil. Various locations in Budapest are mentioned, but if the reader is unaware of how they look, one has no idea what a grand stage this story is enacted upon and what a black aberration a line of army tanks crossing the Chain Bridge past the proud stone lions would have been.
April 17, 2013
This is a fantastic first novel from an already established and excellent non-fiction, history author. It is set in 1950's Hungary and succinctly brings the horror of Soviet communism to life.
Knowing little of this period and (rather shamefully) not too much about the Soviet occupation of Hungary I found this bite-size novella the perfect introduction. The characters were fully formed and utterly believable, I cared about them which really engaged me with this historical period. The amount of detailed description and the pace of the unfolding plot were, in my opinion, perfectly balanced.
Perversely, having just stated I enjoyed the 'bite-sized' aspect of this book, I found myself wanting more, wanting the story to continue. I believe, at the end of this tale, the characters were embarking on a brand new adventure and I wanted to go with them and find out what they would do next!
Knowing little of this period and (rather shamefully) not too much about the Soviet occupation of Hungary I found this bite-size novella the perfect introduction. The characters were fully formed and utterly believable, I cared about them which really engaged me with this historical period. The amount of detailed description and the pace of the unfolding plot were, in my opinion, perfectly balanced.
Perversely, having just stated I enjoyed the 'bite-sized' aspect of this book, I found myself wanting more, wanting the story to continue. I believe, at the end of this tale, the characters were embarking on a brand new adventure and I wanted to go with them and find out what they would do next!
September 1, 2014
Colley's 'My Brother the Enemy' is a tale of sibling rivalry in a hard time of oppression, violence and a war of Independence in the Sovient Union. Twins, Lukacs and Janos, are friends and competetors until they are locked against each each other over the beautiful Monika. This tale is a journey of settling thier lives and wishes when being so similar, they want the same as well.
Colley weaves a unusual story of sibling rivalry against a war back drop. While the events flow quite naturally in the story, I was let down by the pace and description of the events. There appeared a lack in the flare of story telling, which is the only flaw with this read. However, if your imagination can run on Colley's words, the story is worth a read.
Colley weaves a unusual story of sibling rivalry against a war back drop. While the events flow quite naturally in the story, I was let down by the pace and description of the events. There appeared a lack in the flare of story telling, which is the only flaw with this read. However, if your imagination can run on Colley's words, the story is worth a read.
September 8, 2013
Great look into Hungary's history through the eyes of two boys punished for what past generations had done. This method covered the emotions, as well as the national events in clear and well written prose.
At times the boy's came off as two dimensional, but at others this manifested itself as shock, horror, fear and even a bit of PTSD as they became entangled in the battling with the girl they both loved.
At times the boy's came off as two dimensional, but at others this manifested itself as shock, horror, fear and even a bit of PTSD as they became entangled in the battling with the girl they both loved.
February 22, 2014
It's rare to find a book based in Hungary during the period just before and during the 1956 Uprising.
The descriptions of life under Stalinist rule show just how the lid of the pressure cooker blew off in 1956 and tally with contemporary accounts I have read.
I did however, find the characters somewhat predictable but being only 100 pages it's difficult to expand a character that much.
All in all worth a read if just for a bite sized view of Hungary in the 1950s.
The descriptions of life under Stalinist rule show just how the lid of the pressure cooker blew off in 1956 and tally with contemporary accounts I have read.
I did however, find the characters somewhat predictable but being only 100 pages it's difficult to expand a character that much.
All in all worth a read if just for a bite sized view of Hungary in the 1950s.
May 7, 2014
Did not really like it. It was mostly the relationship between brothers not much of a story/problem
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews