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The Cameraman
Former cinema camera director Julius Sewell journeys across Europe with his family to his sister's wedding in Rome. But this will be an unusual road trip. For one thing, Julius has been in an institution and has only just been released to travel. And then there is his family. This is Easter 1934 and Julius' stepfather and mother are keen members of Oswald Mosley's new party, the British Union of Fascists. One of Julius' half-sisters is in studying in Munich, where she dreams of meeting meet her idol, Adolf Hitler. Another half-sister is a member of the British Communist Party, and is determined to wreck the approaching wedding, because the groom is a rising figure in Italy's Fascist regime.As the family motors south, to Paris, across Nazi Germany - taking in a bus tour to Dachau concentration camp - and through Mussolini's Italy to Rome, gathering relatives and a stray dog along the way, Julius' mental stability will be put sorely to the test, as will be the sanity of his relatives.
288 pages, Paperback
Published January 4, 2024
11 people are currently reading
198 people want to read
About the author
Matthew Kneale
20 books169 followersMatthew Kneale was born in London in 1960, read Modern History at Oxford University and on graduating in 1982, spent a year teaching English in Japan, where he began writing short stories.
Kneale is the son of writers Nigel Kneale and Judith Kerr, and the grandson of essayist and theatre critic Alfred Kerr.
Kneale is the son of writers Nigel Kneale and Judith Kerr, and the grandson of essayist and theatre critic Alfred Kerr.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
January 8, 2025
I always expect the unexpected when I read Matthew Kneale. His perspective on events always comes from an unusual angle and this book is no exception.
In 1934, Julius is collected by his mother and stepfather from the secure psychiatric hospital in mid-Wales where he has been living for some time. They are taking him by road to Rome for his sister’s wedding, collecting or meeting up with other siblings along the way. Julius has two guiding forces, the Protector (good) and the Other (bad), through which he negotiates his life. He asks the Protector questions about what will happen next and is always relieved when the responses prove correct. The Protector never lies. The Other is to be avoided as it is malevolent and works to thwart whatever Julius tries to do or, worse still, to cause him harm. It is never made clear what Julius’s mental health problems are, although we do learn something about the incident that led to him being held securely, but he certainly suffers from paranoia and very likely schizophrenia. His family, with the exception of his blood sister, Louisa, are wary of him as they can’t understand his sometimes bizarre behaviour. The irony is that Julius’s perception of the scenes they witness on their journey is so much more insightful than the blinkered one shared by his travelling companions.
The journey takes us through France, Germany, Austria and Italy at a time when Hitler and Mussolini are building their power bases. With the exception of one sister, Harriet (a Communist sympathiser), all of Julius’s family are members of Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists and his stepfather works to build relationships with fascist leaders on this journey. There are upsetting scenes, particularly a tour of Dachau which leads to Julius’s mission to expose Nazi propaganda for what it really is. There is also humour, however, as his family are all quite ridiculous and not too far removed from the Mitfords in terms of political divisions and mild eccentricity.
I read this short book (just over 200 pages) over a couple of days because I’m stuck inside due to heavy snow. That’s not a complaint at all as it was a real pleasure to spend all these hours reading such an entertaining book.
In 1934, Julius is collected by his mother and stepfather from the secure psychiatric hospital in mid-Wales where he has been living for some time. They are taking him by road to Rome for his sister’s wedding, collecting or meeting up with other siblings along the way. Julius has two guiding forces, the Protector (good) and the Other (bad), through which he negotiates his life. He asks the Protector questions about what will happen next and is always relieved when the responses prove correct. The Protector never lies. The Other is to be avoided as it is malevolent and works to thwart whatever Julius tries to do or, worse still, to cause him harm. It is never made clear what Julius’s mental health problems are, although we do learn something about the incident that led to him being held securely, but he certainly suffers from paranoia and very likely schizophrenia. His family, with the exception of his blood sister, Louisa, are wary of him as they can’t understand his sometimes bizarre behaviour. The irony is that Julius’s perception of the scenes they witness on their journey is so much more insightful than the blinkered one shared by his travelling companions.
The journey takes us through France, Germany, Austria and Italy at a time when Hitler and Mussolini are building their power bases. With the exception of one sister, Harriet (a Communist sympathiser), all of Julius’s family are members of Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists and his stepfather works to build relationships with fascist leaders on this journey. There are upsetting scenes, particularly a tour of Dachau which leads to Julius’s mission to expose Nazi propaganda for what it really is. There is also humour, however, as his family are all quite ridiculous and not too far removed from the Mitfords in terms of political divisions and mild eccentricity.
I read this short book (just over 200 pages) over a couple of days because I’m stuck inside due to heavy snow. That’s not a complaint at all as it was a real pleasure to spend all these hours reading such an entertaining book.
July 26, 2023
I LOVED this book. Such wonderful writing, original premise and full-bodied characters! What a smart way to convey how people become fascists, or how Fascism becomes possible.
Since I'm both a Jew and living in a country that's on its way to becoming a Fascist dictatorship, I was struck by the author's success in showing how banal racism and Fascism can be. Kneale did a fantastic job in showing how mediocre and pathetic people feel they can be raised by Fascism, and how it gives them the opportunity to feel victorious and superior for the first time in their little lives. From my experience, that's exactly how it happens. People who've been feeling downtrodden and underappreciated find comfort in racism and Fascism in a new way that no other way of life or point of view can give them. It's their only chance to shine and attain power.
And then there are those who have suffered, who are able to see through the facades and discover the true evil face of the disease. How terribly sad that my people, and many others as well, are now having to go through this again. How discouraging that we humans haven't yet found a cure or vaccine against this malignancy.
But don't for a moment think that this is an ideological book masked as a novel. It absolutely works as a novel, engaging and even suspenseful, and very enjoyable to read. I'm going to try and find more to read by this author.
Since I'm both a Jew and living in a country that's on its way to becoming a Fascist dictatorship, I was struck by the author's success in showing how banal racism and Fascism can be. Kneale did a fantastic job in showing how mediocre and pathetic people feel they can be raised by Fascism, and how it gives them the opportunity to feel victorious and superior for the first time in their little lives. From my experience, that's exactly how it happens. People who've been feeling downtrodden and underappreciated find comfort in racism and Fascism in a new way that no other way of life or point of view can give them. It's their only chance to shine and attain power.
And then there are those who have suffered, who are able to see through the facades and discover the true evil face of the disease. How terribly sad that my people, and many others as well, are now having to go through this again. How discouraging that we humans haven't yet found a cure or vaccine against this malignancy.
But don't for a moment think that this is an ideological book masked as a novel. It absolutely works as a novel, engaging and even suspenseful, and very enjoyable to read. I'm going to try and find more to read by this author.
February 9, 2024
3.5! This was one of the most different WWII books I have read. It followed a man with a mental illness (though they never said the diagnosis) on a road trip to his sister’s wedding. Throughout the book he talks about The Predictor and The Other who seem to be voices in his head, but would have liked more explanation. Though I liked the ending, I thought it wrapped up quickly.
June 9, 2023
The authors previous book, English Passengers, is one of my favourites so when I saw this one had been published I snapped it up expecting a similar level of enjoyment. While the writing is undoubtedly skilful and the concept clever, I did not find it to be ‘my cup of tea’. I never really ‘got into’ either the story or the characters and found myself hovering above the goings-on with no real interest in them.
June 6, 2023
Slightly odd book, I somehow thought it'd be more substantial. Or maybe I missed something?
August 1, 2023
Really peculiar with an ending that is baffling
May 6, 2023
I did enjoy this road trip that was fraught with mishap and misfortune almost from the start. Julius was a very credible titular character, struggling with his mental health but determined not to display any of the ‘silliness’ that got him confined to a nursing home. Trapped in the middle of the back seat of the car surrounded by his mother and step - family and on a secret mission to stop his sister’s marriage he maintains a dialogue with himself to determine the fate of events and keep himself on track. It is fascinating and completely believable. I liked the interactions between the family members, their petty squabbles and minor irritations and their attempts to hide their wariness of Julius’ mental state felt natural and honest. Julius tries to fit in but has to conceal his growing distaste for his step-father’s political stance together with a realisation that the world has changed since he has been away. At face value some of the scrapes they get into are quite amusing but there is a sense of an underlying and developing tension that most of the travellers seem completely unaware of which makes it a compelling read. The book is very readable, moving forward at a good pace and is difficult to put down. The writing is succinct and the ending is both fitting and satisfying. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy.
April 13, 2025
An interesting setting but I struggled with the interior voice and some cliched characters
July 22, 2024
4.5 rounded up. Very quick read in equal measures concentrating on the trivial squabbles of a family road trip, the black wave of fascism taking root in Europe in the 1930s and one man's precarious mental health. Eclectic, compassionate and stimulating.
July 31, 2024
4.5 stars. I really liked reading this. It was a work book club pick, and not a book I’d usually try. Set in the 1930s it describes the story of a family travelling across Europe to a wedding, with the central character, Julius, suffering a mental illness and just released from an asylum.
Through the story we’re exposed to the rise of Fascism, Naziism and even the early concentration camps. Through Julius, we’re given a microcosm of how the world’s views change about these things. His difficult relationship with his family, who cross the political spectrum, gives weight to this.
It’s a pretty difficult read at times, made all the more anxious with the writer giving Julius’s inner monologue, gradually showing an escalation of paranoia through his mental illness. It fits well with the tone of the book and the rising of the Axis powers in Europe.
My only slight criticism is the ending. I liked it, and it certainly suited the book, but it all ended a bit abruptly. A very fast crescendo at the end of a chapter and then suddenly an effective epilogue ten years later. A powerful read nonetheless.
Through the story we’re exposed to the rise of Fascism, Naziism and even the early concentration camps. Through Julius, we’re given a microcosm of how the world’s views change about these things. His difficult relationship with his family, who cross the political spectrum, gives weight to this.
It’s a pretty difficult read at times, made all the more anxious with the writer giving Julius’s inner monologue, gradually showing an escalation of paranoia through his mental illness. It fits well with the tone of the book and the rising of the Axis powers in Europe.
My only slight criticism is the ending. I liked it, and it certainly suited the book, but it all ended a bit abruptly. A very fast crescendo at the end of a chapter and then suddenly an effective epilogue ten years later. A powerful read nonetheless.
June 29, 2023
Pretty mid
October 6, 2024
Although there were a couple of amusing episodes, I found the constant 'thoughts' of Julius (printed in italics) to be wearying. I also thought a lot of the action was clichéd, unfunny. I didn't really care what happened. I managed to force myself through. 1.5 stars rounded up.
June 18, 2023
he’s just a lil film guy who’s not allowed to be silly and has to end fascism
January 20, 2024
An uninteresting family of fascist sympathisers in a lightweight and uninteresting book.
January 9, 2024
A car odyssey through 1930s EUROPE
The novel is set in the1930s, as Europe is edging towards war. Julius Sewell was a cameraman on the film Waltzing in Warsaw, but at some point he skewered himself in the stomach with a penknife – on purpose. This event led to his incarceration in a psychiatric facility in Wales, fully supported by his mother and stepfather.
Deemed fit to re-enter the world, he is scooped up by his family and required to join them on a car journey through Europe, down to Rome, where his sister Lou will be marrying a fascist sympathiser. He is entreated to save her from this doomed and ill-considered marriage. Once in the car, cheek by jowl with others (in fact forming a different sort of incarceration), he begins to understand that he is a lone voice amongst a party of paid-up members of the English BUF – Oswald Mosley’s lot – who all seem keen to head on a mission to Munich, where they hope to have a chance encounter with the man of the moment rising to prominence in Germany. And then on to Rome with the hope of meeting Mussolini.
A visit to learn about Dachau leaves a very bitter taste in Julius’ mouth but he discovers that he has been slipped a note which must get to the Manchester Guardian, presumably detailing the terrible conditions of the ‘Bolsheviks’ held in captivity in the camp (he can’t read the language, so is unsure of the content, but what he does know is that it is an urgent missive). He is determined to comply but events thwart him at every turn, as his fellow passengers plough through Austria, smuggling copies of the illegal National Socialist newspaper, the Völkischer Beobachter, then heading to Venice.
The story is told with interspersed italicised thoughts, forming the inner workings of Julius’ mind, which act as a running commentary on his adventures. He allows himself to be influenced by the Predictor, which ensures a positive outcome to anything he may wish to undertake. This is counterbalanced by the Other, which serves to inhibit a smooth end result.
This is a curious and engaging tale, told with wry humour, as these hapless but determined motorists, with a mission in mind, continue down through Europe to Rome. A dog runs into their car and dear old Maude mistakes the term pazzo for the dog’s name (it actually means mad in Italian and his owner was gesticulating, using pazzo as an expletive). The dog joins them as they head for Venice and then, finally, Rome, where Julius is on the quest to deter his sister from marrying the dreaded Mussolini acolyte. As the journey progresses, we see how earnest his endeavours are to do the right thing, but invariably he still cannot fully read societal mores and therefore can come across as quite awkward.
A rounding off of the story in a shortish chapter brings the book to a slightly juddering end – a whole story in itself is shovelled into the final chapter comprising 11 pages – but overall this novel has a nice pace and I enjoyed it.
The novel is set in the1930s, as Europe is edging towards war. Julius Sewell was a cameraman on the film Waltzing in Warsaw, but at some point he skewered himself in the stomach with a penknife – on purpose. This event led to his incarceration in a psychiatric facility in Wales, fully supported by his mother and stepfather.
Deemed fit to re-enter the world, he is scooped up by his family and required to join them on a car journey through Europe, down to Rome, where his sister Lou will be marrying a fascist sympathiser. He is entreated to save her from this doomed and ill-considered marriage. Once in the car, cheek by jowl with others (in fact forming a different sort of incarceration), he begins to understand that he is a lone voice amongst a party of paid-up members of the English BUF – Oswald Mosley’s lot – who all seem keen to head on a mission to Munich, where they hope to have a chance encounter with the man of the moment rising to prominence in Germany. And then on to Rome with the hope of meeting Mussolini.
A visit to learn about Dachau leaves a very bitter taste in Julius’ mouth but he discovers that he has been slipped a note which must get to the Manchester Guardian, presumably detailing the terrible conditions of the ‘Bolsheviks’ held in captivity in the camp (he can’t read the language, so is unsure of the content, but what he does know is that it is an urgent missive). He is determined to comply but events thwart him at every turn, as his fellow passengers plough through Austria, smuggling copies of the illegal National Socialist newspaper, the Völkischer Beobachter, then heading to Venice.
The story is told with interspersed italicised thoughts, forming the inner workings of Julius’ mind, which act as a running commentary on his adventures. He allows himself to be influenced by the Predictor, which ensures a positive outcome to anything he may wish to undertake. This is counterbalanced by the Other, which serves to inhibit a smooth end result.
This is a curious and engaging tale, told with wry humour, as these hapless but determined motorists, with a mission in mind, continue down through Europe to Rome. A dog runs into their car and dear old Maude mistakes the term pazzo for the dog’s name (it actually means mad in Italian and his owner was gesticulating, using pazzo as an expletive). The dog joins them as they head for Venice and then, finally, Rome, where Julius is on the quest to deter his sister from marrying the dreaded Mussolini acolyte. As the journey progresses, we see how earnest his endeavours are to do the right thing, but invariably he still cannot fully read societal mores and therefore can come across as quite awkward.
A rounding off of the story in a shortish chapter brings the book to a slightly juddering end – a whole story in itself is shovelled into the final chapter comprising 11 pages – but overall this novel has a nice pace and I enjoyed it.
August 2, 2024
It is 1935ish Europe and Julius, a former film cameraman, has been sprung from a mental hospital by his mother and stepfather (reluctantly on their part) so that he can join them and his siblings at his sister's wedding to an Italian fascist in Rome. His family is in reduced circumstances which may be why his mother and stepfather have aligned themselves in their aggrievedness to the British fascist party. Their biological son loves dressing up in fascist and Hitler regalia. Another sister is married and both she and her husband are avowed Communists.
Disclosure: I listened to this rather than read it which I suspect changed the tone of the book quite a bit. I'm eager to speak with someone who read it. Listening to the exaggerated accents made so many of the characters buffoon-like. Not sure if this was the intention.
In any case, it is quite an odd "road" book. There are too many people and suitcases piled into the car. Julius' stepfather is a terrible driver so they have one automotive mishap after another, thereby acquiring a small dog they nearly killed. From time to time they see people being rounded up but assume they must have done something to deserve it. Only Julius, who'd been rounded up himself, has doubts.
They even make a stop at Dachau to see a "model" work camp at which point an inmate "bumps" into Julius and stuffs a packet of papers into his pocket. It is in German but Harriet, his sister, translates it and tells him it is an expose of the camp meant to be sent to the Manchester newspaper. The rest of the book is Juius' quest to get the pages into the right hands. Meanwhile his mental state continues to deteriorate.
Perhaps the zaniness of the road trip is essential to blunt the horrors of what we know is actually happening. The scene with the Italian fascist's family is very chilling. An aging countess tells Julius that people in old countries know they have to do what they have to do to save their families.
The ending is fantastical. An odd book indeed.
Disclosure: I listened to this rather than read it which I suspect changed the tone of the book quite a bit. I'm eager to speak with someone who read it. Listening to the exaggerated accents made so many of the characters buffoon-like. Not sure if this was the intention.
In any case, it is quite an odd "road" book. There are too many people and suitcases piled into the car. Julius' stepfather is a terrible driver so they have one automotive mishap after another, thereby acquiring a small dog they nearly killed. From time to time they see people being rounded up but assume they must have done something to deserve it. Only Julius, who'd been rounded up himself, has doubts.
They even make a stop at Dachau to see a "model" work camp at which point an inmate "bumps" into Julius and stuffs a packet of papers into his pocket. It is in German but Harriet, his sister, translates it and tells him it is an expose of the camp meant to be sent to the Manchester newspaper. The rest of the book is Juius' quest to get the pages into the right hands. Meanwhile his mental state continues to deteriorate.
Perhaps the zaniness of the road trip is essential to blunt the horrors of what we know is actually happening. The scene with the Italian fascist's family is very chilling. An aging countess tells Julius that people in old countries know they have to do what they have to do to save their families.
The ending is fantastical. An odd book indeed.
June 22, 2023
Julius Sewell, former cinematographer, is released from a mental institution in order to journey across Europe with his family to attend his sister's wedding in Rome. It is 1934, and the shadow of fascism lingers far across the continent. One of Julius's half-sisters is a Communist, the other yearns to have afternoon tea with Adolf Hitler. And his mother and step-father are enthusiastic members of Oswald Mosley's new party, the British Union of Fascists. This will be one road trip to remember...
I picked up this novel on a total whim, drawn by the attractive cover art. I'm really glad I did. It's a strange novel, populated with unusual characters, and at times laugh out loud funny. Julius is wholly endearing. His mental fragility and rebellious nature reminded me of an unruly child. His relationship with his various family members felt realistic, and his step-father Claude - a grotesque and unpleasant man - seemed depressingly familiar to anyone with a passing knowledge of what was happening in pre-war Britain.
I enjoyed the road-trip aspect of the story. We follow the family's journey from the UK, through France and Germany, and so on to Italy. There are arguments and mishaps along the way and the whole thing is wrapped up with a satisfying epilogue set a decade after the events in the novel, as World War II is reaching its end.
Recommended to those who like light historical literary fiction.
I picked up this novel on a total whim, drawn by the attractive cover art. I'm really glad I did. It's a strange novel, populated with unusual characters, and at times laugh out loud funny. Julius is wholly endearing. His mental fragility and rebellious nature reminded me of an unruly child. His relationship with his various family members felt realistic, and his step-father Claude - a grotesque and unpleasant man - seemed depressingly familiar to anyone with a passing knowledge of what was happening in pre-war Britain.
I enjoyed the road-trip aspect of the story. We follow the family's journey from the UK, through France and Germany, and so on to Italy. There are arguments and mishaps along the way and the whole thing is wrapped up with a satisfying epilogue set a decade after the events in the novel, as World War II is reaching its end.
Recommended to those who like light historical literary fiction.
January 27, 2025
I found this book strange as it was both amusing and chilling in places. The narrator was very intriguing as he struggled with his mental health throughout the action of the story. He is a liberal liberated from an institution quite suddenly to travel to a family wedding with a family of fascists and it is a really interesting novel as they travel through Europe seeing the encroachment of the fascists in the cities they pass through and even a leisure trip to a camp. Julius is seeing scenes of discord and wanting to not believe what he is seeing is as bad as it suggests and searching for reassurance from an entity he calls the Predictor.
The end of the book feels quite sudden - a breakdown then to several years later at the very end of the war. It feels a strange jump and I was quite interested in what advances they had in the 30s that could save Julius from a breakdown and into almost a different person in the post-war scene at the end.
I think the growing rise of the Nazis and fascism across Europe is a very interesting piece of history, perhaps even more so than the war which has been so well explored across all media; this era feels rather timely for the current political climate. The fractured voice of Julius is a really interesting way to explore this time period and made for quite an interesting read, even if the end felt quite odd.
The end of the book feels quite sudden - a breakdown then to several years later at the very end of the war. It feels a strange jump and I was quite interested in what advances they had in the 30s that could save Julius from a breakdown and into almost a different person in the post-war scene at the end.
I think the growing rise of the Nazis and fascism across Europe is a very interesting piece of history, perhaps even more so than the war which has been so well explored across all media; this era feels rather timely for the current political climate. The fractured voice of Julius is a really interesting way to explore this time period and made for quite an interesting read, even if the end felt quite odd.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 28, 2025
Strong 3.5 for The Cameraman.
The premise is wonderful in and of itself, a disjointed family hopping for a road trip across Europe in the 1930s as fascism is in full swing and on the rise. I really enjoyed how the book portrayed this rise - or rather slip into - fascism across Europe and how that feeling was bubbling. It provided commentary on such rise in Britain, Germany and Italy all with nuance and expertly detailed how it happened through the eyes of ‘common folk’.
I thought the commentary of Juluis was exceptional in this regard. Everyone else is oblivious to what is actually happening - blinded by their own self interest - whilst Juluis, the one who others regard as the unreliable mentally ill loner, is the one who gets it and understands the dangers around the corner. He was such an endearing character in the way he saw to the heart of people and issues, all whilst battling his own challenges.
Those commentaries were brilliant. There was a part of me wanting more, as others have noted, the ending was abrupt even though it felt in line with the book’s direction. I think that sudden turn prevented the book from reaching the emotional heights that it had the potential to reach.
The premise is wonderful in and of itself, a disjointed family hopping for a road trip across Europe in the 1930s as fascism is in full swing and on the rise. I really enjoyed how the book portrayed this rise - or rather slip into - fascism across Europe and how that feeling was bubbling. It provided commentary on such rise in Britain, Germany and Italy all with nuance and expertly detailed how it happened through the eyes of ‘common folk’.
I thought the commentary of Juluis was exceptional in this regard. Everyone else is oblivious to what is actually happening - blinded by their own self interest - whilst Juluis, the one who others regard as the unreliable mentally ill loner, is the one who gets it and understands the dangers around the corner. He was such an endearing character in the way he saw to the heart of people and issues, all whilst battling his own challenges.
Those commentaries were brilliant. There was a part of me wanting more, as others have noted, the ending was abrupt even though it felt in line with the book’s direction. I think that sudden turn prevented the book from reaching the emotional heights that it had the potential to reach.
July 24, 2023
It took me a while to get into this book - but am glad I persevered. It’s a mix of a lighthearted farcical family holiday, a much darker look at the forces at play across Europe, and the steady decline of one man’s mental health.
I found Julius to be somewhat annoying at first, not really understanding the motivations behind his somewhat odd actions. And then as I read on, I realised that’s the whole point. The author excellently portrayed how someone could slip little by little into madness, that seems harmless at first.
The family characters were charmingly awful, and the way different political issues were portrayed in how they affected day to day lives was woven in wonderfully.
An odd book, but definitely worth a read.
I found Julius to be somewhat annoying at first, not really understanding the motivations behind his somewhat odd actions. And then as I read on, I realised that’s the whole point. The author excellently portrayed how someone could slip little by little into madness, that seems harmless at first.
The family characters were charmingly awful, and the way different political issues were portrayed in how they affected day to day lives was woven in wonderfully.
An odd book, but definitely worth a read.
February 13, 2025
On one level Kneale has used this story of a family's trip through Europe in 1934 to examine the banality of evil. All but one of the family members enthusiastically embrace fascism and antisemitism and then, seemingly without a twinge of conscience, later abandon that political standpoint when it becomes clear that the fascists are going to be defeated. In effect, they believe only in their own benefit. Kneale has intriguingly structured his narrative so that the gradual descent into insanity of the main character (who has just been released from an asylum) is mirrored by the outside world's descent into the worse insanity of fascism. Not a cheerful read - - the protagonist's family are truly unbearable - - but a well-done one.
April 1, 2025
I thought this was vastly inferior to 'English Passengers' which I thoroughly enjoyed, and felt like it was written by a completely different author. I personally felt the writing style was very lightweight, very cliched, almost child-like in its depiction / description of people and places, and the book generally disappointing and a bit of a mess. It felt like Kneale had written this on autopilot to fulfil a book-deal obligation, based on a loose concept that was floating around in his head, but never fully realised. If you enjoyed 'English Passengers', as I did, then I urge you to give this the widest of wide berths.
September 24, 2023
The 1930s and Julius has been released from a mental institution to attend his sister's wedding. The family travels to the wedding via France and Germany to Italy. Readers see the world through Julius' eyes, which is interesting because sometimes he sees more clearly than other and other times his mental issues cloud his judgement. Although not my favorite of Kneale's work, the wisdom offered in the last paragraph of the novel deserves five stars.
January 24, 2024
The book was very well written, easy to read, and I really enjoyed it. I wish I got more from it though. It did a really great job of plunging you into a world of fascism and how ridiculous that world is. But at the same time I was waiting for a twist or a big event to happen that never came.
I feel like the book got cut short, but the ride was captivating.
I would recommend to someone who likes to read a lot, it’s a simple read and was very fun despite the ending.
I feel like the book got cut short, but the ride was captivating.
I would recommend to someone who likes to read a lot, it’s a simple read and was very fun despite the ending.
June 19, 2024
A German concentration camp prisoner gives a letter to a movie cameraperson in the mid-1930s. The prisoner wants the letter published in the Manchester Guardian to expose the horror of the Nazi concentration camps. The cameraperson, Julius, has been in a hospital for the mentally ill but his incarceration has more to do with his stepfather wanting him out of the way.
This literary novel has excellent characterisation and description of Germany and Italy in the mid-1930s.
This literary novel has excellent characterisation and description of Germany and Italy in the mid-1930s.
September 23, 2025
I added this to my reading list thanks to a list in the Sunday Times which had it down as one of the best books from 2023. So, it's disappointing to close it, feeling rather underwhelmed. I feel its odd story, part portrait of a sort of anxiety condition, part travelogue through fascist 1934 Europe, part farcical collection of driving mishaps, family arguments and stray dogs, didn't add up to a cohesive statement. So, yes, it was ok. But not more.
May 14, 2023
Entertaining satire on the state of politics in England in 1934 through an English family displaying both extremes of the spectrum facism and communism. While its style is light-hearted, beneath lurks some dark truths many of which are still with us today.
Today's equivalent journey would be made with a family of Brexiters crossing a Europe they're at odds with seeking out populist right-wing organisations in the various countries they travel through - they are still there. And I'm sure the author is only too aware of the parallels with the current political climate today and 1934. Funny but chilling.
Also this is another book with an adorable dog of good sense and impeccable taste in people.
Today's equivalent journey would be made with a family of Brexiters crossing a Europe they're at odds with seeking out populist right-wing organisations in the various countries they travel through - they are still there. And I'm sure the author is only too aware of the parallels with the current political climate today and 1934. Funny but chilling.
Also this is another book with an adorable dog of good sense and impeccable taste in people.
October 19, 2023
A great middle-class liberal view of fascism from a British 1930s perspective in which The Terror sneaks up on our main characters until they realize it is too late. This book conjures images of deserted European city streets where all that can be heard is the sudden rattle of a machine gun and the slow, incomprehensible ramble of approaching tanks.
August 30, 2024
I really enjoyed English Passengers, Kneale’s superb Whitbread Book of the Year - but this is much lighter, disappointing fare.
The eye catching front cover apart, the story never really amounts to much when so much could have been made of the dire predicament its characters find themselves caught up in.
Kneale’s books seem to be about travel but here it’s the narrative’s undoing.
The eye catching front cover apart, the story never really amounts to much when so much could have been made of the dire predicament its characters find themselves caught up in.
Kneale’s books seem to be about travel but here it’s the narrative’s undoing.
January 22, 2024
“The Cameraman” by Matthew Kneale tells the story of a family trip through Europe right before WWII. This is both light-hearted and dark, and I found it to be fascinating – 5 stars!
My full review: https://whatrebeccasread.wordpress.co...
My full review: https://whatrebeccasread.wordpress.co...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews