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The Good German
In November 1939, a German anti-fascist named Georg Elser came as close to assassinating Adolf Hitler as anyone ever had. In this gripping novel of alternate history, he doesn’t just come close—he succeeds. But he could never have imagined the terrible consequences that would follow from this act of heroism.
Hermann Göring, masterful strategist, assumes the Chancellery and quickly signs a non-aggression treaty with the isolationist president Joseph Kennedy that will keep America out of the war that is about to engulf Europe. Göring rushes the German scientific community into developing the atomic bomb, and in August 1944, this devastating new weapon is tested on the English capital.
London lies in ruins. The war is over, fascism prevails in Europe, and Canada, the Commonwealth holdout in the Americas, suffers on as a client state of the Soviet Union. Georg Elser, blinded in the A-bombing of London, is shipped to Canada and quarantined in a hospice near Toronto called Mercy House. Here we meet William Teufel, a German-Canadian boy who in the summer of 1960 devises a plan that he hopes will distance himself from his German heritage and, unwittingly, brings him face to face with the man whose astonishing act of heroism twenty-one years earlier set the world on its terrifying new path.
In this page-turning narrative, Bock has created an utterly compelling and original novel of historical speculation in the vein of Philip Roth’s The Plot Against America, John Wyndham’s The Chrysalids and Philip K. Dick’s cult classic The Man in the High Castle.
Hermann Göring, masterful strategist, assumes the Chancellery and quickly signs a non-aggression treaty with the isolationist president Joseph Kennedy that will keep America out of the war that is about to engulf Europe. Göring rushes the German scientific community into developing the atomic bomb, and in August 1944, this devastating new weapon is tested on the English capital.
London lies in ruins. The war is over, fascism prevails in Europe, and Canada, the Commonwealth holdout in the Americas, suffers on as a client state of the Soviet Union. Georg Elser, blinded in the A-bombing of London, is shipped to Canada and quarantined in a hospice near Toronto called Mercy House. Here we meet William Teufel, a German-Canadian boy who in the summer of 1960 devises a plan that he hopes will distance himself from his German heritage and, unwittingly, brings him face to face with the man whose astonishing act of heroism twenty-one years earlier set the world on its terrifying new path.
In this page-turning narrative, Bock has created an utterly compelling and original novel of historical speculation in the vein of Philip Roth’s The Plot Against America, John Wyndham’s The Chrysalids and Philip K. Dick’s cult classic The Man in the High Castle.
272 pages, Paperback
First published September 8, 2020
20 people are currently reading
592 people want to read
About the author
Dennis Bock
7 books133 followersDennis Bock is a Canadian novelist and short story writer. His newest novel, STRANGERS AT THE RED DOOR, was published in September, 2025 and named a Globe and Mail Best Book of the Year. The National Post ranked it in their top five novels of the fall publishing season.
"The Giller-shortlisted novelist uses the fantastic to tell a thrilling tale of censorship and the artist’s need to tell their story." — The Globe and Mail
“Eerily delightful. . . . Strange, affirming and lovely.... otherworldly beauty..." — Winnipeg Free Press
The Good German was published in September 2020 and praised by Margaret Atwood as "a cunning, twisted, compelling tale of deeply unexpected consequences."
Hailed by The Globe and Mail as “Canada's next great novelist,” Dennis has published four other books, including Olympia, The Ash Garden, The Communist's Daughter, and Going Home Again, shortlisted for the 2013 Scotiabank Giller Prize and winner of the 2014 Best Foreign Novel Award in China. His books have also been shortlisted for the Amazon/Books in Canada First Novel Award, the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, the Kiriyama Pacific Rim Prize, the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize (Regional Best Book), and the City of Toronto Book Award. His collection of stories, Olympia, won the Danuta Gleed Literary Award, the Canadian Authors’ Association Jubilee Award, and the Betty Trask Award in the UK. The Ash Garden won the 2002 Canada-Japan Literary Award. His books have been published in translation in nine languages in twenty-three territories.
Dennis grew up in Oakville, Ontario and completed a degree in English literature and philosophy at the University of Western Ontario. He teaches at the University of Toronto and the Humber School for Writers.
"The Giller-shortlisted novelist uses the fantastic to tell a thrilling tale of censorship and the artist’s need to tell their story." — The Globe and Mail
“Eerily delightful. . . . Strange, affirming and lovely.... otherworldly beauty..." — Winnipeg Free Press
The Good German was published in September 2020 and praised by Margaret Atwood as "a cunning, twisted, compelling tale of deeply unexpected consequences."
Hailed by The Globe and Mail as “Canada's next great novelist,” Dennis has published four other books, including Olympia, The Ash Garden, The Communist's Daughter, and Going Home Again, shortlisted for the 2013 Scotiabank Giller Prize and winner of the 2014 Best Foreign Novel Award in China. His books have also been shortlisted for the Amazon/Books in Canada First Novel Award, the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, the Kiriyama Pacific Rim Prize, the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize (Regional Best Book), and the City of Toronto Book Award. His collection of stories, Olympia, won the Danuta Gleed Literary Award, the Canadian Authors’ Association Jubilee Award, and the Betty Trask Award in the UK. The Ash Garden won the 2002 Canada-Japan Literary Award. His books have been published in translation in nine languages in twenty-three territories.
Dennis grew up in Oakville, Ontario and completed a degree in English literature and philosophy at the University of Western Ontario. He teaches at the University of Toronto and the Humber School for Writers.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 97 reviews
September 8, 2020
If you have a love of Historical Fiction then The Good German needs to be on your radar!
In November of 1939 a German anti-facist named Georg Elser is successful in the assassination of Adolf Hitler. Despite this act of heroism colossal negative consequences are set in motion that ultimately change the lives of so many.
Bocks writing style is captivating. I found myself completely immersed in this story. I enjoyed the dual timelines and the storyline which at times was difficult to read given the subject matter.
I would highly recommend!
Thank you to Harper Collins Canada for my review copy! The Good German is out now.
In November of 1939 a German anti-facist named Georg Elser is successful in the assassination of Adolf Hitler. Despite this act of heroism colossal negative consequences are set in motion that ultimately change the lives of so many.
Bocks writing style is captivating. I found myself completely immersed in this story. I enjoyed the dual timelines and the storyline which at times was difficult to read given the subject matter.
I would highly recommend!
Thank you to Harper Collins Canada for my review copy! The Good German is out now.
August 13, 2020
Wow! If you're into speculative historical fiction, then this tale of unintended negative consequences is for you.
Loneliness, guilt and grief will settle in your soul as you read about an alternate history where Canada is not the land that we, today, hold so dear. Through dual points of view, we follow a German man with good intentions, and a German son who suffers the consequences.
I was horrified and saddened by what I read, but the message was deep and beautiful. I enjoyed this book immensely. It struck a chord, and made me grateful for the life we have today. It may not be perfect, but it could have been so much worse.
Loneliness, guilt and grief will settle in your soul as you read about an alternate history where Canada is not the land that we, today, hold so dear. Through dual points of view, we follow a German man with good intentions, and a German son who suffers the consequences.
I was horrified and saddened by what I read, but the message was deep and beautiful. I enjoyed this book immensely. It struck a chord, and made me grateful for the life we have today. It may not be perfect, but it could have been so much worse.
September 9, 2020
What happens when we act with the best of intentions?
The significance of this question is the heart of Dennis Bock's latest novel, The Good German. As an alternative history that pivots upon the successful assassination of Adolf Hitler, it is a story that requires Bock's masterful and gentle handling of the subject matter.
Georg Elser believed he would be viewed as a hero for assassinating Adolf Hitler and bringing an end to WWII. Instead, he triggered a series of events that changed the fortunes of nations and millions of people. It is, however, the emergence of Georg's personal story that allows The Good German to rise above the curiosity of what the world would look like after the death of Hitler.
The Good German is the novel Dennis Bock was destined to write, having explored aspects of the consequences of World War II in his short story collection, Olympia (1998), and his first novel, The Ash Garden (2001). Bock's thoughtful consideration of the effects of best intentions positions him to navigate the alternative history on the scale of nations and, more importantly, on an individual level.
From the pen of a less accomplished author, The Good German would weaken under the weight of the labyrinth of decisions required to build the new world. Bock has created a world that feels intimate and yet, creates suspense for his characters as they navigate the war and the post-war years and the prejudice that emerges. Reader will care deeply for the characters and find themselves considering what they would have done.
In writing a novel of alternative history, Dennis Bock has held up a mirror of our own time. It is up to the reader to consider what has been revealed for the characters and of themselves.
I wholeheartedly recommend The Good German and predict it will catch the eyes of Canadian literary prize judges this fall.
Thank you to Patrick Crean Editions Harper Collins Canada for an Advanced Reading Copy to review The Good German.
The Good German by Dennis Bock will be published, September 8, 2020.
The significance of this question is the heart of Dennis Bock's latest novel, The Good German. As an alternative history that pivots upon the successful assassination of Adolf Hitler, it is a story that requires Bock's masterful and gentle handling of the subject matter.
Georg Elser believed he would be viewed as a hero for assassinating Adolf Hitler and bringing an end to WWII. Instead, he triggered a series of events that changed the fortunes of nations and millions of people. It is, however, the emergence of Georg's personal story that allows The Good German to rise above the curiosity of what the world would look like after the death of Hitler.
The Good German is the novel Dennis Bock was destined to write, having explored aspects of the consequences of World War II in his short story collection, Olympia (1998), and his first novel, The Ash Garden (2001). Bock's thoughtful consideration of the effects of best intentions positions him to navigate the alternative history on the scale of nations and, more importantly, on an individual level.
From the pen of a less accomplished author, The Good German would weaken under the weight of the labyrinth of decisions required to build the new world. Bock has created a world that feels intimate and yet, creates suspense for his characters as they navigate the war and the post-war years and the prejudice that emerges. Reader will care deeply for the characters and find themselves considering what they would have done.
In writing a novel of alternative history, Dennis Bock has held up a mirror of our own time. It is up to the reader to consider what has been revealed for the characters and of themselves.
I wholeheartedly recommend The Good German and predict it will catch the eyes of Canadian literary prize judges this fall.
Thank you to Patrick Crean Editions Harper Collins Canada for an Advanced Reading Copy to review The Good German.
The Good German by Dennis Bock will be published, September 8, 2020.
June 6, 2021
Very good writing and an interesting take on a different take on what would have happened if Hitler had been killed. Enjoyed the story as seen through the eyes of both Georg and William.
My dad was in the Canadian military and we lived in Germany for 4 years so some the mention of Munich, Freiburg and a couple other cities brought back found memories.
Recommend for those who like fiction.
My dad was in the Canadian military and we lived in Germany for 4 years so some the mention of Munich, Freiburg and a couple other cities brought back found memories.
Recommend for those who like fiction.
October 25, 2021
This was amazing!
Review to follow!
Review to follow!
June 6, 2021
This is a story about life and regrets during the Cold War. The Cold War that started when WWII ended with the dropping of the atomic bomb on London by a Nazi Germany led by Hermann Goering, who took the helm after the assassination of Hitler in 1939. The Cold War in which a shattered Britain and her Commonwealth huddle under the protection of the industrially mighty Soviet Union against a harsh world, one in which the Nazis deported its conquered European Jewry to Madagascar and in which the United States, although ostensibly neutral, is eager to follow in the German example.
Canadian author Dennis Bock re-imagines 20th Century history from the start of WWII and into the 1960s as the context of life in a small Ontario town where a German family struggles in a society set against them. Brothers William and Thomas Teufel grow up dealing with prejudice against the Germans, not just the European Nazi version but the local Canadian-German population as well, in a strange reflection of the Jewish experience that our history books document in the actual fascist period of the 20th Century. Their town is also he home of a hospital for many of the blind and radiation-poisoned Londoners who the German occupying force allowed to leave for the Commonwealth countries. Within the hospital are Georg Elser and his daughter, whose family history is interwoven both with world events and the Teufel family.
This is my first novel by Bock, and I was impressed with his use of language and the themes he explores. Although, I had some issues with the contrived warping of history, finding some of the political changes not entirely plausible, the use of this flipped historical context is quite good overall. It forces us to reflect on the bewildering and often unintentional consequences of our life choices, the guilt within families, and the very nature of societal hate and prejudice. The timing of this novel, at the end of the Trump era in US politics, was interesting and intentional. We could learn much by considering the fragility of our democratic societies when minor unexpected changes occur.
Canadian author Dennis Bock re-imagines 20th Century history from the start of WWII and into the 1960s as the context of life in a small Ontario town where a German family struggles in a society set against them. Brothers William and Thomas Teufel grow up dealing with prejudice against the Germans, not just the European Nazi version but the local Canadian-German population as well, in a strange reflection of the Jewish experience that our history books document in the actual fascist period of the 20th Century. Their town is also he home of a hospital for many of the blind and radiation-poisoned Londoners who the German occupying force allowed to leave for the Commonwealth countries. Within the hospital are Georg Elser and his daughter, whose family history is interwoven both with world events and the Teufel family.
This is my first novel by Bock, and I was impressed with his use of language and the themes he explores. Although, I had some issues with the contrived warping of history, finding some of the political changes not entirely plausible, the use of this flipped historical context is quite good overall. It forces us to reflect on the bewildering and often unintentional consequences of our life choices, the guilt within families, and the very nature of societal hate and prejudice. The timing of this novel, at the end of the Trump era in US politics, was interesting and intentional. We could learn much by considering the fragility of our democratic societies when minor unexpected changes occur.
February 6, 2025
Really interesting premise but I feel it was ambitious to execute. If I hadn't read the book description I wouldn't have understood the big picture at all. It felt like a lot of work to deduce what was happening and what was supposed to be important.
It was a sad story. Not much uplifting here. Am I supposed to feel relieved that WWII happened so this was not our fate in Canada? I'm not sure.
The writing was beautiful, but not enough to make the book truly enjoyable.
It was a sad story. Not much uplifting here. Am I supposed to feel relieved that WWII happened so this was not our fate in Canada? I'm not sure.
The writing was beautiful, but not enough to make the book truly enjoyable.
September 13, 2022
This was not for me. The idea sounded very promising. I was expecting a literary sci-fi combo but it didn’t deliver. The two storylines were unremarkable and flat. The ending was a letdown that dragged on. It just seemed the whole book lacked a climax of any type. Even on an introspective level it failed to highlight any thought provoking moments.
September 29, 2020
Alternate histories allows readers to ponder what really happened as well as what could have happened. If you have watched the TV show or read the book, The Man in the High Castle is a look at World War II. The good German does something similar with equally haunting consequences and a world we do not know at all. Set in Canada, I loved how this book made me think about this country that I have called home for over 6 years now.
Reading experience:
I was excited to read this book because it offers a great opportunity to learn about the alliances in the Second World War as well as the key players. The book blurb above presents a number of independent what if scenarios:
– If Hitler had been successfully assassinated
– If Germany had built the bomb
– If Kennedy had not been assassinated
How would the world have played out?
Overall, the story was engaging and thought provoking. What I found fascinating (and sometimes hard to wrap my head around) is inspite of Germany winning WW2 in this story, the point of view is that of the oppressed Germans in Canada. Maybe that’s the beauty of speculative fiction – it doesn’t always have to be about the outcomes of the main event. It can be about the common people who are affected by them. And those effects are not always in the same vicinity as where the event happened.
Many thanks to the publisher, Harper Collins Canada, for providing me a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. You can read my full review on Armed with A Book.
Reading experience:
I was excited to read this book because it offers a great opportunity to learn about the alliances in the Second World War as well as the key players. The book blurb above presents a number of independent what if scenarios:
– If Hitler had been successfully assassinated
– If Germany had built the bomb
– If Kennedy had not been assassinated
How would the world have played out?
Overall, the story was engaging and thought provoking. What I found fascinating (and sometimes hard to wrap my head around) is inspite of Germany winning WW2 in this story, the point of view is that of the oppressed Germans in Canada. Maybe that’s the beauty of speculative fiction – it doesn’t always have to be about the outcomes of the main event. It can be about the common people who are affected by them. And those effects are not always in the same vicinity as where the event happened.
Many thanks to the publisher, Harper Collins Canada, for providing me a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. You can read my full review on Armed with A Book.
December 20, 2020
An unexpectedly thought provoking novel. I was locked in for a rollicking piece of historical fiction set in WW2 Europe. What I in fact read was much a much more literary meditation on the nature of acting with good intentions and the unexpected consequences of same. An engaging *alternative* history set mostly in North America. It’s slower than expected but also both more thoughtful and with more to say. The fact that it’s written by a Canadian and set in Ontario is a bonus. I liked this novel quite a bit.
November 8, 2020
I heard the author interviewed on CBC, read a couple of reviews & went into this with expectations that weren't met. What some would see as mysterious & compelling was too-often confusing. The starting point gets lost & when the reader is returned to it, there's been too much other stuff thrown up for it to matter. The reach exceeded the grasp.
May 29, 2021
3.5 stars
I’m a sucker for alternative history books. And I enjoyed 90% of this one although I didn’t like the end. What if Hitler had been killed before WWII? What if Joseph Kennedy had become president of the United States instead of a 3rd term for FDR, never joining the Allies in the war effort? What if the Reich had won the race to the bomb? Somewhat like Philip Roth’s Plot Against America, this book looks at these alternate events from the perspective of a child in Canada after the surrender of the Allied forces to a Germany led by Goering. It’s both interesting and horrifying to consider what might have been.
I’m a sucker for alternative history books. And I enjoyed 90% of this one although I didn’t like the end. What if Hitler had been killed before WWII? What if Joseph Kennedy had become president of the United States instead of a 3rd term for FDR, never joining the Allies in the war effort? What if the Reich had won the race to the bomb? Somewhat like Philip Roth’s Plot Against America, this book looks at these alternate events from the perspective of a child in Canada after the surrender of the Allied forces to a Germany led by Goering. It’s both interesting and horrifying to consider what might have been.
August 14, 2022
A WWII historical fiction with a twist. What if Hitler was killed at the beginning of the war? This book explores this possibility, creatively imagining the ripple effects that could have followed. I really appreciated the big picture alternative reality, combined with a really well written set of personal stories woven within. I will be thinking about this for some time.
February 24, 2021
This was an interesting story. While the story is interesting and kept me engaged, I found there wasn't a lot of meat in it. It's an interesting story and I would read more by this author. But this book seemed to skim over things, not take the reader into the story.
A story of good intentions gone wrong; of a sequence that goes off the rails. For every action, any reaction is possible.
A story of good intentions gone wrong; of a sequence that goes off the rails. For every action, any reaction is possible.
March 11, 2023
An alternative history, describing what would happen if the fascists really won WW2. Set in Canada, written in multiple time periods, this story had me enthralled by page five and wouldn’t let me go.
The other reviews on this page tell more about the plot and talk about the revisionist historical nature of it, about the dreadful outcomes that can result even when we think we are doing good. This is all true, and so well-described and written the book is worth a read just for these.
(I truly love a book where the author knows exactly how much description and backstory is needed- not a word is extra here and every one is perfect)
But I encourage people to read this as a cautionary tale as fascism rears its head again, as hatred against one group or another is being fanned into heat by politicians and media. We are but steps away from the reality of crazed mobs burning down buildings again. The situation described in this book could easily become reality. It just takes one misguided person, perhaps, to tilt fate…
A sobering read, but despite this, somehow filled with hope. I must read more by this author!
The other reviews on this page tell more about the plot and talk about the revisionist historical nature of it, about the dreadful outcomes that can result even when we think we are doing good. This is all true, and so well-described and written the book is worth a read just for these.
(I truly love a book where the author knows exactly how much description and backstory is needed- not a word is extra here and every one is perfect)
But I encourage people to read this as a cautionary tale as fascism rears its head again, as hatred against one group or another is being fanned into heat by politicians and media. We are but steps away from the reality of crazed mobs burning down buildings again. The situation described in this book could easily become reality. It just takes one misguided person, perhaps, to tilt fate…
A sobering read, but despite this, somehow filled with hope. I must read more by this author!
February 26, 2022
I was prepared not to like this book, because I could not envision a different narrative then what I knew of WW II. The author however made this story very believable and drew you into this alternative world. I feel that it proved that no matter who initiates the madness of war, there are no winners only losers. They both are forever changed, those that persecute and those that are persecuted .The pain that the characters endured both physically and mentally at the hands of their tormentors changed who they were ,and the choices they were forced to make. Those that held the power over them were also forever changed .The anger and hatred they held for those they judged and denied as equals made them both cruel and morally corrupt .The author was able to portray that both sides had a measure of this corruption and those that were viewed as guilty or innocent travelled the same paths to freedom to opposing shores.
March 9, 2022
The first time I read this book last summer I got seventy percent through it and thought I had obviously missed a few important points. So, I wanted to read it again and recommended that my book club read it. The second time through I enjoyed it less than the first time,
I get that it is spectalative fiction but it never gelled for me and I just read in frustration. Bock writes using pronouns such as s/he instead of names which I found to be frustrating as in many instances I had no idea where his subjects were going.
I get that it is spectalative fiction but it never gelled for me and I just read in frustration. Bock writes using pronouns such as s/he instead of names which I found to be frustrating as in many instances I had no idea where his subjects were going.
April 30, 2021
Excellent, wonderful, brilliant! I couldn't put this one down and I'm so sad that I'm finished reading it. I started reading this not knowing what it was about so I was very confused for a couple minutes (read it and you'll see what I mean) but then I realised what an amazing twist of a story this really is. Put this one on your list!
December 11, 2022
Ok, my father loaned me this book, thinking I’d enjoy it. He was right, but I knew nothing about this book going in I figured it was simply an historical fiction book. I didn’t realize it was an alternative history/speculative fiction book. You can imagine my surprise when I read Adolf Hitler is assassinated in the late 30s. I had to stop right there. Did I miss something? I went back read the cover, and started the book again! Obviously I missed a lot. It was a tough book to read. Interesting perspective, but difficult to think about people being differently classed and treated due to religion, origin or orientation.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 9, 2022
A very good read. I thought the post WW2 alternate world Dennis Boch created was very believable and I found myself deeply empathizing with the characters, particularly young Thomas and William, the two young boys who play a central role in the book.
March 17, 2022
2.5 stars
January 7, 2023
Very insightful book about what would have happened if WWII had gone differently
January 20, 2025
Incredibly depressing and bleak but also thought-provoking...ending felt rushed
March 30, 2025
I found it to be flat.
May 1, 2021
I read this on the recommendation of a friend, who made it his choice for the local "County Reads" competition. Part of this year's nominees for the Giller Prize, it's the story of what might have happened, had the assassination attempt on Hitler been successful, the ways in which it would have galvanized and accelerated certain world events, turning Germany into a global powerhouse, America into a radicalize offshoot, Canada into a communist outport and Britain to rubble.
The book focuses on two stories, moving back and forth in time. In the opening, we meet a young boy of German ancestry, who is waking up to the brutal realities of being an unwelcome race. He's bullied, he's tormented, he's confused. Each year on "Remembrance Day," the family sits alone in the house, the power switched off, the lawn, roof and nearby tree soaked. They wait for a crowd to gather, to set a bonfire alight in the yard, tipped off that this is a house for Germans by the numbers painted on the exterior.
Down the road, a place of creepy fascination: Mercy House, run by the sisters and a refuge for those blinded by the atomic bomb dropped on London. The boy's mother works as a silent servant in the house, known as an "Atonement Girl," forced into servitude by the fact of her Germanic heritage.
Meanwhile, the other story goes back in time, following Elser, who planted the bomb that, but for a delayed schedule, actually would have killed Hitler. In this version, the Bavarian Beer Hall crumbles as expect, taking Hitler with it. As Elser's captors later tell him, all he's done is clear away the showman who built up the fascist sentiment. What he's created space for is the cold and calculating military strategist to step in and truly fan the flames.
This book is, in many ways, absolutely terrifying. And an eerie read, given the times. It's perfectly plausible that America would sign a pact promising to stay away from the conflict, that the racists and regressives would promise to "Make America Great Again" by rounding up Jews and other undesireables. And that a Canada broken by war and consumed by the global cold war as Communist would seem outwardly perfectly bland - a beige sort of Communism, a crowd mentality - and that this would hide an even deeper, more insidious form of racism, the kind that builds behind a polite veneer and excuses itself as morally correct.
From a writing standpoint, I am conflicted. The structure of this book was frustrating. I spent the early pages wondering why we weren't moving chronologically. And even when the two plotlines merge, they do so in a way that requires an epilogue to explain, meaning it's not particularly well stitched together. I'm not quite sure I have a solution, or a "I wish Bock would have..." But I do think it's interesting that there's not an editor, publicist, agent or otherwise thanked in this book; it makes me wonder if the relationship with the editor led to more structural issues than it resolved.
The story is largely told from William's perspective, with a more omniscient narrator taking over for Elser's bits. And so there is the old rub of telling a story from a child's point of understanding - what can a boy of 13 really understand about what's happening around him, what does he need to process, what does he just instinctually "get." There were some pages - the scene where Muriel introduces him to the small Jewish girl, for example - where this obligation to run through a boy's mind felt a little tedious.
But there was also something about Bock's restraint, his lack of editorial, that made the story that much more chilling. We aren't led into our biases, they surface on their own. We aren't told how to feel about this development, or that act of cruelty, or this small act of defiance. William wrestles with his brother's salute, and with Muriel's small moments of high-handed mirth at the expense of the blind victims around her. But even this seems even handed, like a pebble being turned over and examined, rather than a moral lecture.
In all, a very thought provoking book that will undoubtedly stay with me.
The book focuses on two stories, moving back and forth in time. In the opening, we meet a young boy of German ancestry, who is waking up to the brutal realities of being an unwelcome race. He's bullied, he's tormented, he's confused. Each year on "Remembrance Day," the family sits alone in the house, the power switched off, the lawn, roof and nearby tree soaked. They wait for a crowd to gather, to set a bonfire alight in the yard, tipped off that this is a house for Germans by the numbers painted on the exterior.
Down the road, a place of creepy fascination: Mercy House, run by the sisters and a refuge for those blinded by the atomic bomb dropped on London. The boy's mother works as a silent servant in the house, known as an "Atonement Girl," forced into servitude by the fact of her Germanic heritage.
Meanwhile, the other story goes back in time, following Elser, who planted the bomb that, but for a delayed schedule, actually would have killed Hitler. In this version, the Bavarian Beer Hall crumbles as expect, taking Hitler with it. As Elser's captors later tell him, all he's done is clear away the showman who built up the fascist sentiment. What he's created space for is the cold and calculating military strategist to step in and truly fan the flames.
This book is, in many ways, absolutely terrifying. And an eerie read, given the times. It's perfectly plausible that America would sign a pact promising to stay away from the conflict, that the racists and regressives would promise to "Make America Great Again" by rounding up Jews and other undesireables. And that a Canada broken by war and consumed by the global cold war as Communist would seem outwardly perfectly bland - a beige sort of Communism, a crowd mentality - and that this would hide an even deeper, more insidious form of racism, the kind that builds behind a polite veneer and excuses itself as morally correct.
From a writing standpoint, I am conflicted. The structure of this book was frustrating. I spent the early pages wondering why we weren't moving chronologically. And even when the two plotlines merge, they do so in a way that requires an epilogue to explain, meaning it's not particularly well stitched together. I'm not quite sure I have a solution, or a "I wish Bock would have..." But I do think it's interesting that there's not an editor, publicist, agent or otherwise thanked in this book; it makes me wonder if the relationship with the editor led to more structural issues than it resolved.
The story is largely told from William's perspective, with a more omniscient narrator taking over for Elser's bits. And so there is the old rub of telling a story from a child's point of understanding - what can a boy of 13 really understand about what's happening around him, what does he need to process, what does he just instinctually "get." There were some pages - the scene where Muriel introduces him to the small Jewish girl, for example - where this obligation to run through a boy's mind felt a little tedious.
But there was also something about Bock's restraint, his lack of editorial, that made the story that much more chilling. We aren't led into our biases, they surface on their own. We aren't told how to feel about this development, or that act of cruelty, or this small act of defiance. William wrestles with his brother's salute, and with Muriel's small moments of high-handed mirth at the expense of the blind victims around her. But even this seems even handed, like a pebble being turned over and examined, rather than a moral lecture.
In all, a very thought provoking book that will undoubtedly stay with me.
July 7, 2022
Full disclosure: Dennis Bock is one of my mentors for my own writing, and was kind enough to write a blurb for the cover of my book, Trial. That being said, I have always been a fan of Dennis' work, especially the way he writes literary "what if" alternative histories. The Good German is very lyrical, with loads of layered meaning in every sentence. The narrative is spare and poetic, hypnotic even. The characters are compelling and live in a dystopian world so creatively generated that the book reminds me (in form, if not in substance) of Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. Easily his best novel to date.
January 26, 2021
In Brief: In November 1939, a German anti-fascist named Georg Elser came as close to assassinating Adolf Hitler as anyone ever had. In this alternate history, he doesn’t just come close—he succeeds.
Hermann Göring assumes the Chancellery and quickly signs a non-aggression treaty with the U.S. that keeps America out of the war. Göring rushes the German scientific community into developing the atomic bomb, and in August 1944, this devastating new weapon is dropped on London.
The war is ends, fascism prevails in Europe, and Canada, the Commonwealth holdout in the Americas, suffers on as a client state of the Soviet Union. Georg Elser, blinded in the A-bombing of London, is shipped to Canada and quarantined in a hospice near Toronto. Here we meet William Teufel, a German-Canadian boy who in the summer of 1960 devises a plan that he hopes will distance himself from his German heritage and, unwittingly, brings him face to face with the man whose astonishing act of heroism twenty-one years earlier set the world on its terrifying new path.
What Kept Me Reading: Bock does a masterful job of blending the world we know with a world that could have been. I was completely drawn into the dual narratives of Elser and William. The scenes of Elser constructing the bomb moved at a slow methodical pace that brought it alive and filled me with suspense even knowing the outcome. Bock’s writing is vivid throughout (I can still feel the fear that William felt as the Russian soldier breathed cigarette smoke into the wounds on William's hands). The climactic event that brings Elser and William together was a shock but also the inevitable outcome of simmering hatred. This book is interesting as a speculative read on an alternate history, but it is bigger than that. Our real history, and our real present, is filled with people who are cast as the other for no reasons other than fear and ignorance. I highly recommend this book
Hermann Göring assumes the Chancellery and quickly signs a non-aggression treaty with the U.S. that keeps America out of the war. Göring rushes the German scientific community into developing the atomic bomb, and in August 1944, this devastating new weapon is dropped on London.
The war is ends, fascism prevails in Europe, and Canada, the Commonwealth holdout in the Americas, suffers on as a client state of the Soviet Union. Georg Elser, blinded in the A-bombing of London, is shipped to Canada and quarantined in a hospice near Toronto. Here we meet William Teufel, a German-Canadian boy who in the summer of 1960 devises a plan that he hopes will distance himself from his German heritage and, unwittingly, brings him face to face with the man whose astonishing act of heroism twenty-one years earlier set the world on its terrifying new path.
What Kept Me Reading: Bock does a masterful job of blending the world we know with a world that could have been. I was completely drawn into the dual narratives of Elser and William. The scenes of Elser constructing the bomb moved at a slow methodical pace that brought it alive and filled me with suspense even knowing the outcome. Bock’s writing is vivid throughout (I can still feel the fear that William felt as the Russian soldier breathed cigarette smoke into the wounds on William's hands). The climactic event that brings Elser and William together was a shock but also the inevitable outcome of simmering hatred. This book is interesting as a speculative read on an alternate history, but it is bigger than that. Our real history, and our real present, is filled with people who are cast as the other for no reasons other than fear and ignorance. I highly recommend this book
December 22, 2023
The Good German is a work of alternate history in which a famous assassination attempt on Hitler before WWII actually succeeds rather than fails. But rather than stopping a war, the death of Hitler actually strengthens the Nazis when a more effective leader takes over. Germany wins the war and anti-war fascist politicians take over the US. The post-war world is a nightmare as the globe is dominated by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. The book is primarily set in 1960s Ontario, Canada, as a young boy of German descent and his family face persecution in a society that does not trust Germans. I like how the book demonstrated the complexity of historical causation as the story of the assassination, WWII, and the horrible aftermath unfolded. The story based in the 1960s was also well done and the characters were compelling. I enjoyed the book; I am a sucker for alternate history though, so some readers might not like it as much as I did. Overall, I definitely would recommend it.
May 24, 2022
I liked this book right up until the last half-dozen pages or so. Bock jumps ahead 20 or more years and for the life of me I don't get the purpose of this. This last bit feels tacked on. Rushed and serving no great purpose. For a novel that involved so much care consideration and planning, it seems curious to end like this. I must be missing something.
January 3, 2021
This is more of a reading diary than a review. Feel free to read, but you may not learn anything relevant. This particular review doesn't contain any spoilers for this book (it does for Pachinko, though).
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