The Phoenix: A Novel about the Hindenburg

by Henning Boëtius, John Cullen (Translator)

The year is 1947, ten years after the famous zeppelin Hindenburg burst spectacularly into flames while landing in Lakehurst, New Jersey. The cause of the disaster is still a mystery. The airship was a symbol of world peace and German technological prowess and was carrying important American industrialists and high-ranking Nazi officers. The reasons to think the crash was something other than a horrible accident are manifold and contradictory. Birger Lund, a survivor, suspects sabotage.
Lund learns that Edmund Boysen, the officer at the controls at the time of the explosion, also survived the disaster and has retreated to his childhood home, an isolated xenophobic island where the politics of Nazi Germany live on. Seeking answers, Lund tracks him there.
And there the reader ventures into Boysen’s discovery of the science and wonder of the fabulous dirigible, written with the authority that only one who has lived with the mythic tales of the Hindenburg could understand. For the author, Henning Boëtius, is the son of the only living member of the crew of the Hindenburg– the man who, indeed, was at the controls.
In a fast-paced narrative that unfolds against the background of fascist Germany, The Phoenix combines a love story, an exploration of the physics of air travel, and a frightening re-creation of–after the sinking of the Titanic– perhaps the greatest catastrophe of the twentieth century. This is historical fiction at its best.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, Thriller, Fiction

352 pages, Hardcover

First published June 22, 2000

About the author

Henning Boëtius is a German author.

He also uses the pseudonym Uwe Bastiansen.

Reviews

[Leah]

Das Buch weiß nicht so recht, was es will. Ist es historische Fiktion? Ein Thriller? Eine Anleitung zum Zeppelinbauen? Eine Liebesgeschichte? Oder alles zusammen?
Überlebender Journalist des Unglückes der Hindenburg geht den Ursachen auf dem Grund und gelangt schließlich zu der Überzeugung, dass die Deutschen sich selbst sabotiert haben, weil Hitler sich von den symbolischen Friedensbringern (den Zeppelinen) gestört fühlt.
Teile des Buches erzählen auch von seiner Liebesgeschichte mit einer Passagerierin namens Martha, sowie die Geschichte des Höhenruderer Boysen.
Der Aufbau des Buches funktioniert dabei aber nicht: statt chronologisch vorzugehen, setzt die Handlung Ende der 40er ein, springt dann zum Anfang des 20.Jahrhunderts, um dann die Ereignisse auf der Hindenburg zu erzählen. Der spannendste Teil ist somit relativ kurzgehalten.
Dazwischen schwadroniert Boetius immer wieder philosophisch, durchbricht mit seinen Vorstellungen über Liebe, Ehre oder Sonstiges den Erzählfluss. Auch der Teil zu Zeppelinen allgemein gelingt nicht. Man muss ihm zwar die lebhaften Vergleiche zugute halten aber mich haben die langen Abschnitte über die Funktionsweise nur gelangweilt und dafür gesorgt, dass ich die Funktion des Buches hinterfrage.
Im Vordergrund steht immer der Zeppelin, nicht seine Passagiere oder Boysen, was schade ist, weil beide Geschichten vielversprechend anfangen. Aber die Liebesgeschichte zwischen Irene und Boysen ist schnell erzählt und wird hinter sich gelassen.
Fast wirkt es so als wollte Boetius mehrere Geschichten auf einmal erzählen, während er den Mythos der Hindeburg aufklärt. Das funktioniert aber nicht so einfach.

[David Campton · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novel doesn't know what it is. An historic account of the background to the Hinderburg disaster; a (not so thrilling) conspiracy theory thriller, a psychological novel... The author has a personal tie to the key event, and perhaps that is what disuaded others from telling him that the whole thing is a mess... A big disappointment.

[Beth Levitt · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this but I could not get into the way he told the story. I expected more of a spy/thriller and this want it.

[Henri Moreaux · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I had to describe this book in one word, the word I would choose would most likely be confused.

It seems to struggle to string it's narrative together in a compelling manner, at times it bogs down in historical minutiae of the Hindenburg, yet in others it takes broad sweeping strokes to cover the surrounding history. It's quite unfortunate as the blurb made it seem like it was going to be quite a good story, instead we start off in summer 1947, skip forward winter 1948, then all the way back to 1919, forward to 1936 where the bulk of the story then runs in chronological order, and it is the end of this section which I found to be the most interesting of all, then it skips forward again to 1948 resuming where the winter 1948 section left off.

I felt like the book really would have benefited from a straight forward chronological order without all the skipping around.

Overall, it was an alright story and it will certainly fill some time in, or dare I say even be interesting to those with an interest in the Hindenburg, however largely I'd say the author missed the mark.

I'd also say the blurb writer who called it "A remarkable thriller, a great discovery" needs to look at more historical fiction to find out was a remarkable thriller really is. This was neither remarkable nor particularly thrilling.

[Dr. Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished reading the novel _The Phoenix_ by the German author Henning Boëtius. The novel presents a fictional account of what happened in the crash of the Hindenburg in Lakehurst, NJ, in 1937. The description of the German airship and the industry in general demonstrates an impressive historical exactness. The author definitely did his research. The primary narrative perspective is that of a Swedish reporter named Lund, who is trying to prove that the Hindenburg was sabotaged, not a accident as the official investigation claims. While doing so, the author does not ignore the political background in relationships between the U.S. and Germany during the rise of the Nazis and their aggressions in Europe that led to the start of WWII. For anyone interested in the intrigues of WWII, I think you would enjoy this novel.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This began with some impressive writing and an interesting tale tied to history but seemed to dissolve into the science of airships and a conspiracy theory. Although disappointing, it still kept me interested in the history to the end.

[Allgäuerin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spannend geschrieben, interessant, wie sich der Kreis schließt und das Rätsel um einen der Überlebenden sich lüftet. Der deutsche Titel lautet: Wie Phönix aus der Asche

[Mark Muckerman · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Sunday Telegraph called it "A fine book, which I put down with a real sense of regret," and "A superlative thriller."

What I learned from this book is that the Sunday Telegraph doesn't know dick about what constitutes "fine" or "superb".

I've read worse, but it's not good. As others have reviewed, it drifts between historical work, to historical fiction, to conspiracy theory mystery to human interest fiction: never fully developing any of those genres to deliver a cohesive story, yet never finding a synthesis and harmony of plot lines to weave a satisfactory tapestry.

I'm on vacation, and am leaving this one in the nightstand as a cursed gift to torment some future unwary traveler.

[Christopher Culp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good historical fiction. The plot had its tricky moments, but the author has meticulously researched The Hindenburg disaster and woven a plausible fictional tale around it. I learned a lot of interesting history from reading this, and I enjoyed it. Highly recommended for lovers of WWII-era historical fiction.

[Zenogoris · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very much underestimated book in my opinion.