2nd Book Review by LITEROMA PUBLISHING SERVICES :: ‘Never Again’ by Shreyan Laha
** Thanks to the author for gifting us a review copy of the book. **
The discovery of the dairy of Kasper Hartmann, a Nazi soldier under the regime of Adolf Hitler, sets everything in motion. But what has a dairy, ‘The Stranded Legend’ that was erased from the face of history and suddenly discovered in the cold desert of Siberia to do with India and its present political conspiracies, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and the present global terrorism? How is this dairy pivotal to the plot and what is this NEVER AGAIN? The mystery surrounding the dairy reveals a truth that is as shocking and as gruesome as the Nazi regime. Well, that is the gripping story that you will get to read in the novel ‘Never Again’. And if you have a knack in world history, like me, then this book is sure to have your nose in it till its last page.
If I’m to give a critical opinion to the book, then one has to truly admire the crafty narrative structure and the suspense it develops and holds till the end. The narrative structure is quite intricate and asymmetric with a first person and omniscient narrator connecting the dots…and then there is this dairy of Kasper Hartmann translated by the first-person narrator which renders final meaning to all the dots. One thing I would like to point, a dairy is a personal writing, so it should be, as a rule of the book, in first person. But since what we get to read is the German translation of the book in English, the fact that it is written in third person can be taken into consideration. But at the end, its Kasper Hartmann personal dairy, so how it has the details at some point where Kasper was nowhere in the scene or could not have written those pages of the dairy, especially at the end? This is one mystery only the author can solve.
Also as the story comes to its final rising point, that is the climax of the novel and the suspense gets real thrilling where the final code is decoded, things move quite hastily for the conclusion, as if, foiling the terror attack and the political conspiracy was a child’s play and no big task to accomplish at all. It’s the place where the novel loses its strength. However, I believe, foiling the terror attack is not the crux of the novel but the dairy with the heart of Nazi regime in it and the tale it wants to tell- how the same game is played over and over again, either in the name of race or class or religion and it is to quench our superficial ego and lust for power that we make nations war with each other, destroy each other in mass without thinking the impact it will have on humanity and lives of the people living. This the author portrays quite well in the novel- the myth called ‘World Peace’ and the futility called ‘World War’.
There are also few editing errors which needs to be corrected.
Overall, the novel can be given 4/5 for 4 reasons – 1. Narrative structure, 2. Suspense it develops and holds till the end, 3. Relating history with fiction, 4. The message it gives. At the end, it’s worth reading.
** Thanks to our reviewer Anwesha Ghosh for reviewing the book on behalf of Literoma Publishing Services. **
The discovery of the dairy of Kasper Hartmann, a Nazi soldier under the regime of Adolf Hitler, sets everything in motion. But what has a dairy, ‘The Stranded Legend’ that was erased from the face of history and suddenly discovered in the cold desert of Siberia to do with India and its present political conspiracies, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and the present global terrorism? How is this dairy pivotal to the plot and what is this NEVER AGAIN? The mystery surrounding the dairy reveals a truth that is as shocking and as gruesome as the Nazi regime. Well, that is the gripping story that you will get to read in the novel ‘Never Again’. And if you have a knack in world history, like me, then this book is sure to have your nose in it till its last page.
If I’m to give a critical opinion to the book, then one has to truly admire the crafty narrative structure and the suspense it develops and holds till the end. The narrative structure is quite intricate and asymmetric with a first person and omniscient narrator connecting the dots…and then there is this dairy of Kasper Hartmann translated by the first-person narrator which renders final meaning to all the dots. One thing I would like to point, a dairy is a personal writing, so it should be, as a rule of the book, in first person. But since what we get to read is the German translation of the book in English, the fact that it is written in third person can be taken into consideration. But at the end, its Kasper Hartmann personal dairy, so how it has the details at some point where Kasper was nowhere in the scene or could not have written those pages of the dairy, especially at the end? This is one mystery only the author can solve.
Also as the story comes to its final rising point, that is the climax of the novel and the suspense gets real thrilling where the final code is decoded, things move quite hastily for the conclusion, as if, foiling the terror attack and the political conspiracy was a child’s play and no big task to accomplish at all. It’s the place where the novel loses its strength. However, I believe, foiling the terror attack is not the crux of the novel but the dairy with the heart of Nazi regime in it and the tale it wants to tell- how the same game is played over and over again, either in the name of race or class or religion and it is to quench our superficial ego and lust for power that we make nations war with each other, destroy each other in mass without thinking the impact it will have on humanity and lives of the people living. This the author portrays quite well in the novel- the myth called ‘World Peace’ and the futility called ‘World War’.
There are also few editing errors which needs to be corrected.
Overall, the novel can be given 4/5 for 4 reasons – 1. Narrative structure, 2. Suspense it develops and holds till the end, 3. Relating history with fiction, 4. The message it gives. At the end, it’s worth reading.
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