Synopsis
Hamburg, 1946. Thousands remain displaced in what is now the British Occupied Zone. Charged with overseeing the rebuilding of this devastated city and the de-Nazification of its defeated people, Colonel Lewis Morgan is requisitioned a fine house on the banks of the Elbe, where he will be joined by his grieving wife, Rachael, and only remaining son, Edmund.
But rather than force its owners, a German widower and his traumatized daughter, to leave their home, Lewis insists that the two families live together. In this charged and claustrophobic atmosphere all must confront their true selves as enmity and grief give way to passion and betrayal.
The Aftermath is a stunning novel about our fiercest loyalties, our deepest desires and the transformative power of forgiveness.
About Rhidian Brook
See more books from this AuthorFor the reader the problem isn't the absence of explosions but something less easily remedied, a lack of subtlety. There's a sense of missed opportunity, with a promising situation thinly developed.
Read Full Review of The Aftermath | See more reviews from GuardianThe strength of this novel lies in its superb management of the various lines of narrative tension, alongside a painfully clear portrait of Germany in defeat, conjuring surprise after surprise...
Read Full Review of The Aftermath | See more reviews from GuardianThe Aftermath is an entertaining blend of romance, history and suspense, one to which Brook’s style is perfectly suited: it’s sturdy, stripped down with the just the right amount of gnarled beauty poking through the cracks.
Read Full Review of The Aftermath | See more reviews from Toronto StarAn aggregated and normalized score based on 173 user ratings from iDreamBooks & iTunes