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His narrative is sensuous, as he always seem to loose himself in the bodies of those around him (noting the way the light illuminates someone’s hair or face). Covering the tumultuous period of summer-winter of 1989 in West Berlin, Ben Fergusson’s new novel centres on 18-year-old Ralf, his family and friends, and Oz, a part-time informant for the authorities who has been spying on the apartment block where Ralf’s family live.
His relationship with Oz is filled with a young sort of longing, with plenty of awkward flirting (they talk about their favourite pasta shape) and even some tender moments. The novel feels like a Bildungsroman and had me deeply involved with it, and with Ralf and his involvement with Oz and all the spying plot in a (West) Berlin where the Stasi agents could be anywhere, could be anyone we knew. Let's be clear, this is not a tawdry M/M romance although there is some sex, almost all of it suggested and completely tasteful.This is the third of three novels Fergusson has written using the setting of Berlin following World War II.
I highly recommend this for an audiobook, the narration was great, voice were good and the story was pretty unique. You could see through all the trauma, even Israel and Lyman appreciated the beauty of the islands nature.His narrative is sensual, as he always seem to loose himself in the bodies of those around him, describing bodies, someone's details almost with the painter's accuracy. But this is a novel as much about the end of innocence, the limits of ideology and the pain of realising the people we love are far from perfect – in this case very far indeed. A love story at its heart, this unsettling and wonderfully atmospheric historical novel, set in West Berlin in 1989 (the year the wall was torn down), sizzle with suspense and intrigue .
Like all of my friends, I’d seen the ubiquitous soft-core pornography on late-night German television that our English relatives found scandalous. I do not agree with Stephen King's assessment that this is Koryta's best book ever, but it sure is big fun. Another point I want to make is that, as a lifelong reader and lover of great books, I really loved how Michael Koryta uncovered his shout-out to author Gary Paulsen and his classic novel HATCHET with the nickname Lyman utilized for his unexpected guest. Ralf’s relationship with his family plays a big role in the narrative, and even though we might not like or forgive Ralf’s parents, Fergusson does give these characters some nuance.I really loved the picture of the island that was painted, even though it was described as a depressing run down place. Sterling, Cory, and Caruso, who hired the sisters to spy and approached Israel himself, end up dying at the end trying to apprehend Israel and hurting Lyman. As well as a poignant love story, it's also a gripping, original thriller; a final twist I definitely didn't see coming sets a powerful climax in motion . Things get worse and exceedingly high profile when the majority of the victims turned out to be famous local political and legal figures, including two opponents in an upcoming senate race.
I was constantly second guessing what people wanted from me, always aware that there were many thoughts and feelings I was necessarily burying. Reading Ben Fergusson's "An Honest Man" is a very meaningful moment in one's life: the combination of the haunted love story, the espionage thriller and the coming of age story taking place in one of the world's darkest times ever, is what makes this novel so peculiar, compelling. All perfectly normal - except this is West Berlin which is still divided by the Wall and awash with spies and paranoia . There are a few elements of the plot that don't come as huge surprises when they finally happen but others are much more unexpected.Michael Koryta is one of those consistently excellent authors who seem virtually incapable of letting their readers down. Michael Koryta unspools this story in a methodical way—the plotting here is tighter than a taut fishing line reeling in the day’s big catch. He reports his findings immediately and is visited by both Uncle Sterling and his boss, a tough female Police Lieutenant named Jennifer Salazar.
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