Leaving Berlin by Joseph Kanon

During the second half of 2016 I ended up taking a break from Rose City Reader’s European Reading Challenge, even though it’s been huge favorite of mine over the years. In retrospect, I’m sure it wasn’t intentional. I think I just got wrapped up in reading other stuff. Plus, I think I got a little burned out from blogging. But with the coming of the new year and a few days off from work I feel refreshed, inspired and ready to participate in as many reading challenges as possible.

After finding a copy though my local public library I was probably drawn to Joseph Kanon’s 2015 historical thriller Leaving Berlin for two reasons. The first reason is it’s set in Germany, so it counts as part of the European Reading Challenge. Secondly, the novel’s premise intrigued me. Set a few years after the end of WWII in a divided Berlin at the beginning of the Cold War sounded like something I could really enjoy.

Perhaps like any good spy novel, there’s a lot going on. After fleeing Nazi Germany 10 years ago, Alex Meier has returned to the city of his youth. The official story is as a writer, he’s been invited back by East Berlin’s ruling Communists to play propagandist and help jump-start the young East German regime. In reality, because of his leftist beliefs he’s been blackmailed by the American intelligence community into returning to his native land in order to secretly spy on their behalf. But he’s a writer and not a spy, and he quickly finds out how dangerous his new role can be.

Based on all the accolades it received, I’m afraid I didn’t enjoy Leaving Berlin as much as I should have, but that doesn’t mean Kanon’s thriller left me disappointed. Set mostly in Soviet occupied Berlin and environs, I found the author’s portrayal of the early Communist East Germany interesting reading . Leaving Berlin has left me intrigued and curious about Kanon’s other novels like Istanbul Passage and Alibi. I’m thinking there’s a good chance you’ll see more of Kanon’s novels featured on my blog.