|
Chrisopher Priest's most recent novel The Separation is a re-examination
of the early years of World War II through the story of two young men,
identical twins, drawn into the conflict. Complex personal and moral issues
separate them. Both men are destined to become victims of the war, one
a pacifist, his brother a warrior. The reader is drawn steadily into the
maze, betrayed both by history and memory.
Reading
in a War, an informally annotated bibliography of The Separation,
with comments about the research material consulted, as well as a discussion
of the current theories about the enigma of Rudolf Hess is available on
Christopher Priest's web
site in the Essays, reviews, etc. section.
|
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. In this subtle, unsettling alternative
WWII history from British author Priest (The Prestige),
Jack Sawyer is an RAF bomber pilot who encourages his government
to distrust the peace proposal offered by renegade Nazi Rudolph
Hess. At the same time, perhaps, Jack's identical twin brother,
Joe, is a pacifist Red Cross staffer aiding peace negotiations
with a German delegation headed by Hess. Jack's actions help shape
the events we remember; Joe's lead to a truce between Germany
and Britain in 1941 that results in a disturbingly familiar postwar
world. Convincingly detailed diaries, scraps of published texts,
declassified transcripts and more baffle a historian who tries
to reconcile different realities. The brothers themselves recognize
the uncertainty of motives and actions; Joe in particular struggles
to believe that he's making a better future even though he realizes
how much it costs him personally. Many alternative history novels
are bloodless extrapolations from mountains of daNick Gevers,
Locus.ta, but this one quietly builds characters you care about—then
leaves their dilemmas unresolved as they try to believe that what
they have done is "right." (December)
|
| Copyright © Reed Business Information,
a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. |
| |
| "This is a sophisticated, thought-provoking
novel that takes alternative history to a whole new level."
|
| – Terry Windling, Year's Best
Fantasy & Horror: Sixteenth Edition |
| |
| "A carefully crafted, intricately plotted, and
extremely engrossing novel." |
| – Gavriel David Rosenfeld, World
Hitler Never Made: Alternate History and the Memory of Nazism |
| |
| "...masterfully conceived and written, thoughtful,
audacious, a stab to the heart of historical appearances." |
| – Nick Gevers, Locus.Magazine |
Cover Design by Robert Garcia
A limited number of autographed copies are available to
individuals who order directly with Pathway Book Services. Orders through
Amazon and other vendors will receive the unsigned edition.
 Hardcover
• ISBN 1-882968-33-6 • $25.00 USD
|
