By now the sun was up, and through the periscope he minded he could see the stony plateau in front of the position. On the other side of it were the outskirts of the jungle where the enemy was hiding and building his camps, preparing for new attacks. He observed the vastness of the wild jungle stretching north and west, pierced by hundreds of hilltops, each surrounded by a white fog. French Indochina was a gigantic and mysterious place, and he was gradually losing hope that he would ever find what he had come here searching for.
French Indochina in the early 1950’s: a badly wounded private in the Foreign Legion, registered under a false name, is admitted to a military hospital. From here we learn about his childhood in Eastern Romania during the 1930s. In a powder keg consisting of Communism, Fascism, anti-Semitism and growing Nazism, Chaim Bercuvitz grows up in the Jewish district of the village of Tetzeda. In this maelstrom of events, the pipe-smoking ferryman and provocateur incarnate, Elisha-shifman, becomes a hero to the boy, as he experiences the monstrosities befalling the Jewish people wherever Nazism takes root. For Chaim it all develops into a personal revenge drama, which through a long journey brings him to a far-off corner of the ailing French colonial empire.
The Boatman and the Boy is powerful classic novelistic art built on a solidly researched foundation. A captivating and message-carrying work, which elegantly balances human aspects with high politics.
Nicola’s father froze. He slowly put down his knife and fork. She looked at him, shocked to see how he had suddenly turned chalky white. She began to shiver. What did her father know about the Child Correction Centre?
From the moment Nicola hears about the Child Correction Centre, her life is turned upside down. She must go through one ordeal after another in order to save mankind from a terrible disaster that some greedy businessmen are about to cause.
The warm blood trickled over her fingers. His body contracted as he stared at her, a rattling sound passing his lips. Then his knees suddenly caved in and he collapsed in front of her, letting the gun drop onto the floor. She quickly bent down to pick it up. For a moment he lay on the rug staring up at her with profound indignation. It came as no surprise to her. She knew it was a characteristic of psychopaths that for all their ruthlessness towards others, their self-pity was limitless.
On a cold and clammy day in March 1948, Anita Gerholdt lands at Copenhagen Airport. She is travelling under a false name, and in her suitcase she carries a gun. Since the war she has worked for the British intelligence services, and now she returns to cooperate with Danish Intelligence on an operation.
Opposing interests, rampant paranoia and personal conflicts are clouding the situation, and Anita’s homecoming becomes anything but a warm visit. Old memories and friends pop up – but there is also an abundance of new enemies in an infected political climate, where everybody suspects each other and is only out to save themselves. Anita’s task would seem simple, but soon her visit to Denmark becomes a struggle for her own survival.
Anita’s Homecoming is a novel about the Cold War and high politics, but also about love and the people caught up in the political gamble.
I shook his shoulder. ‘All right? You all right, Dave? Dave?’
He leaned his head back and closed his eyes hard, as he clenched his fists and started beating them against the wall.
‘We need to get you to a hospital,’ I said.
‘Nah, fuck that. Let’s just get away from here.’
We walked on through the rain. He still limped but seemed a lot less injured than I had feared. He said nothing, and I was silent too.
At four o’clock in the morning I dragged him up the staircase and into my hotel room.
In December 1979, Thomas returns to suburban Copenhagen after a year in London, where he has been playing organ in a New Wave band. Before long he meets an old school mate, Henrik, and they decide to form a band to bring the partly modern, partly retro-orientated style of Mod music to Denmark. There are long flashbacks to Thomas’ experiences in London during the now legendary 1979 Mod Revival, including the making of the film Quadrophenia. But that era is now over and gone, and Thomas decides to remain in Denmark, although he sees the country as hopelessly stuck in the Hippie era. Meanwhile, he strikes up a relationship with Mia and begins studying at university. However, things get muddled up, the band is drowning in bad gigs, and in the midst of it all Thomas gradually becomes aware of a dark family secret.
