307 pages
English language
Published Aug. 22, 2016 by Melville House.
"Wolf, a low-rent private detective, roams London’s gloomy, grimy streets, haunted by dark visions of a future that could have been--and a dangerous present populated by British Fascists and Nazis escaping Germany. Shomer, a pulp fiction writer, lies in a concentration camp, imagining another world. And when Wolf and Shomer's stories converge, we find ourselves drawn into a novel both shocking and profoundly haunting." --
"Wolf, a low-rent private detective, roams London’s gloomy, grimy streets, haunted by dark visions of a future that could have been--and a dangerous present populated by British Fascists and Nazis escaping Germany. Shomer, a pulp fiction writer, lies in a concentration camp, imagining another world. And when Wolf and Shomer's stories converge, we find ourselves drawn into a novel both shocking and profoundly haunting." --
On the one hand an enjoyable pulp romp through alternative history. On the other hand a challenging look through the mind of a pulp fiction author making it through “planet auschwitz”. Half the time I love what Tidhar tries to do in their novels, the other times i wonder what their obsession is with dreams/alternative worlds and why it eventually puts me off.
This might be good the way that Henry Miller might be good, or the way that Andrew Dice Clay might be funny, but sadomasochistic Holocaust revenge porn is not for me, even if it shows some cleverness in its design, is self-referential, and has footnotes.
Alternate history is always a sensitive issue with me simply because I'm a history major and have my won knowledge and ideas about the what if game.
A setting that puts you in a first person perspective with her Wulf himself is definitly a mine field.
However Tidhar pulls it off incredibly well, managing to bring you so close to an evil character without grossing you out.
Perhaps the fact that the name Hitler isn't uttered even once helps maintain this separation.
Other characters and choices made by Tidhar that may be distasteful, can be explained as part of the Pulp Fiction angle of the story.
For an Alternate History, Tidhar manages to keep the name dropping to a reasonable level and relevant to the plot.
The fact that A Man Lies Dreaming didn't hurt any of my sensibilities can perhaps be attributed to the fact the I and Tidhar …
Alternate history is always a sensitive issue with me simply because I'm a history major and have my won knowledge and ideas about the what if game.
A setting that puts you in a first person perspective with her Wulf himself is definitly a mine field.
However Tidhar pulls it off incredibly well, managing to bring you so close to an evil character without grossing you out.
Perhaps the fact that the name Hitler isn't uttered even once helps maintain this separation.
Other characters and choices made by Tidhar that may be distasteful, can be explained as part of the Pulp Fiction angle of the story.
For an Alternate History, Tidhar manages to keep the name dropping to a reasonable level and relevant to the plot.
The fact that A Man Lies Dreaming didn't hurt any of my sensibilities can perhaps be attributed to the fact the I and Tidhar are both a product of the Israeli Jewish culture.
Very in depth alternate history, placed within the framework of a pulp fiction narrative. well played What If game by Lavie Tidhar.
