He is not easy to describe. There is something wrong with his appearance; something displeasing, something down-right detestable. I never saw a man I so disliked, and yet I scarce know why. He must be deformed somewhere; he gives a strong feeling of deformity, although I couldn't specify the point. He's an extraordinary looking man, and yet I really can name nothing out of the way. No, sir; I can make no hand of it; I can't describe him. And it's not want of memory; for I declare I can see him this moment." The whole story is the perfect blend of crime thriller/legal thriller. I enjoyed the parts in court as much as I did outside of it. The author certainly doesn’t go over board with legal jargon and does it in a way that Joe Bloggs would understand, which for me was great as with legal thrillers especially, I can find myself losing interest if they go to ‘technical’. Simon Michaels does it in a way though that keeps it all feeling very authentic whilst not taking anything away from a truly gripping story line.

Did Diogenes dislike Alexander? We don't know. But what we do know is that Cynics like Diogenes prized one thing above all else: autarkeia, a Greek word that roughly translates into autonomy or freedom. And Diogenes knew that a "boon" from Alexander wasn't just a gift, but an attempt to buy his loyalty. It has also been a long time since I last read such a beautiful description of the awe in discovering someone else's body that is (just) the same (as yours) can result in such a surprise and fulfillment. It somehow tells poetically what same-sex attraction feels like: Where that novel’s plot was diffuse and convoluted, An Honest Man stays taut and claustrophobic. The paranoia of living surrounded by the East mirrors Ralf’s determination to keep his sexuality secret in a still-homophobic society, even as his passion for Oz transcends family, friends and politics. The story is very much a coming of age. To begin with Ralf is a rather sheltered and somewhat naive boy, and as the story progresses, and he starts seeing with new eyes his family and friends, he becomes more of an adult.But for all that," continued the lawyer, "there's one point I want to ask: I want to ask the name of that man who walked over the child." The ending was a bit rushed for my taste, and part of me wished for a more satisfying confrontation between Ralf and certain other characters. What Fergusson truly excels at is brining West Berlin to life. The setting is vividly rendered, and Fergusson creates and maintains a rather bittersweet atmosphere. Ralf's narration is filled with youthful descriptions and observations. 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). I love the grit and the ease with which the author writes, creating scenes from a previous time, but managing to bring them to life like they were yesterday. The author manages to create scenarios for the reader so that it is easy to get swept up amongst all of the action, never sure which way the plot will turn next.

Fergusson and Morpurgo win Historical Fiction Awards". harrogate-news.co.uk. Harrogate Informer. 23 October 2015 . Retrieved 22 May 2021. 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 just as the Wall comes down. 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.Flood, Alison (26 June 2015). "Betty Trask award goes to Ben Fergusson's 'grittily evocative' debut". The Guardian . Retrieved 19 May 2021. But of course, in the end, 1989 meant neither of those things. It just meant Oz and espionage - how grand that word sounds now. And, I suppose my family, and the terrible things we did.

But far from keeping him afloat, it drags him ever deeper into the shadowy underworld of 1960s London. Now, not only is his practice at stake, but his very life. Can Charles extricate himself from a chess game played from the shadows by corrupt police officers and warring gangs without once again turning to crime himself?Ralf struggles with several dualities in his life, amongst them his German-Britishness, being at the verge of finishing high school, and having a longtime girlfriend when he begins to explore his attraction to men. He isn't always kind, but as he gets comfortable with identities that distinguish him from the rest of his friend group, you do feel pulled into his story. Instead of relying on a ruler to pull you out of poverty, Diogenes says to accept poverty and you'll be free from these bloody rulers," says Piering. "It really highlights the difference between the two." Flood, Alison (11 December 2015). "Poet Sarah Howe named young writer of the year". The Guardian . Retrieved 19 May 2021. In a way, Fergusson's prose is a reminder that just 32 years ago, in the summer of 1989, the Cold War was still at its hottest. Ralf is a complex young man, coming to grips with himself in a totally relatable way. “I was constantly second guessing what people wanted from me, always aware that there were many thoughts and feelings I was necessarily burying.” (p58). As his family, Berlin and the communist bloc unravels around him, Ralf embarks on his own personal journey of unravelling as he navigates himself. Ultimately, Ralf is very courageous, and there is a resolve that is realised as the wall succumbs, symbolic of the breakthroughs in Ralf’s own life.

A baby needed a family': how a same-sex couple became one of Germany's first to adopt". The Observer. The Observer. 17 July 2022 . Retrieved 18 July 2022. For this and for a lot more, the novel is also a delicate coming-out story, as there is a maturing process concerning Ralf's coming to terms with his feelings and himself in a time where coming out was no easy deal with the AIDS crisis just around the corner and homosexuality being so much despised. It still can be. He gets very few cases due to the gossip about him and he is seriously considering finding another job, just to pay the bills, when he mysteriously receives instructions to defend a solicitor accused of taking part in a diamond robbery.I'm a retired history teacher very familiar with this history, but the book is impeccably researched with rich detail that was new and interesting. Not quite halfway through, you will begin to worry and desperately hope events will work out for our hero as he accidentally becomes involved in espionage between east and west that threatens him and his family.