(Alternate History) In 1950s London after the Nazi's won WWII, a German man tries to find a girl he used to love in response to her call for help. (18,093 words; Time: 1h:00m)
Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average
Recommended By: GDozois:5 RHorton:5 JStrahan"The Vanishing Kind," by Lavie Tidhar [bio] (edited by C.C. Finlay), appeared in Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction issue 07-08|16, published on July 5, 2016 by Spilogale Inc.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Pro: This is pretty much a mystery story, with two twists: first, that Ulla isn't dead, and, second, that Everly is actually Jewish. By the end, all the questions are answered.
Con: The first twist was no surprise; when Gunther identified the body based on a ring (because the face was shot off), I immediately suspected Ulla wasn't really dead. The second was a surprise, but also irrelevant to the story, which had otherwise only made reference in passing to the Holocaust.
With very small changes, this could be a 100% mainstream story. (E.g. move it to 1950s East Berlin.)
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 07-08|16)
Lavie Tidhar Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB
Con: The first twist was no surprise; when Gunther identified the body based on a ring (because the face was shot off), I immediately suspected Ulla wasn't really dead. The second was a surprise, but also irrelevant to the story, which had otherwise only made reference in passing to the Holocaust.
With very small changes, this could be a 100% mainstream story. (E.g. move it to 1950s East Berlin.)
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 07-08|16)
Lavie Tidhar Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB
I liked this quite a bit more than you did - I don't think I'd give it a 5, but definitely a 4. It's certainly true that the first twist is not a surprise at all - in fact, the story so closely tracks The Third Man that no one who has seen that great film would be surprised by the general plot. (I wasn't sure from your mini-review whether you hadn't seen it or were just avoiding more detailed spoilers.) However, I found the final revelation about Everly to be quite powerful, precisely because the earlier references to the Holocaust had been so oblique - precisely as you would expect in an alternate history where it is not regarded as a monstrous crime.
ReplyDeleteI'll admit I didn't see the connection to "The Third Man," but it's obvious once you point it out. So not only could it be turned into a mainstream story, it already has been! :-)
DeleteI also liked this more than you did, in fact I thought it was excellent - moody, disturbing and resonant. I expect that being British I'm more likely to be attuned to the setting.
ReplyDeleteI think it deserves the multiple YB spots it's been given.
Incidentally another comparison would be SS GB by Len Deighton, but it's been years since I read that.
I'll admit I'm not a fan of what-if-the-Nazis-won alternate history stories. I find them disturbing, but not in a good way.
ReplyDeleteShout out to the forced Young Frankenstein joke
ReplyDelete