A German Requiem by Philip Kerr was assigned by the Wednesday Whodunit Book Club at the Covina Public Library to discuss on February 5, 2014. It is the third book in Philip Kerr's Berlin Noir trilogy starring first person protagonist/ detective Bernhard Gunther. Unlike the first two installments, A German Requiem takes place mostly in Vienna, Austria rather than Berlin. It takes place about ten years after the last book, The Pale Criminal, in 1947 in a very different Germany/ Austria. Hitler has fallen and many of the major players have either died, left the party, or gone into hiding. Now Gunther must deal with the Americans and Russians occupying Berlin and Vienna along with surviving Germans. Requiem is a spy novel in addition to a mystery. Despite the different setting and conditions, the book doesn't seem that different from the previous two in the trilogy, better than the first but not better than the second. Gunther still seems annoyingly superhuman, overly cocky and times, and gullible at others. He seemed a little bit likeable after the last book, but this one didn't improve on that.
The title is first referenced in an excerpt from the poem "A German Requiem" by James Fenton in the first few pages of the book. I thought with its title, the book would be more profound that the previous two and at a few fleeting times it was reflective. More often than not, the profound gets lost in Gunther's wisecracks. He states, "What a town this is for saying 'going away party' when what you really mean is 'a requiem mass.'" (p. 169)
The book has many characters between the Germans / Austrians, Americans, and Russians. It reminded me a bit of The Good German by Joseph Kanon that we read last year. Both involved characters selling information, former Nazis being recruited by the allies, and, I think, both refer to and involved the Nazi document center captured by the Americans. I think they both also had references to Les Miserables. In Requiem, Gunther remarks how, "A man who knew his way around the streets and ruins, who could remember these convenient passages, determined policy cordon with a better chase than Jean Valjean." (p. 96) Some differences are that Good German takes place in Berlin entirely while Requiem mostly takes place in Vienna. I also still prefer The Good German. It just seemed better researched and with a less cocky and lucky protagonist.
A German Requiem contained several relatable references. A character mentions how the American Captain Linden used to pray to Saint Anthony, the patron saint of lost things. I read about him in My Life with the Saints by James Martin, SJ. Gunther's descriptions of a film studio remind me of the film crew I used to see in L.A. "But mostly there are lots of people, all drawing a wage, who seem to do little more than stand around, smoking cigarettes, and nursing cups of coffee, and these only stand around because they are not considered important enough to be provided with a seat." (p. 136) He later describes how the allies take turns patrolling the part of Vienna known as "The Ring." The allies patrolling at a given time are in "the chair" and it is "a bit of a moveable feast." (p. 147) Moveable Feast is the name of a food truck festival in Tacoma and a book by Ernest Hemmingway. Finally, the character Traudl orders bottle of Riesling at a restaurant. We had some Riesling from BevMo and actually enjoyed it.
There were several references to Sherlock Holmes. Gunther tells another character, "and that hat on the sideboard there? It wasn't meant for stalking deer." (p. 75) Another character is described, "Only the lieutenant's the keen type. He's read Sherlock Holmes and wants to go to detective school when he leaves the army." (p. 103) Later Gunther reflects on the case: "While none of this was enough for Conan Doyle to have turned into a short story, it certainly left me puzzled." (p. 194) Still later a character says to Gunther, "You have done very well, Bernie. Very well, indeed. But I must confess. I am still puzzled." Gunther answers back, "About me as a black Peter?" (p. 221) I'm actually not sure if that's a reference to the Sherlock Holmes story "The Adventure of Black Peter."
A couple of things I learned from the book are that "among the Celtic people the color green is considered unlucky" (p. 214) and there's an order of monks in Austria called the Capuchin. It's been an interesting journey through Bernhard Gunther's world, both during and after the Third Reich. But I think it was a bit too much and I'm glad to be done with the trilogy. It will be a while before I read another book by Philip Kerr.
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