Reviews
"Rhidian Brook's arresting novel brings vividly to life a little-told aspect of World War II: its aftermath. His story--energetically and authoritatively told--is unsettling and compelling, suffused with suffering and, mercifully, some hope." --Claire Messud, author of The Woman Upstairs "Brook's masterly novel . . . wrings every drop of feeling out of a gripping human situation, and his vignettes of war-ravaged Hamburg are superb." -- The Mail on Sunday "Brook's beautifully written novel ponders issues of decency, guilt, and forgiveness . . . Profoundly moving." -- The Independent "Reading The Aftermath, one can't help but wonder if this is the sort of literary memorialization (albeit from a British author) that Sebald might have wished for." -- Washington Post "Superb . . . Conjuring surprise after surprise as it shows how the forces of politics and history penetrate even the most intimate moments of its characters' emotional lives . . . The house on the Elbe [is] akin to Hamlet 's Elsinore." -- The Guardian "A moving, always enthralling journey into the dark and light of history. Rhidian Brook has written a brilliant novel." --Joseph O'Neill, author of Netherland "Brook is wonderful at evoking the atmosphere of this forgotten time and place . . . There is much to think about here." -- The Times (London) "Brook's excellent novel [is] a captivating tale of love among the ruins but also of treachery and vengeance . . . It does what all good novels should do: it poses many complex questions and resists neat, topped-and-tailed answers." -- Literary Review "Brook addresses weighty themes--forgiveness, familial loss--with a light touch . . . Brings to mind no less a novel than J.G. Ballard's Empire of the Sun. " -- Financial Times "Rhidian Brook takes a piece of history I thought I knew well and breaks it open; The Aftermath is a compelling, surprising, and moving novel." --Sadie Jones, author of The Uninvited Guests, "Rhidian Brook's arresting novel brings vividly to life a little-told aspect of World War II: its aftermath. His story-energetically and authoritatively told-is unsettling and compelling, suffused with suffering and, mercifully, some hope." -Claire Messud, author of The Woman Upstairs "A moving, always enthralling journey into the dark and light of history. Rhidian Brook has written a brilliant novel." -Joseph O'Neill, author of Netherland "Rhidian Brook takes a piece of history I thought I knew well and breaks it open; The Aftermath is a compelling, surprising, and moving novel." -Sadie Jones, author of The Uninvited Guests , "Rhidian Brook's arresting novel brings vividly to life a little-told aspect of World War II: its aftermath. His story--energetically and authoritatively told--is unsettling and compelling, suffused with suffering and, mercifully, some hope." --Claire Messud, author of The Woman Upstairs "Brook's masterly novel . . . wrings every drop of feeling out of a gripping human situation, and his vignettes of war-ravaged Hamburg are superb." -- The Mail on Sunday "Brook's beautifully written novel ponders issues of decency, guilt, and forgiveness . . . Profoundly moving." -- The Independent "Superb . . . Conjuring surprise after surprise as it shows how the forces of politics and history penetrate even the most intimate moments of its characters' emotional lives . . . The house on the Elbe [is] akin to Hamlet 's Elsinore." -- The Guardian "A moving, always enthralling journey into the dark and light of history. Rhidian Brook has written a brilliant novel." --Joseph O'Neill, author of Netherland "Brook is wonderful at evoking the atmosphere of this forgotten time and place . . . There is much to think about here." -- The Times (London) "Brook's excellent novel [is] a captivating tale of love among the ruins but also of treachery and vengeance . . . It does what all good novels should do: it poses many complex questions and resists neat, topped-and-tailed answers." -- Literary Review "Brook addresses weighty themes--forgiveness, familial loss--with a light touch . . . Brings to mind no less a novel than J.G. Ballard's Empire of the Sun. " -- Financial Times "Rhidian Brook takes a piece of history I thought I knew well and breaks it open; The Aftermath is a compelling, surprising, and moving novel." --Sadie Jones, author of The Uninvited Guests, "Rhidian Brook's arresting novel brings vividly to life a little-told aspect of World War II: its aftermath. His story--energetically and authoritatively told--is unsettling and compelling, suffused with suffering and, mercifully, some hope." --Claire Messud, author of The Woman Upstairs "A moving, always enthralling journey into the dark and light of history. Rhidian Brook has written a brilliant novel." --Joseph O'Neill, author of Netherland "Rhidian Brook takes a piece of history I thought I knew well and breaks it open; The Aftermath is a compelling, surprising, and moving novel." --Sadie Jones, author of The Uninvited Guests
