Review of Last Gentleman in the MIddle Distance

[LinaMueller]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Last Gentleman in the MIddle Distance" by Jean E Verthein.]

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0 out of 4 stars

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The book Last Gentleman in the Middle Distance by Jean E Verthein is historical fiction. Most of the book takes place in Berlin after the end of the First World War. Many have heard that Berlin in the Weimar Republic was an incredibly liberal city. Not only were there art forms considered "revolutionary," but there was also much more sexual freedom which shocked Germans from other regions. It is this environment that the protagonist, Meta, a girl who has decided to flee her family in Lower Saxony, will find.

However, those who believe that the book is only focused on parties, jazz, and sexual freedom are wrong. The modern environment clashes with the growing presence of Nazis in the current capital of Germany. Meta has Jewish friends, and as life becomes complicated in Germany, she wants to move to the United States. The book's central theme is survival, and this dichotomy between the modern and the archaic appears frequently.

One of the points I liked the most was this innovative aspect of discussing the survival of Jews in an environment as modern (for its time) as Berlin was. Usually, movies and books concerning the Holocaust (or the persecution of Jews) are set in ghettos in Poland or even concentration camps. The setting is rarely the city of Berlin. The perspective of a girl raised in a rural environment and having contact with such an avant-garde city was fascinating. Many characters have to live with acquaintances and relatives with Nazi tendencies, creating an intriguing ambivalent situation.

Unfortunately, the book didn't live up to my expectations in many ways. The first negative point I must emphasize is that it is monotonous most of the time. When I decided to choose this work, I was expecting constant scenes of fights and chases. The truth is, much of the book is wasted on banal conversation and counterproductive descriptions. Furthermore, there are numerous grammatical errors. Lack of punctuation and improperly spaced words are commonplace. At the end of the book, Beethoven is even called "Beethovan." There is no way to say that the book is professionally edited.

All in all, Last Gentleman in the Middle Distance deserves two out of four stars. The book is the classic case of a great idea that was poorly executed. I had to deduct one star due to the grammatical errors and another one because the book is so monotonous. The author should redo the plot, add some antagonists, and so forth. In its current form, I don't think many people will be interested in this work. Anyway, those interested in reading about Berlin during the Weimar Republic period should give it a try.

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Last Gentleman in the MIddle Distance
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[Tarie07]

I wasn't really captivated by the storyline. I wouldn't want to read the book because I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to connect with it tbe way I want to connect with every book I read. Thanks for the review though.