Official Review: Crystal Night by Marc J. Seifer

[micoleon13]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Crystal Night" by Marc J. Seifer.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Crystal Night by Marc J. Seifer carries on from the previous novel, Doppelgänger, where journalist, Rudy Styne, had found out that he has an identical brother, Rolf.

When one of the largest European airline companies, MB Airways, plans a merger with an American company, Rudy covers the story and comes into contact with Rolf and his father, Gunther, for the first time. MB Airways has been on top of the industry for decades, but Gunther was not always in charge.

Rudy is drawn back in history to WWII and Hitler’s rise to power where so many Jewish-run industries were taken over by Nazi leaders. Can Rudy discover what his own connection is to the company as well as find out who his biological mother really is?

With a nod to the infamous Kristallnacht, Crystal Night looks at how the Jewish people were treated prior to, during, and after, Hitler’s Nazi Germany. While many books have covered this subject, this novel looks more at the economic takeovers and the implications these had decades afterward.

Written in third person, the plot focuses around Rudy in the present day and the Maxwell family in Germany in 1918 through to after the war. The chapters move between the two stories as well as providing historical facts of the political climate during the time.

Elias Maxwell runs one of the largest airline companies in Germany, with his son, Abe, spearheading the ideas. Abe’s daughter, Rose, is a child prodigy and brilliant pianist giving concerts by age 5. While there were many characters in this book, Abe and Rose were two that stood out for me. Abe comes across as an intelligent and honest man who, when disaster strikes, does his utmost to protect his daughter. The reader gets to see Rose develop from a precocious child into a troubled young woman as she is forced to cope with the horrendous circumstances she finds herself in by being a Jew in Nazi Germany.

Many of the historical interludes are based on fact and Hermann Göring is portrayed a lot here. I, personally, did not know much about him and his place beside Hitler other than just his name. I found this aspect very interesting and it gave even more of a realistic tone to the book.

Thrown into this already varied mix was a side plot of a computer hacker who Rudy is trying to track down. While it may tie the previous book in the series to this one, to me this aspect didn’t seem necessary and was a little forced. However, as I have not read the first book I may be missing something.

While it did take me some time to get involved with this book due to the different plot lines and multiple characters, I did enjoy it. However, as there were many small punctuation and grammatical errors I rate it 3 out of 4 stars. There has obviously been a huge amount of research carried out which is evident in the realistic manner of the story. This is definitely a book for historical fiction readers, especially those focused on WWII. There are, of course, references to the Holocaust, concentration camps, and the atrocities which were carried out there. While very difficult to read about, these do show the depravity that human beings are capable of inflicting on one another and should never be forgotten.

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Crystal Night
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[NL Hartje]

There seems to be much more to this book than was described in the review blurb. Too bad for the author, I may have picked it up had more of your sentiments been included

Great review!

[kandscreeley]

I'm glad you liked this one. It's interesting that this book focuses on the economic implications of what happened. While I'm sure that was huge, the atrocities that they suffered seems to trump that most of the time. Thanks for the information.

[prettysmart]

I see how your review typically explains the comparison made by the authour as he interchanges between two settings of contrasting eras measuring their similarities and differences. Compelling

[RebeccasReading]

This sounds like an interesting read. Thanks for the review!

[Heather_Mc]

It sounds like a compelling read, but as you mentioned in your review, it would help to read the previous book first. Still, it looks like it's worth checking out!

[Irene C]

Very interesting to see a historical fiction novel set over the entire interwar period, covering the Nazis' rise itself. Thanks for this review.

[Maja Saveva]

Tempting review. Great to find a historical book which includes fiction too.