Never, by Ken Follett.

 

          In a preface to his latest epic tale, Ken Follett tells us that when he was researching ‘Fall of Giants’, the first of a trilogy of novels beginning with the First World War, he was shocked to find that ‘that was a war that nobody wanted.  No European leader on either side intended for it to happen.  But the emperors and prime ministers, one by one, made logical, moderate decisions – each of which took us a small step closer to the most terrible conflict the world had ever known.  I came to believe that it was all a tragic accident.’

            ‘And I wondered:  could that happen again?’

            Which is the premise for ‘Never’, starting in the North African country of Chad in the Sahara desert,  its population impoverished and entirely dependent for their existence on the huge but shrinking Lake that is their Oasis.  Because of Jihadi terrorist activity in the region, the USA and France have secret agents stationed in N’Djamena, Chad’s capital city, and Mr Follett starts the action with several rounds of confrontations between the good guys and the terrorists to set the scene – and no-one does blood and gore better than he, but this is just a preliminary round, for the American President is soon drawn into the fray when it is discovered that the jihadis were using weapons supplied by China:  how did they get them?  Who sold them?  Where did the money come from?

            Questions that don’t receive satisfactory answers, and the situation is compounded by the Supreme Leader of North Korea deciding to rattle a sabre or three by flaunting his possession of missiles with nuclear warheads:  he’s a loose cannon that China definitely doesn’t need as an ally, but fate has added a further complication:  the female president of South Korea has decided it’s her destiny to invade North Korea and unite the Korean people once and for all, ‘before she dies’.  She has the military hardware, backed by the USA, and the single-minded conviction that it is her God-Given right:  how can she fail?

            Mr Follett is an economical, no-frills writer;  he writes short sentences and relies on the reader to form their own mental pictures of his characters, but his research is meticulous and his ratcheting-up of tension throughout this mighty tome (you need strong wrists – 816 pages) is heart-in-the-mouth stuff, especially when we compare our current worrying times with what should be a work of fiction. 

            Nuclear War, coming soon to a place near you.  ( God forbid!)  FOUR STARS.

 

 

The Hungry and the Fat, by Timur Vermes.

 

  

          For those myriads who are already familiar with Timur Vermes and his wonderful satire ‘Look who’s Back’ (none other than the little tyrant himself!) – the prospect of another hilarious, biting commentary on contemporary Germany is to be savoured – and reflected upon:  how much is satire, and how much is truth?

            According to the rising Far Right parties in Deutschland, the country is awash with refugees, mostly Muslim, all allowed in by Mutti Angela (that fat cow!). Now she is marching off into the sunset, greeting retirement without a backward glance, leaving all the new Nazis to clean up the mess after her.  It’s not to be born!  Add to that a private TV channel hoping to up its ratings on the Reality Celeb circuit, has decided to send Nadeche Hackenbusch, model and TV star, and purveyor of such vital feminine aids as the Hackenpush-up (a push-up bra guaranteed to levitate any size breast skyward), to a huge, real refugee camp in Africa, where she will dispense food, water, advice (advice?), Hackenpush-ups (to women who have never worn such things in their lives) and endless sympathy for their plight, all the while being filmed by a camera crew, her endless good deeds recounted breathlessly by a magazine writer.  She will be known as Germany’s ‘Angel in Adversity’.  The ratings – and advertising – should go through the roof!

            Except that human nature gets in the way.  One occupant of the refugee camp is particularly resourceful and decides that, instead of receiving aid from Germany – albeit from the Angel – it would be far preferable to make the trek overland to Germany, their benefactor;  after all, look how many have already done so.  They could introduce new industries to Deutschland, like Goat-herding, for example:  there don’t seem to be many Goat herds - or herders, for that matter.  It could be a whole new industry. 

            Where there’s a will there’s a way and, despite initial utter disbelief then threats from the authorities 350,000 people start the trek from Africa overland to Europe, countries along the way divesting themselves conveniently of their asylum-seekers at the same time:  Germany is doing them all a favour!  Last but not least, the Angel in Adversity is leading the charge:  her ratings are stratospheric, and she and the resourceful one are now a couple.  (Never mind that she has a family of sorts back home).  All is well until it isn’t, when Germany decides to stop them in their tracks, and mass tragedy predictably occurs.

            Timur Vermes has again hit us where it hurts, exposing all our terrible flaws;  racism, NIMBYISM, hypocrisy and greed.  And because he must be very kind, he does it with great humour, most ably assisted by his excellent translator Jamie Bullock.  SIX STARS!