Funeral in Berlin
I love the book Funeral in Berlin even though the first time I read it, I was completely baffled as to what had actually happened. It's Cold War Noir at its very best, with a smart-ass (and smart) protagonist. It was written in 1966 and I think I read it first when I was 12. When I first read it, I wasn't sure of the plot. I knew there was an Russian scientist who wanted to defect to the West and a Russian Colonel who wanted to help him defect and get a nice house for himself as a bonus and a nameless British hero who goes to Berlin to check out the situation and somehow there were Nazis involved-and then I was lost. I think I read it three times before I finally understood what had actually happened-but no one reads Funeral in Berlin for the plot, interesting though it may be. Just remember, while you think it's about the defection, that isn't the point.
There are four quotes at the beginning of Funeral in Berlin and I love this quote in particular because it seems to tell you the main point of the book-and it isn't until the end that you realize that the quote is a trick-that all of the quotes are tricks. You're looking in one direction while the book is really going somewhere else. This particular quote is an exchange between Allen Dulles, then Director of the CIA and Nikita Krushchev:
Dulles: "You, Mr Chairman, may have seen some of my intelligence reports from time to time".
Mr Krushchev: I believe we get the same reports-and probably from the same people".
Mr Dulles: "Maybe we should pool our efforts".
Mr Krushchev: "Yes. We should buy our intelligence data together and save money. We'd have to pay the people only once".
Is that what the book is about-a man who gathers information and sells it to both sides in the Cold War? It's part of it...
The thing is, don't read it for the plot-the plot is is secondary compared to Deighton's description of meeting the men who will help him with the East German scientist...
" I need something moved", I said.
"Very well", said Steel Spectacles. He produced a small tape machine.
"Place of consigment's origin?"
"I'll try to arrange that to your convenience" I said.
"Excellent". He clicked the switch on the mike. "Origin nul" he said.
"To?" he asked me"
"Channel ports", I said.
"Which one?"
"Any", I said. He nodded again and repeated my answer into the tape recorder. We were getting on fine together.
"Size?"
"One human" I said. he didn't bat an eyelid; he immediately said, "Willing or unwilling?"
Read it for the dialogue between the hero and the first time he meets Colonel Stok about helping the scientist to defect and he asks to see the Colonel's identity card...
"It says here you are Colonel Maylev", I protested as I laboriously pronounced the Cyrillic script.
"And yours says you are Edmond Dorf", said Stok, "but we are both victims of circumstance."
Read it for his description of Cold War Berlin, which was "the only city in which you were safer in the dark" and everyone is willing to do whatever they have to do to achieve what they want (but what is that they want? Does the scientist want to defect? Does Stok want to come with him? Is the Brit going to help both of them? Does he believe them? What is Vulkan's part in this? ) and no one is ever sure who their friends are.
Deighton has written other great books-The Ipcress File, Spy Story, the Game, Set, Match trilogy are all very good, but for me, none of them have the magic of Funeral in Berlin.
There are four quotes at the beginning of Funeral in Berlin and I love this quote in particular because it seems to tell you the main point of the book-and it isn't until the end that you realize that the quote is a trick-that all of the quotes are tricks. You're looking in one direction while the book is really going somewhere else. This particular quote is an exchange between Allen Dulles, then Director of the CIA and Nikita Krushchev:
Dulles: "You, Mr Chairman, may have seen some of my intelligence reports from time to time".
Mr Krushchev: I believe we get the same reports-and probably from the same people".
Mr Dulles: "Maybe we should pool our efforts".
Mr Krushchev: "Yes. We should buy our intelligence data together and save money. We'd have to pay the people only once".
Is that what the book is about-a man who gathers information and sells it to both sides in the Cold War? It's part of it...
The thing is, don't read it for the plot-the plot is is secondary compared to Deighton's description of meeting the men who will help him with the East German scientist...
" I need something moved", I said.
"Very well", said Steel Spectacles. He produced a small tape machine.
"Place of consigment's origin?"
"I'll try to arrange that to your convenience" I said.
"Excellent". He clicked the switch on the mike. "Origin nul" he said.
"To?" he asked me"
"Channel ports", I said.
"Which one?"
"Any", I said. He nodded again and repeated my answer into the tape recorder. We were getting on fine together.
"Size?"
"One human" I said. he didn't bat an eyelid; he immediately said, "Willing or unwilling?"
Read it for the dialogue between the hero and the first time he meets Colonel Stok about helping the scientist to defect and he asks to see the Colonel's identity card...
"It says here you are Colonel Maylev", I protested as I laboriously pronounced the Cyrillic script.
"And yours says you are Edmond Dorf", said Stok, "but we are both victims of circumstance."
Read it for his description of Cold War Berlin, which was "the only city in which you were safer in the dark" and everyone is willing to do whatever they have to do to achieve what they want (but what is that they want? Does the scientist want to defect? Does Stok want to come with him? Is the Brit going to help both of them? Does he believe them? What is Vulkan's part in this? ) and no one is ever sure who their friends are.
Deighton has written other great books-The Ipcress File, Spy Story, the Game, Set, Match trilogy are all very good, but for me, none of them have the magic of Funeral in Berlin.
posted by SHbookworm at 6:56 AM
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