The Separation, by Christopher Priest
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The Separation, by Christopher Priest
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Researching the war between Britain and Nazi Germany, which ended in May 1941, historian Stuart Gratton becomes intrigued by the enigma of J. L. Sawyer, an obscure figure who played a key part in bringing the conflict to its conclusion. As he digs deeper, he discovers there were two J. L. Sawyers – identical twins Jack and Joe, one a bomber pilot and the other a conscientious objector – divided both by their love for the same woman and their attitudes towards the war. But as the brothers’ story emerges from books, letters, and diaries, the evidence does not all add up, and there may be an even wider separation between them – divergent realities, in which different possibilities and unexpected truths emerge, and nothing is quite what it seems. Both a brilliant historical novel about World War II and one of the best works of alternate history ever written, Christopher Priest’s The Separation earned the Arthur C. Clarke and BSFA Awards and ranks among his finest achievements. Like his classics The Affirmation and The Prestige, it is an engrossing literary puzzle that will keep readers turning the pages until its startling conclusion. ‘An astonishing achievement.’ – Locus ‘A masterly novel that deserves to become a classic.’ – The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction ‘A complex and enigmatic tale of identity, illusion and deception.’ – Glasgow Herald ‘Superbly constructed, the prose admirably spare and elegant . . . a queasily gripping and intelligent work of fiction.’ – Daily Telegraph ‘A subtle, unsettling alternative WWII history.’ – Publishers Weekly (starred review)
The Separation, by Christopher Priest- Amazon Sales Rank: #314300 in eBooks
- Published on: 2015-06-10
- Released on: 2015-06-10
- Format: Kindle eBook
From Publishers Weekly Starred Review. In this subtle, unsettling alternative WWII history from British author Priest (The Prestige), Jack Sawyer is an RAF bomber pilot who encourages his government to distrust the peace proposal offered by renegade Nazi Rudolph Hess. At the same time, perhaps, Jack's identical twin brother, Joe, is a pacifist Red Cross staffer aiding peace negotiations with a German delegation headed by Hess. Jack's actions help shape the events we remember; Joe's lead to a truce between Germany and Britain in 1941 that results in a disturbingly familiar postwar world. Convincingly detailed diaries, scraps of published texts, declassified transcripts and more baffle a historian who tries to reconcile different realities. The brothers themselves recognize the uncertainty of motives and actions; Joe in particular struggles to believe that he's making a better future even though he realizes how much it costs him personally. Many alternative history novels are bloodless extrapolations from mountains of data, but this one quietly builds characters you care about—then leaves their dilemmas unresolved as they try to believe that what they have done is "right." (Dec.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist *Starred Review* Historian Stuart Gratton, enjoying some success with his books on World War II, is tracing a mystery involving twin brothers and their roles in the war. The brothers, both known as J. L. Sawyer, won bronze medals for Britain in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin; witnessed the rise of Adolph Hitler; and rescued Birgit, a beautiful German Jew. When Jack marries Birgit, it triggers an estrangement that continues when the brothers are confronted with their differing views on the war. Joe enlists as a pilot with the RAF, and Jack, a conscientious objector, serves with the British Red Cross. Diaries, letters, and documents divulge the actions and emotions of the twins as well as the confusion of identities and the motivations of both ordinary citizens and powerful figures. Both brothers suffer injuries that cause them to lose their sense of reality about the war, their relationships with Birgit, and their ultimate personal fates. By focusing on these two young men, each heroic in his own way, and the complexities of their relationships, Priest offers a masterful look at how war affects individuals as well as an exploration of personal identity. Vanessa BushCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
About the Author Christopher Priest is the author of ten novels and two collections of short stories, including the prize-winning THE GLAMOUR and THE PRESTIGE which won the James Tait Black award in 1995. He lives in Hastings with his wife and twin children.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Brilliant -- but as confusing as anything can be By E. Kovar I love this book and have given it to several people who've loved it as much as I do. I'm sorry that people were let down by the reviews. One person got bored, one found the writing was horrible, and one felt it was the worst book he'd ever read.But those reviews make sense: Chris Priest is being even more confusing than usual.At the very beginning it does seem that "Priest posits an alternate history in which Britain signed a peace accord with Germany in 1941, ending the war." But he doesn't. He starts with a historian in that time line who's dragged in and becomes interested because as he reads the memoirs and does the research there seem to be two different things going on at the same time; he becomes more and more confused and irritated but there's also the itch to find out what is true.Assuming that the reader doesn't just give up because things seem so muddled (and it takes a lot of patience not to) it gradually develops that the twins' time lines diverge at some point but the time lines and the brothers keep crossing. You wind up with the same scenes but as happened on one time line or the other, sometimes even a twin seeing it from his brothers time line and reacting to it. Priest is also playing with the subject of twins in general. Does Winston Churchill have someone who looks like him to go out in public and risk death? He needed to be alive to work, he had to be out there to support and encourage the people. Does the Churchill of the book use or not use a double? Which choice is the right one? Or is it even that each choice was made by a Churchill? Compound that by asking if it was the same Churchill from different time lines but overlapping?And who, what, and when are the people at the peace talks? People are doubled, leaning one way in one time line and a different one in the other, the time lines are different depending on what people have done in the past, then compound that by doubles/not doubles interacting with each other. Throw in that people get confused, especially when trying to follow official documents that are contradictory. Is X the same person acting in far different ways or a different one with the same name, antecedents, et. al.? Etc.For whatever it's worth there was an attempt by members of the German High Command to negotiate with the Allies to secure peace. It was to involve removing Hitler from power. In The Separation the person who was to execute it did or did not have a chance. If he did have the chance it did or did not succeed. The novel isn't about great events, it's about this or that person, who they are, how that changes, the choices they make, the results of those choices, to the point of the success/not success of that mission depending on what this or that person did as things were happening. "For the want of a a nail a shoe was lost . . . a horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse." But is the kingdom one where Hitler's career was ended by the Germans or the Allies? Both have advantages and disadvantages.It's a novel that address that individuals can be evil and good; with the best of intentions do something that has a bad result; that two things can be true at once; at one and the same time -- the brothers overlapping -- believe that one thing is true and the opposite is also true, that one has to fight in defense of country, not noticing individual suffering while at the same time that fighting is wrong and what has to be paid attention to is the individual suffering.And should one follow ones beliefs to the exclusion of anything else or modify them as things go along? In The Separation each brother believes something to be an absolute and follows that.(Bringing that down to the most basic you believe "Be open and honest" and "Don't hurt people" What do you do if a friend has made a stupid decision? What happens if one of those beliefs, be open and honest for example, is something you consider an absolute and follow at all costs?)Which goes back to Churchill: using a double and not using a double are both the right thing to do. Flying to attack an enemy to end the fighting, ignoring individuals, and focusing on the individuals and trying to end the fighting can both be the right thing to do. Having the absolute belief in something, honourably sticking to it and following that path to the end, can be right or wrong.And what, the historian and others try to find out, is True?At the end of The Separation, did the person in the ambulance live or die? He's Schroedinger's cat.The Schroedinger thought-experiment exasperated me: I could see and agree with the point but any discussion of the actual experiment drove me nuts: just open the box already. The result is going to be either a cat that is dead or a cat that is fed so stop leaving it in limbo. Whichever result let us get on with it. Humans are more complicated. The person in the ambulance lived. The person in the ambulance died. At various points before that decisions were made, each one being made led to the result, the result had repercussions one way or the other.The Prestige was easier but even then closing the book or watching the closing credits could leave the brain twitching: huh? And having to go through the novel, movie, or both again. The Separation has you doing that huh? shortly after starting reading.
25 of 31 people found the following review helpful. An enigma wrapped in a riddle; the ideal alternate history By Amazon Customer Christopher Priest's "The Separation" breaks from the standard Alternate History templates in almost every way possible, and as a result, is superb addition to the genre. I say this because unlike most alternate histories, which focus on story (specifically timeline) to the exclusion of plot and character development, Priest has taken the opposite approach and written a novel that explores ideas and reality within the framework of an alternate history. His world is a tool (albeit a fascinating, well realized one) used to highlight certain salient elements of his narrative. Moreover, Priest leaves his world ambiguous and oddly uncertain.This uncertainty begins with the opening pages of the novel, which at first strike the reader as relatively standard alternate history. It is the early twenty-first century in a world where Britain and Germany signed an armistice in the spring of 1941. Priest quickly frames a believable alternate world without bogging down in the details, and the novel seems set to follow the researches of one Stuart Gratton into the origins of this early peace. Intriguing yes, but hardly surprising or unique for an alternate history. However, that quickly changes as Gratton comes into possession of diaries that reveal the story of an RAF bomber pilot, and it quickly becomes clear that these diaries detail the events of our own world.Thus begins a narrative that weaves back and forth across itself. Through the fascinating lives of J. L. Sawyer, twins who share the same initials, the reader is constantly left wondering what is real and what is imagined. Considering that the reader actually knows which story is true, this is a remarkable accomplishment, and speaks highly to Priest's substantial abilities as a writer.To delve more deeply into the plot would risk spoiling it, but there are numerous elements to this novel that are worth mentioning. The first is it's presentation; Priest deftly switches from the third to the first person, and often interjects "historical" letters and documents to flesh out the narrative. While in less capable hands, this would come across as contrived, here it succeeds nicely in separating the lives of the Sawyer brothers.Which brings us to the literary device of the twins; again, in less capable hands, they could come across as hackneyed, but carefully handled, as they are here, they are an essential and fascinating plot element. Aside from the broadly recognized, if not fully appreciated, bond between twins, Priest explores even deeper elements. His twins, despite being two people seem to be bound to only one destiny. Each has his preferred path, but they are mutually exclusive, and immutable. This tension, although never explicitly stated or explored, informs the entire novel, and is key to Priest's ability to keep the reader wrong-footed for quite literally the entire novel.Finally, this question of destiny brings us to the book's consideration of reality. At times Priest seems to verge on the "multiverse" approach found elsewhere in science fiction; in other words, his world and our own are not exclusive but just two of innumerable possible worlds. Ultimately, however, he backs away from this approach; while not a proponent of predestination, he views history as a force that can be diverted but never meaningfully altered. In this specific instance, he uses Hess, Churchill and other real people to illustrate that other outcomes, no matter how strongly desired, aren't plausible in the face personalities, circumstances, etc. If I am correct in this reading, it has fascinating implications for the entire structure of the book, to the point that in a manner of speaking the book ceases to exist for the characters once it has been read in its entirety.I used the word "if" above for two reasons; the first is that while I am confident in my reading, I can't state conclusively that I am correct. The reason for this hesitation is the second reason for using "if": this entire novel is about "ifs". The story crosses back upon itself countless times, and the reader is constantly left to question what is consequential and what is insignificant. By exploring the alternative paths available, Priest highlights the one that actually was followed to great effect; it is easy to assume that the world would have been a better place absent World War II, but what would the implications of such a peace have been?Blending elements of convergent and divergent history, not to mention secret history, Priest has produced a remarkable novel. His world is tremendously detailed without being overly expository, and his writing posits a host of intriguing questions. Where "The Separation" truly shines though is in its consideration of our humanity. Priest uses his world to explore our hopes, aspirations and desires. Moreover, by deliberately fracturing and blurring the narrative, he calls into question reality itself even as he brings into stark relief the implications of our actions. A novel rich in ideas, beautifully conceived, superbly executed and brilliantly written, "The Separation" is not to be missed.Jake Mohlman
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Too clever for me By Mme DLR Alternative history divides into two broad categories: those that use it as a device to tell genre stories, 'Fatherland' for example, and pure alternative histories which tend to be science fiction. 'The Separation' falls into the latter category. I prefer the former. And that's my main gripe with the book.When I first came across it I was instantly intrigued by the hook of the Jews being deported to Madagascar instead of killed. However this is only the most minor detail in the background of the story. Nothing substantial comes out of it.Instead this is a book of parallel histories, narratives and characters. Twins and doubles are everywhere (a theme the author is obviously interested in for those who have seen/read The Prestige). There are twins and doubles everywhere - and that's not a mistake because large sections of the book are repeated with only minor alterations. I understand how Priest is making a point about the nature of reality/parallel histories and unreliable narrators but personally I found it a bit tedious.Something else that disappointed were the references to the extensive research of the book (both here on Amazon and the dust jacket). Again this maybe a case of me failing to manage my expectations but I assumed this meant research into the creation of an alternative world such as Harris's Berlin in `Fatherland'. As it happens the books is full of detailed research but it's more to do with life during the war than any victorious Nazi Germany.Take all of the above then add the fact that I didn't warm to the twins' characters nor did I much like Priest's clever but rather cold writing and I was left with a novel I struggled to finish... though I did get there in the end.Sometimes you read a book that you know is good but you personally can't get on with it. I'm sorry to say 'Separation' is one of those. Too clever for me, I'm afraid.
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