HHhH

By: Laurent Binet

Narrated by: John Lee

Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

HHhH: "Himmlers Hirn heisst Heydrich," or "Himmler's brain is called Heydrich." The most dangerous man in Hitler's cabinet, Reinhard Heydrich was known as the "Butcher of Prague." He was feared by all and loathed by most. With his cold Aryan features and implacable cruelty, Heydrich seemed indestructible - until two men, a Slovak and a Czech recruited by the British secret service - killed him in broad daylight on a bustling street in Prague, and thus changed the course of History.

Who were these men, arguably two of the most discreet heroes of the twentieth century? In Laurent Binet's captivating debut novel, we follow Jozef Gabcik and Jan Kubiš from their dramatic escape of Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia to England; from their recruitment to their harrowing parachute drop into a war zone, from their stealth attack on Heydrich's car to their own brutal death in the basement of a Prague church.

A seemingly effortlessly blend of historical truth, personal memory, and Laurent Binet's remarkable imagination, HHhH- an international best seller and winner of the prestigious Prix Goncourt du Premier Roman - is a work at once thrilling and intellectually engrossing, a fast-paced novel of the Second World War that is also a profound meditation on the nature of writing and the debt we owe to history.

©2009 Editions Grasset et Fasquelle. Translation from the French copyright 2012 by Sam Taylor (P)2012 Tantor

Critic reviews

"This fluid translation by Taylor is a superb choice for lovers of historical literary works and even international thrillers. Most highly recommended." ( Library Journal)

“Captivating . . . [ HHhH] has a vitality very different from that of most historical fiction.” ( The New Yorker)

“[ HHhH is] a marvelous, charming, engaging novel.” ( Los Angeles Times)

Spellbinding & Unique Narrative

I loved the way the author told this story. The narrator of the story is a writer who has the facts about the real events that took place in this WW2 story and then builds the back story of the main characters. While being as factual as he can be he acknowledges that he has to create some of what the characters were likely thinking or feeling. This is why it is a novel and not a non-fiction history. He tells us what he is doing and I found the commentary he interjected while writing the story very entertaining. I really am not explaining this well; suffice is to say I really enjoyed this book. I was anxious to go back to it everytime I had to put it down.

The reader did a great job. He was very easy to listen to and captured the tone of the story perfectly.

incredible

phenomenal narration. tremendous story. you deserve to treat yourself to this masterpiece story narration

Himlers Hirn heisst Heydrich

An interesting narrative about the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich. The title comes from the SS phrase: "Himlers Hirn heisst Heydrich" ("Himmler's brain is called Heydrich"). Instead of telling the story as a straight historical narrative, Laurent Binet weaves himself throughout the main narrative. It becomes in parts a contrived post-modern mediation on truth, fiction, and the author. I want to give Binet points for trying to create a novel that possesses gravitas, is interesting, is tense, but also isn't traditional. Throughout the novel I was cheering for Binet like I was cheering for Jozef Gabcik and Jan Kubis, but while Binet takes huge risks with this novel he just doesn't cleanly land his bold quadruple H.

A great historical non-fiction/novel/memoir/diary

Any additional comments?

An incredible book. I got the sense early on that this would be one of those books I'd be recommending for the rest of my life.

It's a book about a mission of Czech and Slovakian nationals, who have escaped Czechoslovakia, going back to Prague to assassinate a Nazi leader. Sort of.

It's really a book about how difficult it is to research a book about a well known and celebrated event and actually contribute anything worthwhile to the specific story in particular and the genre in general. Almost.

At its true core, it's a book about how writing historical non-fiction so easily slips into historical fiction because of the relationship the author develops with his characters and the desire to glorify their words and actions. It's the feeling that you have to add some dialogue or back story to a detail which is crucial to the story but completely lacking any corresponding information.

But it's really an homage to the bravery of the men of the mission and the thousands of people of Czechoslovakia who sacrificed so much for their mission. The sense of awe and love that Binet feels for the full cast of characters is evident and never becomes forced or maudlin. He doesn't address it i one of the many asides, but that trick may have been the hardest one of all to pull off!

HHhH is full of brilliant asides, clever deprecations of other books on the subject (complete with longing that he'd let himself get away with action packed dialogue), and a true sense of the respect that Binet felt for the men of Operation Anthropoid. I recommend it fully as an historical account, as an historical novel, and as a personal memoir of the joys and pains of writing each of those types of books.

innovative form, moving historical novel

Binet's struggle to find the truth, to accurately depict, to avoid sentimentality and cliche, to invent a new literary form, is as much a part of this gripping novel as the WW II villains and heroes he writes about. Usually intellectual exercises of this sort fail to engage the emotions, but that is not the case here. A beautifully crafted, heartbreaking, yet ultimately uplifting book, read by the always excellent John Lee.

A Fine Historical Fiction Based On Real Events

This is an account of a plot to assassinate a top level Nazi during World War II. The story is real and he author is careful to delineate between what he knows and what he conjectures. Therefore this story is both an interesting read and highly educational.

The actual narration by John Lee is excellent. His reading is clear and professional. The story is clear enough that I could mostly follow the story by listening although I also simultaneously read along a good deal of the time. I am glad hat I read the book. I hank You...

was enthralled

unusual format, but made me love it all the more. I would love to meet the author. de ided to read in preparation for trip to Prague. now I have a whole new perspective and understanding of the importance of this place and people.

His sideshow was bigger than his main act

More time spent on useless asides than on the main story. It was a rambling, convoluted account of a very interesting story

Author intrusion

I hesitate to dis a book because I think of how much effort the writer put into it, how he had to market it to a publishing house to get published, etc. etc. Maybe I am heartbroken because I wanted very much to love this book. I am Czech and have lived in Prague. There was no way I could dislike this book. But man, the style of the writing just royally grated on my nerves. Another WWII book like this, City of Thieves, gets all yappy in the beginning about how grandad did this and grandad did that... but eventually it just lets the story tell itself. I have even gifted copies of City of Thieves to people with that horrible, plot-spoiler first chapter torn out. I could not find a part in this book where the author just let the story go. Within the first 20 or 30 mi of the book, he has some part telling you everything that's going to occur in the book. It's most of the book he's telling you what it's going to be about, what you're going to think. It talks about Mulan Kundera. It's far too much contemplation. Remember the rules of 'show, don't tell' and the trick of not doing Author Intrusion. I kept feeling the author breathing down my neck. I think some people might like something like that, All the articulating and whatnot, but it didn't work for me. The style of it killed me. And it breaks my heart to say that. I very much wanted to fall head over heels for this book.

I liked basic story, writing style drove me nuts

Would you try another book from Laurent Binet and/or John Lee?

lee yes-he did a fine job
Binet--only with a gun to my head

What was most disappointing about Laurent Binet’s story?

the stream of consciences style--if he had whined anymore about the color of the car I was going to hurl, and then to spend pages on his imagined wishful end to the story--who cares?

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from HHhH?

Any of the multitudes of tangents that we were force to go on