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)

Just stick to the story

The author treats us to all his psychological wanderings about what to write and how to write it and it totally distracts from the story he is attempting to tell. When he wandered into these episodes of introspection, which he did way too often, I had to fast forward the audio. It was maddening. If you want to read about the assassination of this Nazi monster, I am sure there are much better books.

Weird storytelling just didn't work for me.

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

No.

What do you think your next listen will be?

WOOL Omnibus Edition.

Would you be willing to try another one of John Lee’s performances?

Sure there was no issue with the narrator.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The actual story and history that the book wants to tell is compelling. But the weird method of telling the story gets in the way.

Any additional comments?

This should have been a much better book considering the story it aims to tell about the assassination of Heidrich. The problem with the book is that the author is writing about his attempt to write this story. In PAINFUL detail. He literally interrupts the story to say things like, "I was going to write that Heidrich had pancakes for breakfast, but I didn't know for sure if that would be historically accurate". I'm not making this up. WTF?? The first three chapters of the book are the author's ramblings about thinking about writing a book. I thought it was just a lengthy FOREWARD or something.

I don't know why he wrote the book this way. It seems like it would have been a compelling story and at times it starts to be, then the author interjects something like, "I wrote this sentence but my girlfriend didn't like it, but I kept it anyway." ugh.

Not a real novel

What disappointed you about HHhH?

It felt like I was watching a directors cut for a book.

What other book might you compare HHhH to and why?

Never experienced a book like this

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Yes and no....because the story is constantly interrupted by references to writing the story or references to other writers and their stories, it is bit tough to stay interested.

What character would you cut from HHhH?

The whole thing

Any additional comments?

This is not a novel, so do not buy this if that is what you are expecting.

Bizarre Approach Trivializes an Important Story

Imagine, if you will, picking up Tolstoy's "War and Peace" and being confronted with passages like, "And so Napoleon decided to invade Russia. Or at least, that's what I think he decided. I wasn't there, so I can't exactly read his mind. All I can do is tell you that he did invade Russia, which is the story I'm going to write about. But it's hard to concentrate on that story just now, because I'm equally fascinated with the lovely, blonde, 20 year-old stenographer I just hired, and she's a tremendous distraction."

That is more or less what one really finds upon commencing this story of how two expatriates parachuted into Nazi-held Czechoslovakia and managed to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich, one of the most vital -- and evil -- men in the Reich. It's a worthwhile story, but sadly Laurent Binet's history -- or novel about someone trying to write this history -- or very long diary entry about himself (it's a little hard to say which) only occasionally wanders over to tell that tale.

Binet begins by giving an account of why he decided to tell the story -- he was, he says, captivated by the notion of Jozef Gabcik, one of the two men, lying on his bed and listening to the trolleys outside, as the moment approached when he and his partner would strike at the man known as "the Hangman," "the Butcher of Prague," and "the Blond Beast." And it seems like this is a forward, giving the author's motivations for writing this book before it begins.

Unfortunately, the ENTIRE BOOK reads like this, and it becomes hard to tell after a while if this is supposed to be a serious history of the Heydrich assassination or a first-person account of an author struggling with his muse. In a strange way, it's vaguely reminiscent of a 1976 documentary, "All This and World War II," possibly the only "historical" account stranger than Binet's, which presented World War II newsreels, one after another, set to Beatles music!

Binet's approach is hardly less bizarre, though, than that "battles and Beatles" account. And were that not strange enough, consider annoyances like this: at one point, we're told that the head of British Intelligence was referred to as "M," "just like in the James Bond novels." And that, somewhat in homage to that, Heydrich liked to be referred to as "H." But then a little later, Binet admits that he's been "talking rubbish," and that the head of British Intelligence was actually referred to as "C." And that Heydrich actually liked to refer to himself as "C," too, not "H." How does an author (let alone his editor) justify wasting his reader's time with nonsense like that? And after a time, how can the reader trust anything that Binet says?

It really is unfortunate, because the story of Gabcik, his compatriot Jan Kubis, and the rest of the people who bravely stood up to the Nazi state to help rid the world of a truly evil man is fascinating, and worthy of a serious examination. But Binet's endless asides trivialize these heroes and the many martyrs he supposedly wants to honor, as his narrative gives them more or less the same prominence as his tempestuous relationship with his girlfriend, or his fretting over whether to spend the money to buy the book written by Heydrich's widow.

What a shame to waste the talents of John Lee, one of the best narrators in the business, on this endless series of distractions. Rubbish, indeed.

Difficult to follow

What would have made HHhH better?

It was very difficult to follow. It jumped around a lot.

What was most disappointing about Laurent Binet’s story?

Not sure if something was lost in the translation, but it did not really hold my interest.

Would you be willing to try another one of John Lee’s performances?

yes

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

disappointment

Difficult to follow

This was honestly the oddest historical book I have read.

It’s more like a personal journal /critique on a historical event than a novel. As I listened, I wished I could rearrange chapters.

I am an avid audio book reader. I have not previously written a review. But the utter confusion and muddling of this book has compelled me!

He starts the book describing how he heard the story of the heroes in this book as a boy from his father. He mentioned that his father told the story masterfully. I longed, all through this read that I could hear the story as his father told it!