The Aftermath: A Novel
Written by Rhidian Brook
Narrated by Leighton Pugh
4/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
1946, post-World War II Hamburg. While thousands wander the rubble, lost and homeless, Colonel Lewis Morgan, charged with overseeing the rebuilding of this devastated city and the denazification of its defeated people, is stationed in a grand house on the River Elbe. He is awaiting the arrival of his wife, Rachael-still grieving for their eldest son-and their only surviving son, Edmund. But rather than force the owners of the house, a German widower and his rebellious daughter, out onto the streets, Lewis insists that the two families live together. In this charged atmosphere, both parents and children will be forced to confront their true selves as enmity and grief give way to passion and betrayal, to their deepest desires, their fiercest loyalties, and the transforming power of forgiveness.
This courageous new novel from award-winning author Rhidian Brook tells an emotionally riveting story of two families, one house, and love grown from hate.
Editor's Note
Haunting…
A haunting look at Germany in the immediate aftermath of World War II, following families trying to fit back together after the fighting has stopped. The movie version stars Keira Knightley.
Rhidian Brook
Rhidian Brook is an award-winning writer of fiction. His first novel, The Testimony of Taliesin Jones, won several prizes including The Somerset Maugham Award. His third, The Aftermath, is an international bestseller and has been translated into twenty-five languages and made into a major motion picture. He has written for television and the screen and is a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4’s Thought For The Day. He once had a job selling butterflies in glass cases.
Related to The Aftermath
Related audiobooks
Love Among the Haystacks Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsO Pioneers! (version 2) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTess of the D'urbervilles Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5O Pioneers! Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Lena Rivers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRamona (version 2) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Three Taverns Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBronte's Mistress: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Caged Bird Sings: A Young Man's Untold War Chronicles Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDodo: A Detail of the Day Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDuke Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Murder to Die For Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Love So True: A Sweet World War II Historical Romance Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mrs. Robinson's Disgrace: The Private Diary of a Victorian Lady Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Romance in Marseille Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fire in the Thatch Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Riceyman Steps Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Great Impersonation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Master of Measham Hall: Measham Hall, Book 1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMurder in the Mill-Race: A Devon Mystery Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Princess Passes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBurning Secret Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5O Pioneers! - Unabridged Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsQueen Lucia Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5La niña alemana (The German Girl Spanish edition): Novela Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Trick: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Earl in Peril (Barbara Cartland's Pink Collection 154) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Historical Fiction For You
All the Light We Cannot See: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5And Then There Were None Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Outlander Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Tom Lake: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Lost Names Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Rose Code: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cloud Cuckoo Land: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Beneath a Scarlet Sky: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Schindler's List Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Weyward: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lost Apothecary: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5News of the World: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Reformatory: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lady Tan's Circle of Women Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5That Bonesetter Woman: the new feelgood novel from the author of The Smallest Man Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Alice Network: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The House of Eve Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Let Us Descend: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5West with Giraffes: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The River We Remember: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Neon Gods Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Huntress: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dragon Teeth: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Perfume: The Story of a Murderer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rules of Magic: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Clan of the Cave Bear Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All Quiet on the Western Front Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Golem and the Jinni: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Murder on the Orient Express: A Hercule Poirot Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Aftermath
13 ratings1 review
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I've never read Russell Banks' Affliction, but this book reminded me a lot of Banks' The Sweet Hereafter. (In fact, I could have sworn I saw the comparison somewhere, but endless Googling tells me I must be crazy. I probably saw Banks' name and linked it to his other novel.) Shawver's novel seemed like a more modern telling of The Sweet Hereafter, which explores a town's emotions after a bus crash kills or injuries many of their children. In Aftermath, the town boys are divided and fight in a local restaurant's parking lot until one boy is critically injured. The book is told from two different points of view - the restaurant manager's, and the injured boy's mother. I love how diplomatically Shawver presents both POVs, so at times you're on each character's side, hating the other. He makes it very hard to pick sides in the way you traditionally would when reading such a news story, because he delves into the characters and makes them seem completely real. Each time I'd end a chapter, I'd convince myself to read just one more. It was very compelling.
I'm still rolling the resolution around in my head. It didn't come out of the blue, but I think there could have been a little more foreshadowing, or even just a few details stressed more in the beginning that would have made it seem like less of a jump. As it was, the resolution didn't shock me either way - I wasn't disappointed by it, but it didn't really "resolve" things like I thought it would. Still a great book, one I will re-read.