Alphabet House (Department Q)

by Jussi Adler-Olsen

Steve Schein (Translator)

Germany, World War II. Two English pilots are shot down and crash land behind enemy lines. The area swarming with German troops, they have only minutes to crawl from the wreckage and make their escape. Boarding a train reserved for wounded SS men on the way home from the eastern front, they ditch their clothing and personal belongings and pose as German soldiers, hiding for days in soiled, bloody beds, feigning unconsciousness. But their act is too convincing and they find find themselves being transferred to Alphabet House, a mental hospital for those damaged by war. How will they escape? And for how long can you simulate insanity without going crazy for real? They are playing a dangerous game and it seems they might not be the only ones in Alphabet House hiding secrets.

• ISBN13: 9781843915447
• Publish Date: 11 August 2014
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 4 March 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Hesperus Press Ltd
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 240
• Language: English

Reviews

[kimbacaffeinate]

The Alphabet House is not a novel or audio you will consume in a single sitting. Froth with danger and unimaginable decisions the first half of the novel deals with events during the war and their stay at the Alphabet House. The second half begins almost thirty years and shares the consequences those years had on these men.

The characters Bryan and James are beautifully developed and Adler-Olsen brings their thoughts and emotions to life in a very realistic way. As I read, I feared for them, shrieked in horror and wondered what I would have done in their shoes. Secondary characters aided the stories and the villains gave me nightmares.

The tale is part thriller, part suspense but for the most part it is each man’s perspective into his actions and the consequences. War is ugly, survival is not glamours especially wrapped in the ugliness of such an atrocious war. If you are a World War II buff and curious about what occurred in these German hospitals, you will both appreciate and cringe at detail Adler-Olsen delivered with this novel. Next, you will look at the author and wonder from what depths of the psyche his tale sprouted.

The pacing of the tale changes throughout the book and I times I listened or read for a few hours. During other parts, I would read a chapter or two and set it down. Yet, even as I read other books or did other activities James and Bryan where never far from my thoughts.

I received both an audio and finished copy of the Alphabet House and bounced back and forth between them. At times, I read a long as I listened. Both formats are wonderful. Graeme Malcom was the narrator and he did an excellent job with the voices and enhanced the atmospheric tones. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Book Reviewer