The city has always been multi-ethnic,being peopled with Poles, Bohemians, Germans, Prussians, and many other groups. It has also been multi-religious, being one of the most important centers of German Jews, producing artists, musicians, and scholars; it also is home to a strong Catholic influence as well as a Protestant one. In many ways it is a crossroads between west and east, Europe and Asia, and also a place where many ideas meet. It makes for a perfect setting, a microcosm of conflict and harmony--for a novel that is not really a historical detective story but is more a Chandleresque/hardboiled story set against a historical point in time, it does not delve deeply into the history of the city or the area.
The plot of Death in Breslau is mostly linear, with flashbacks and flash-forwards that reveal the motivation and consequences of the characters' actions. The chapters tend to be short and filled with either psychological suspense or edge-of-the-seat action. The sparse dialog is exactly right and the story is told from a third person perspective as a narrative which serves to paint the times as a corrupt and decadent place where men of ugly means still manage to possess admirable traits. it will be a pleasure to wait for further translations from Krajewski and especially the Breslau Quartet.
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Hardcover: 256 pages Publisher: Melville International Crime (September 4, 2012)
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Language: English ISBN-10: 1612191649 ISBN-13: 978-1612191645
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