Those not sympathetic to socialists like Rosa Luxemburg might be a little put off by Hoffner's growing romanticization of Rosa or the way Rabb makes Rosa the un-stated hero of the book, but these larger political/historical angles really don't interfere. The story is engaging enough and the writing skillful enough, that you are free to suspend any disbelief you might have about the reality of events and give in to the story. Rabb might be a little verbose in parts, I found Hoffner's psychological musings a bit over the top at times, and some of the events might stretch the bounds of probability, but his descriptions of inter-war Berlin and his capturing of the tensions of the period overcome any turgid prose or hard-to-believe plot twists.
As I have noted before, I generally appreciate a character I can root for or sympathize with but Hoffner is not really that sort given his cheating on his wife and largely ignoring his kids. In this case the setting made a difference. There is something about the inter-war period that made Hoffner's character work. The despair, the constant tension, the sense of impending doom, all of this helps explain Hoffner's situation if not his actions. As noted above, the socialist martyr Rosa is the only character who really seems to have a moral compass. What makes Hoffner a compelling character is his drive to finish the case. In a life, and a society, that has fallen apart in so many ways the only thing he has to hang on to is doing his job. The satisfaction from completing a case is the only thing that really gives him pleasure; it is the only thing he feels competent to do.
Call it what you will (historical fiction, police procedural, spy thriller, psychological drama) but in the end Rosa is just a good story with interesting characters and a unique setting. And in the end that is often all that matters.
**Originally Posted At Collected Miscellany**
Article comments
1 - DrPat
This book review has been selected for Advance.net. You’ll be able to find this and other Blog Critics reviews at such places at Cleveland.com’s Book Reviews column.