Today's Read Team 
This Week’s Literary Discussions: Post-War Justice and Classic Reinterpretations
Justice in Post-War Germany
In a recent episode of the Waterstones podcast, author Jack Fairweather explored his latest work, The Prosecutor, which delves into the life of Fritz Bauer, a Jewish lawyer who returned to Germany after World War II to pursue justice for war crimes. Fairweather emphasized Bauer’s relentless pursuit of accountability in a society eager to move past its dark history. He explained that while the Allies aimed for justice, the prevailing sentiment in post-war Germany was one of amnesia regarding the Nazi past.
“The book mostly focuses on [Bauer’s] post-war battle to bring the Nazis to justice,” explained Fairweather. “His moral sense started during the Weimar Republic, positioning him against Nazism.”
Reinterpreting Melville’s Classic
On the Take Four Books podcast, Xialou Guo discussed her novel Call Me Ishmaelle, a reimagining of Herman Melville’s iconic Moby Dick. Guo shared her journey as an East Asian writer engaging with Western literary classics in a second language. She expressed her challenges in translating the numerous Shakespearean and Biblical references that resonate deeply within Melville’s text but may be obscure to Chinese readers.
“It’s really difficult… These kinds of references are so remote as a concept for Chinese readers,” Guo noted regarding her experience studying the original work at university.
A Love Story Intersected by Violence
Abigail Dean was featured on Simon Mayo’s Books of the Year podcast, where she elaborated on her new novel, The Death of Us. This narrative unfolds as a love story shattered by a violent home invasion, which profoundly alters the relationship between the main characters, Edward and Isabel. Dean discussed themes of trauma, resilience, and questioning the future of their love.
“That act changes the course of their marriage… It is a question of whether their relationship is over for good,” Dean remarked.
Chaos of Tudor England
In another podcast exchange, Jo Harkin joined Hannah MacDonald on the A Pair of Bookends podcast to discuss her ambitious novel The Pretender, set against the tumultuous backdrop of Tudor England. Harkin shared her experiences transitioning from science fiction, her debut genre, to historical drama in her second novel, reflecting on the challenges and rewards of genre versatility in writing.
“Doing a complete U-turn had some anxieties… I always envisaged that as a writer I would write in different genres,” Harkin stated.