Campbell Jefferys – Balaclava

An Australian author based in Germany writes about the protest movement in Germany and the police who has to cope with that movement.
Main character is Mara, former youth delinquent in Hamburg, nowadays police officer in Berlin. Then something happens that turns her life upside down. During a protest in Hamburg an officer dies. The main suspect is on the run, but she saw his eyes and she knows for sure who he is. She must return to Hamburg and do something.
A few moments with her boss are enough, she will work undercover in the protest movement of Hamburg. Difficult for Mara is that many of the people she meets while undercover are either from her own – troubled – past or more sympathetic than most of her male colleagues. Is she still a cop or did she turn into a full-time protester.
Interesting dilemma that is omnipresent in the rest of the book. Everything that happens, whatever she does, there is always that problem. Every person is part of the dilemma. Old friends, new friends, Mara bounces back and forth in her head between her duty and loyalty to family and friends. She ends up fighting cops, but also betraying some of the revolutionaries.
The book gives a nice insight into the protest machinery, the scene where nationalists and idealists meet, where pacifists and right extremists can share a common goal. It also shows behind the scenes that the police, probably not only in Germany, has to deal with as much internal problems as the issues they have to cope with according to the public and politicians.
This book taught me a lot and also left me wondering at the end. It certainly was the best ‘early reviewer’ book I received since joining LibraryThing.

Quote: “With the knife away from her throat, Mara butts her head backwards, into Gomez’s chin and he staggers back. Then she spins to her left and uses this momentum to smash her right fist into his left eye. As he moves back with the punch, she kicks the knife from his hand and starts working his body, lefts and rights into his ribs and gut. When he slumps forward, she pushes her left hand into his right shoulder, to prop him up, and drives her right fist into his stomach, getting as many punches in as she can before she’s dragged away by a couple of cops, lashing kicks out towards Gomez, who’s on his knees. He coughs blood onto the footpath.” (p.278)

Nummer: 23-047
Titel: Balaclava
Auteur: Campbell Jefferys
Taal: Engels
Jaar: 2023
# Pagina’s: 468 (15511)
Categorie: Fictie
ISBN: 978-3-9816249-9-1

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A few reasons why this took so long: one: I had to ask for a resend, and thankfully I didn’t have to wait too long to get it, but two: it’s a rough time for immigrants right now. Dublin is having some disorder in city centre against immigrant communities — we literally just had three Palestinian boys assaulted in Vermont while visiting friends of the Thanksgiving holiday. And three: i’m tired of reading about losing to racists, fascists, capitalists… the book itself is dense and not very captivating, so as the reader you already feel the weight of what will be a rough read, then with the news, this book could be real. It’s happening.

So I have to admit, because of this, I didn’t enjoy reading the book. I wish it went a touch further into like spy thriller, but it held back in, I don’t even know, it was a limp attempt that needed something exciting. The writing voice doesn’t pick the right tone for the book either. You spend time trying to rework the passive voice into something that matches the bulky text.

I hope others enjoy it! ( )

The publisher's page describes Balaclava thus: ",,, goes inside the protest scene like no other book ever has. It foresees a time when the youth in Germany rise against an oppressive society". Trust me, this undersells this novel by some measure. Crisply written and enviably well paced the author shows us a corrupt relation between police and politics and how the efforts of honest protest movement van be subverted by political maneuvers. Best of all in this novel that questions many things and is peopled by some very human characters trying their best among monsters and vipers is the fact that the main protagonist is a woman who starts by trying to find and protect her sibling and it is through her that we discover what is really going on here.

When I finished this I wanter to know more about the author and that is why I went to the publisher page but it is also where I got the best news: this is book 1 of a trilogy. I am looking forward to the next couple and hope the publishers look to me for further reviews, otherwise I might have to buy the other two. ( )