The Sixth Lamentation
by William Brodrick
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Book Summary Information
Author: William BrodrickEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-07-27
ISBN: 0142004626
Number of pages: 416
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Book Reviews of The Sixth Lamentation
Book Review: "Once you've heard a child cry out to heaven for help, and go unanswered, nothing's ever the same again. Even God changes."
Summary: 5 Stars
The plot of "The 6th Lamentation" is comprised of two intertwined stories. In present-day England, an elderly man escaping persecution seeks sanctuary in Larkwood Priory. Through a document given to him anonymously, a journalist identifies the man as Eduard Schwermann, an SS officer in occupied France during WWII. It is alleged that Schwermann was a war criminal; complicit in the deportation to Auschwitz of Jewish refugees and Jewish French citizens. It later surfaces that the Church may have aided Schwermann and a collaborator in escaping to England after the war. Concerned by how the Church would be perceived by these events, the Vatican orders an investigation, and Father Anselm, a former lawyer who is now a monk at Larkwood, is tasked with discovering the veracity of these allegations as well as the collaborator's present whereabouts.
Meanwhile, an elderly woman, Agnes Embleton, has just been told that she's terminally ill. One day she sees Schwermann's face on the evening news and decides it's time to reveal what she knows about him. She begins to write about her experiences during the war, particularly that of a group called the Round Table. Agnes and other youths in this group were entrusted with the task of smuggling Jewish children out of France to neutral Switzerland. Someone betrayed the Round Table, revealing its existence and its participants to Schwermann. Consequently, the group's members were rounded up and later perished in Auschwitz, but by a stroke of luck, Agnes survived. She passes her writings on to her granddaughter, Lucy, who becomes consumed by a quest for justice on Agnes' behalf.
The writing here is so assured one would think William Brodrick's "The 6th Lamentation" came to being already fully-formed. I was impressed with his intelligent and fluent prose, especially since this was Mr. Brodrick's debut novel. He incorporates history with the lives of his characters so skillfully that I often forgot this was fiction. As it turns out, I later read an interview with the author where he said that his own mother, who'd passed away, was herself part of a group that smuggled Jewish children to safety during the occupation of Holland. Her memory of what the Nazis did remained fresh in her mind until she passed on. The character of Father Anselm could be based on the author himself, he having left the monastery to become a barrister. No doubt those experiences are reflected in the story, making it richer and more personal. Its title, too, is not merely creative but also meaningful. Based on the poems known as the Five Lamentations of Jeremiah, which bemoan the destruction of Jerusalem, the 6th Lamentation, in Mr. Brodrick's interpretation, is the Holocaust.
The story, though, has many threads that one has to patiently follow and comprehend in order to fully appreciate its conclusion. The plot is not linear; constantly moving from past to present and back, however, each chapter is a revelation that brings the reader closer to the truths our protagonists are seeking. By the time the pieces come together, the whole story makes perfect sense, though it requires devoted attention and patience.
One of the things that may bother readers about this is that the first half moves rather slowly, but I believe it was necessary to explore the characters and early events in great depth to grasp the motivations of its characters in the latter half. The resolutions are surprising and most of the conclusions one would naturally make are proven quite wrong. However, there are some coincidences and a few plot contrivances. Notwithstanding, it is an absorbing story that imparts some unexpected nuggets of wisdom, and a commendable first effort.
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