The Sixth Lamentation - William Brodrick > Reviews (2)

This book is the first novel written by William Brodrick so my selecting to read it was solely based on it appearing in the list of Richard & Judy's 2005 Book Club. I usually find that they are good reads, with some notable exceptions, so I felt confident in my enjoyment before I started. I must say that I was not disappointed.

My time for reading is at bedtime so I like my books to be easily read without over elaboration or difficult language. This book's 400 odd pages are nicely spaced over 50 chapters and these are in turn separated into 2 or 3 sub-sections. This made it easy to read in manageable short bursts without forgetting what had happened previously and giving me natural breaks from which to continue from the next time. It also had the added benefit of keeping the plot tight and nicely ticking along.

The story is set in present day England. However, the plot revolves around the events that took place sixty years ago in Nazi occupied Paris. In the present day, Agnes is an old dying woman. She is finally ready to tell to her granddaughter, Lucy, the tale of her survival from the Holocaust and her involvement in The Round Table, a resistance cell dedicated to running an escape route for Jewish children in war torn France. At the same time an alleged Nazi war criminal, Eduard Schwermann, has his cover blown and seeks sanctuary in the monastery, Larkwood Priory. He happens to be the German officer who broke up The Round Table group. She sees the resultant media coverage and then she clings on to life whilst the full truth of the past is finally revealed.

Agnes maybe the central character that drives the plot but the two characters that run the story are Lucy, her granddaughter, and Anselm, a monk at the monastery where Schwermann seeks sanctuary.
Lucy is the only one of her family to be able to get through to Agnes and be the one to get her version of the terrible events that she had kept so secret and damaged her subsequent life and relationships. She searches out the truth and acts like you could see a modern day Agnes performing in order to pursue the truth and justice previously denied to her.
Anselm is a novice monk who used to be a barrister in the real world. His commitment to the church is not as strong as he would like it to be. Given their unwelcome visitor, he is charged by the church to follow back the trail of this old Nazi. This is because there are connections and trails interwoven with the church in the past and the present, which they need to know in order to protect their reputation.

It is a story of how actions of parents and grandparents in past lives can have profound effects upon their descendents. The events of the past reach forward into the present and affect all that they touch. I did fear that it might be just another story involving the horror of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. However, as it was told from the point of view of looking back from the consequences of the terrible times, it gave it a whole new angle for me and I found it quite thought provoking.

As a family historian I have spoken with older members of my family to get their stories of their past. On further investigation, I have found some memories to be false or distorted, even though they have been honestly stated. It demonstrates to me the frailty of human memory. People have their own observed version of the truth. From their experience and observation, they may truly believe what they remember to be correct. However, this novel confirms that it is not necessarily so. Just because you were there does not necessarily mean you saw or understood the whole thing. Some people have memories of distorted truth; others have distorted memories of what they want to be the truth. As a character called Father Conroy warns Father Anselm at one point:"… you're entering one of those tents at the circus packed with curved mirrors, twisting and pulling things out of shape. Be careful. Don't go by appearances. Nothing's what it seems here."

The novel can be described as a thriller. However the protagonists are not in any danger. It is rather the thrill of the chase to the truth. Along the way, there are the stories of love, betrayal and morality. It is both compelling and moving. Some actions do not appear logical from the outside but do seem believable, given the extraordinary circumstances from which they originate. The author used personal knowledge to give the novel the ring of authenticity. His mother was involved in a similar organisation to Agnes, smuggling Jewish children to safety. He, himself, used to be a monk who then left to be a lawyer, the opposite way round of Anselm.

This is a thoroughly good read. The memory of which will remain with me, which is not normally the case.