In
the Presence of Mine Enemies is an expansion of Harry Turtledove’s short story
of the same name. Unlike many
stories which are expanded to novel length, however, this tale of Jews
living in the heart of a Nazi Empire, does not feel padded and adds quite
a bit to the original story.
The
book begins much the same way the story does, with Heinrich Gimpel, his
wife, Lise, and several friends, informing their ten-year-old daughter
that they are Jews, living in Berlin more than fifty years after the Nazis
believed they had exterminated the Jews.
Unlike the short story, Turtledove is able to examine many of the
themes this revelation hints at, not least of which is Alicia Gimpel
coming to terms with the fact that she is a member of a minority she has
already been taught to despise.
As the novel progresses, it becomes clear that the
enclave of Jews will be exposed. However,
Turtledove does an excellent job of building the suspense as to how the
betrayal will come about. With
not only the Gimpels at danger, the accusation can come across any of
their friends, the Stutzmans, who are involved in computer fraud, the
Kleins, whose son is diagnoses with Tay-Sachs disease, or outspoken
professor Susanna Weiss. In
fact, when the accusation does eventually come and some of the characters
find themselves in the clutches of the Gestapo, it seems almost
anticlimactic.
The
novel suffers from some of Turtledove’s recurring faults, most notably
his insistence of repeating comments about his characters’ traits,
necessary, perhaps, in a multi-volume series such as the Worldwar novels,
but more redundant than required in a stand alone novel. Similarly, while the Gimpels and Dorsches do play a lot of
bridge with each other, Turtledove provides a little too much detail about
their games except for a bridge aficionado.
Finally, Turtledove makes an historical figure the Führer
of the Germanic Empire and slightly alters his name in the novel.
Had the alteration been to an actual German name, the change may
not have been as jarring, but as is, it causes the reader to pause
whenever it appears.
Turtledove
has many themes running throughout the novel, not least of which is the
question of when to trust the government.
Nevertheless, In the Presence of Mine Enemies is not an
anti-government screed, but more in line with a questioning of facts and
trying to determine the truth through personal examination. Implicit in much of the book is the question of identity.
The Jews of Berlin are both Jewish and Germans, but do not see
themselves as traitors to their country despite the Germanic Empire’s
teachings. They are helped in
this, perhaps, by the cultural revolution following the third Führer’s
death, which is appears to be based on the fall of the Soviety Union, with
Führer Heinz Buckliger playing the role of Mikhail Gorbachev and Gauleiter
Rolf Stolle filling in for Boris Yeltsin.
Despite the familiarity of the situation, Turtledove gives it a
life of its own.
As with Turtledove’s other stand-alone novels, In
the Presence of Mine Enemies, is reasonably concise and comes to a
satisfactory conclusion even as it raises questions about what will happen
next. Turtledove’s Germanic
Empire, and the people who live in it, exist beyond the bounds of the
novel’s pages, providing food for thought to the reader.
