The Soul of a Thief

February 26, 2018
Hartov (In the Company of Heroes) bleakly depicts the fate of the Mischlinge—half- and quarter-Jews who fought, sometimes of their own free will, for the Third Reich—in this rich if detached novel. In spring 1944 Shtefan Brandt, young adjutant to SS Colonel Himmel, fears he may not survive the war after Himmel begins volunteering his brigade for some of the war’s bloodiest battles. Born into a Jewish family, Shtefan (at least on paper) is now a Catholic. But if his true identity were to come out, it would likely be a death sentence. As the war teeters toward defeat for the Germans, Himmel, who believes the war is lost, lets his trusted assistant in on his plan to steal Nazi gold and flee Europe after the Allies claim
victory. Shtefan is attracted to Himmel’s mistress, Gabrielle, who is also embroiled in Himmel’s plans. As Gabrielle and Shtefan get closer and the war closes in, they plot a life away from Himmel and the Nazis that involves stealing the gold for themselves. Hartov’s book isn’t short on emotion, but the narration lacks immediacy and the characters’ often calm, rational demeanors tend to feel out of step with the tense and deadly situations confronting them. Despite this, the wealth of details about the Mischlinge makes for an engrossing account of a lesser-known side of the war.

February 15, 2018

A somewhat reluctant adjutant to SS Col. Himmel, Shtefan Brandt becomes an important fixture at the colonel's side. Despite performing mostly clerical duties, Shtefan is given a uniform, taken into battle with the colonel, and made his confidant. In return, the colonel keeps the secret of Shtefan's mischling (half-Jewish) heritage, and Shtefan grows to admire some aspects of his superior's character. But upon learning the true nature of the colonel's hold on a beautiful French nurse named Gabrielle, Shtefan grows disgusted and begins to plot a double-cross. Unlikely to have wide appeal owing to its slow start, this story is not without charm. Shtefan is a flawed hero who struggles with a sense of duty and loyalty, combined with his own personal convictions of right and wrong. The first-person narrative reads as if written by a man longing for redemption but unsure he will ever find it. VERDICT World War II buffs looking for easy fiction are likely candidates for this novel by the coauthor of In the Company of Heroes. [See Prepub Alert, 10/22/17.]--Vicki Briner, Broomfield, CO

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2018
A Waffen SS colonel plans to profit from World War II while his adjutant hopes to survive it in this tale of good and evil, sex and love.Young Cpl. Shtefan Brandt looks fit and Aryan, so Col. Himmel chooses him as his adjutant. Himmel is a dashing hero who leads his men on daring raids against the Allies without "a bone of fear in his body." Brandt is Catholic, but he's terrified that Himmel will find out that he's mischling--he had a Jewish great-grandmother. Fortunately, "for an assassin, a brigand, a tyrant and a thief, my master did have his good points," such as never checking Brandt's background. The thoroughly apolitical Himmel knows Germany is losing the war, and he schemes to steal the Allied payroll from a train. Characters are well-portrayed--Shtefan is upright, principled, even virginal until Himmel orders him to bed a woman. He fears disappointing his master, who can put a bullet in his head at any time. In occupied France, they see the beautiful 18-year-old Gabrielle Belmont, whose parents have been executed. The hateful Himmel takes her as his unwilling mistress--if she refuses, he'll make certain her townsfolk die--but both men are smitten with her. In time she secretly loves Shtefan, but both live "only at the Colonel's whim," so if they even hint at their feelings they will both die. Himmel reveals his robbery plan to Shtefan, which includes them and Gabrielle absconding to South America with the loot. But Shtefan hopes to steal both Gabrielle and some of the money from Himmel. Disgusting as the colonel is, he's an insightful man. Knowing from an intercepted letter that Shtefan's mother has just been sent to Dachau, he tells his adjutant that "In the end, your kind will find my kind."A fast-moving plot and vivid characters make this a most satisfying read.

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Starred review from February 15, 2018
Eighteen-year-old Shtefan Brandt is plucked from his job in a Vienna hospital by Waffen SS Colonel Erich Himmel to serve as Himmel's adjutant, his clerk and manservant. He soon learns that Himmel's commandos are assigned difficult, high-risk missions. He also knows that he is a mischling, a person with both Aryan and Jewish ancestry, who might be summarily executed by his willful superior. Shtefan focuses only on his duties, and Himmel comes to depend on him and even seems to treat him like a stern father educating a promising son. But it's 1943. The war-wise Himmel knows it will end badly for Germany, and he has little regard for Hitler or his military superiors. He plans to steal a fortune in the chaos of the coming cross-channel invasion and disappear with Gabrielle, a beautiful French girl he has coerced into being his mistress. But Shtefan is also in love with Gabrielle, and he knows killing Himmel is the only path to happiness and redemption. Shtefan tells the story, and the young man's thoughtful, epistolary style makes scenes of desperate battle and budding love come alive with remarkable power. The Soul of a Thief is simply a wondrous and utterly captivating novel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)