Historical fiction set in World War II seems to be eternally popular at the library. I try to keep an eye out for new titles that patrons will enjoy, and Diary of a Dead Man on Leave caught my eye. Told through diary entries of a communist spy stationed in Germany right before the war breaks out, Diary of a Dead Man follows the story of ‘Josef’ as he grows closer to the family that owns the boarding house and he starts to doubt the cause he’s devoted his life to.
As a general rule, I do not like books in a diary format. This is usually because I can’t buy into the fact that it’s actually a diary – no one can actually quote every conversation they had, writes back story, etc. Diary managed to avoid most of the things I dislike most of the diary format. Josef writes it with the expectation that someone else will read it, which made the stories of his past and discussion of political events more acceptable to me. The majority of conversations are summarized instead of directly quoted. Josef forgets to write every day like he planned (me in every diary I ever tried to keep). But I also felt it was the best possible way to present this story – a man’s struggle with the idea of a life he never thought he would have and his growing disillusionment with the life he has.
A few times it felt like there was too much info, or mention of an event just for the sake of it. But I think the character Downing chose is a good fit for what he tried to do. Josef's background and mission meant that yes, everything going on in Germany he would write in his journal, and he has the knowledge to examine them critically – it’s not just hindsight.
Once I started Diary of a Dead Man on Leave, I wanted to sit and finish it all at once. It was a great balance of history and heart touching characters that immediately had you invested in the outcome of the story. It will be a great addition to the collection.

This is a very interesting take on the workers' daily life in Germany before the World War II begins. The point of view of the diarist, a Comintern agent, was a departure from the average German worker.

David Downing writes thoughtfully and carefully, as usual, about the lead-up to World War II, this time from a quite different perspective than his earlier novels. His depiction of a man sent on a near-impossible (or is it?) mission as the world goes from grey to black around him is lightened by the main character learning to love again, this time a family that holds out hope for all he still believes. For he is torn between his world-weary cynicism and his not-quite-suppressed emotions and reading the novel as a dialogue between the two is to think about how those forces play out in today's world and what role the reader might play.

Mr Downing has made his literary reputation with novels mainly set in Europe during the period of World War I and approximately to the second world war. His knowledge of actual events and circumstances is prodigious gained obviously through very painstaking research. The current book is no exception and is set in the Germany of the late 1930s during the period when Hitler was consolidating power over his people. Josef Hoffman is a man that was born in the German city of Hamm and was old enough to serve in the first world war fighting for Germany. After the war was over he left his country living in Latin America and becoming an agent for the Soviet Communist party. His job was to organize sympathizers of the Communist doctrine into groups working to instill their beliefs into the general population of their country.
When Josef arrived in Hamm he took a room in a boarding house owned by a woman with two sons living with her. Josef's work is described with vivid details of the events surrounding his efforts as well as bringing to life residents of the boarding house. Hitler has put unworkable ideas into practice and it is becoming evident that the only way he can pull Germany out of the morass it is in is with a major war. At the same time Hitler has selected scapegoats to blame economic conditions on: the main ones are the Jews living in Germany as well as in countries that are subjects of the projected war. Josef is writing a diary delineating the events of the time that he is working in Germany. He voices the opinions that the horrors inflicted by Hitler's Nazi party go beyond anything that is civilized and humane.
Reading this book takes the reader completely into a world that is alien to those hearing about it today. It is a fascinating read; one that brings up a picture of a world turned on it's axis and showing a side of human beings that have found they need to accept the unthinkable if they are to survive the new world that has evolved around them. A gestapo has been formed with the function of arresting and punishing anyone that is against the regime. Anyone can cause someone to be arrested by merely denouncing them. People are guilty as charged with almost no way to prove that their arrest was without grounds.
This is a novel that does deserve attention not only for a fascinating story but as a warning that if people don't watch their governments those entities can evolve into repressive horrors. A very powerful read and of course, one that will cause sleeplessness until the book is finished.