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HHhH by Laurent Binet — book cover
French Fiction, Historical Figures - Fiction, Crimes - Fiction, European Peoples & Cultures - Fiction & Literature, Historical Fiction

HHhH

by Laurent Binet, John Lee (Narrated by)
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Overview

HHhH: "Himmlers Hirn heisst Heydrich," or "Himmler's brain is called Heydrich." The most dangerous man in Hitler's cabinet, Reinhard Heydrich was known as the "Butcher of Prague." He was feared by all and loathed by most. With his cold Aryan features and implacable cruelty, Heydrich seemed indestructible—until two men, a Slovak and a Czech recruited by the British secret service—killed him in broad daylight on a bustling street in Prague, and thus changed the course of History.Who were these men, arguably two of the most discreet heroes of the twentieth century? In Laurent Binet's captivating debut novel, we follow Jozef Gabcik and Jan Kubiš from their dramatic escape of Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia to England; from their recruitment to their harrowing parachute drop into a war zone, from their stealth attack on Heydrich's car to their own brutal death in the basement of a Prague church.A seemingly effortlessly blend of historical truth, personal memory, and Laurent Binet's remarkable imagination, HHhH—an international bestseller and winner of the prestigious Prix Goncourt du Premier Roman—is a work at once thrilling and intellectually engrossing, a fast-paced novel of the Second World War that is also a profound meditation on the nature of writing and the debt we owe to history.

About the Author, Laurent Binet

Laurent Binet was born in Paris, France, in 1972. He is the author of La Vie Professionnelle de Laurent B., a memoir of his experience teaching in secondary schools in Paris. His debut novel, HHhH, won the Prix Goncourt du Premier Roman. Laurent is a professor at the University of Paris III, where he lectures on French literature. British narrator John Lee has read audiobooks in almost every conceivable genre, from Charles Dickens to Patrick O'Brian, and from the very real life of Napoleon to the entirely imagined lives of sorcerers and swashbucklers. He has won numerous Audie Awards and AudioFile Earphones Awards, and he was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile in 2009. Lee is also an accomplished stage actor and wrote and coproduced the feature films Breathing Hard and Forfeit.

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Editorials

From the Publisher

"This fluid translation by Taylor is a superb choice for lovers of historical literary works and even international thrillers. Most highly recommended." —-Library Journal Starred Review

Library Journal - Audio

Reinhard Heydrich was one of the most powerful and ruthless Nazis until his 1942 assassination. Binet skillfully blends history and fiction in this spellbinding novel, recounting the rise of Heydrich, the stories of the members of the Czech underground who plotted his death, and French collaboration with the Germans, mixing fact with imagined conversation. Binet's tale is a postmodern one as he skips back and forth between the historical figures and his account of how he wrote the book. HHhH, a German abbreviation for "Himmler's brain is called Heydrich," is unusually suited to audio as it consists mostly of short chapters, making it easy to break off at any point. John Lee's clipped delivery is perfect for material both horrifying, as with the planning of the Holocaust, and tongue-in-cheek, as with Binet's remarks about his messy love life. VERDICT Recommended for all listeners interested in the history of central Europe or in innovative historical fiction. ["Binet won the Prix Goncourt du Premier Roman, France's most prestigious literary prize, for HHhH. This fluid translation by Taylor is a superb choice for lovers of historical literary works and even international thrillers," read the review of the Farrar hc, LJ 5/15/12.—Ed.]—Michael Adams, CUNY Graduate Ctr., New York

Book Details

Published
August 13, 2012
Publisher
Tantor Media, Inc.
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9781452639086

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