Remote Sympathy – Catherine Chidgey

Read for NZ Book Awards

An inmate at Buchenwald concentration camp aids the commandant who is trying to save his wife’s life

⫸ “Remote Sympathy tells the stories of several people and families who all have one thing in common: the Buchenwald concentration camp near Weimar, Germany.

“At the midst of the story are a commandant, placed in charge of the problematic camp, and his young, sick wife whom he’s trying to save; and a prisoner searching for information on his family, who invented a strange medical invention which may just save the commandant’s wife.

“The story is told in alternating dialogues from these characters, Doktor Weber, Herr Hahn, Frau Hahn, who tell their stories, their dreams, their hopes, their personal trials and tribulations living in a most unique situation, where captor and prisoner are secretly working in partnership. A fourth narrative is provided by the “citizens of Weimar” a community which stood by while men were starved and tortured all around them; a community wiling to be silent bystanders.

“The camp was a real place and Chidgey has combined a good portion of fact alongside the fiction. Several real Germans are detailed, along with their crimes and punishments, and some of Herr Hahn’s contributions are comments made by the real Buchenwald commandant when interrogated by the Americans in 1954. This foundation of truth builds a solid base to help humanise the fictional characters and their stories.

“The fact that Chidgey speaks German, has spent a lot of time living in Berlin, and was a recipient of a Berlin writing fellowship are probably why she writes with such authority about this era.”

⫸ “At the onset of reading this book, I looked at the 510 pages and wondered how this war story would be different to the many others that have been recorded over time. But, from the opening pages Catherine Chidgey proved there are so many more stories to be told. I was hooked immediately. Lenard Weber is likeable and I immediately felt connected to his story and his family.

“What’s more I also felt connected to Dietrich Hahn and his family. He was a despicable person who oversaw and instigated Holocaust crimes we are all familiar with. It’s disturbing and revolting and like the residents of Weimar it is sometimes easier to look away. But what stuck with me just as much was the image of Dietrich carving wooden animals for his doting son and desperately trying to save his dying wife whom he loved so much. I wouldn’t say I liked him, but these affections made him more of a complete person, rather than just the villain. I enjoy this conflicting feeling towards a character. It indicates to me an incredibly talented author.” – Rachel

⫸ “Remote Sympathy felt to me like one of the most perfectly written novels I have read in a long time. I wonder whether it was the circular nature of the storyline that felt so satisfying?

“The content was at times completely horrific and it was interesting to get perspectives from characters on both sides. Humanising a leader of a concentration camp is certainly a skill and Catherine Chidgey does this so well, even though of course we are left in no doubt that the man in question is a monster.

“The meticulous research that is referred to in the Author’s Note never felt laboured while reading Remote Sympathy and the blend of fact and fiction was seamless.” – Suzy

——

Published 2020
VUP
522 pages