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Winter

Penguin Modern Classics

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Winter

By: Len Deighton
Narrated by: James Lailey
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Peter and Paul, the two sons of German businessman Harald Winter, are bonded together by a childhood trauma. But as they grow up the brothers also grow apart. When the shadow of the Third Reich falls they become divided by war and their differing ideals - only to meet again years later at the Nuremberg trials. An epic prelude to the Bernard Samson Game, Set and Match trilogy, Winter is a rich, tragic portrait of the fortunes of a family, and a nation, over half a century.

'A monumental work ... brilliantly executed' Daily Telegraph

'The pace and tension leave one almost breathless. A frightening yet compelling novel' Sunday Telegraph

© Len Deighton 1987 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

 20th Century Espionage Family Life Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Political Spies & Politics Thriller & Suspense War Exciting Scary Fiction Military

Critic reviews

Deighton's research and plotting are as surefooted as ever, while the pace and tension leave one almost breathless. A frightening yet compelling novel.
A monumental work ... brilliantly executed.
Deighton is a fearless observer of the deceptive human world. (John Gray)

Deighton's most ambitious and subtle book to date, an epic fiction.
All stars
Most relevant
An excellent narration of an intriguing story line cutting across family and national boundaries in war times and peace.

Gripping Stuff

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The lives of the protagonists -- the Winter family and those around them -- precisely track all the big events in Germany from 1900 to to the Nuerenberg trials. As well as being greatly dramatic in its own right, the story could serve as an excellent introduction to or summary of that time. it's not "War And Peace" for Germany. It is not ashamed of not being high literature, but and is totally engaging and completely worth your while.

History brought to life

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It took a little while to be drawn into this long family saga but so pleased I stuck with it. The writing is excellent and the different perspectives of the events of the times was excellently well researched and combined with a compelling family saga made it into a thoroughly enjoyable read. Poignant and bitter sweet.
The narrator's performance was flawless apart from one aspect - he used regional British accents to differentiate between certain German characters which sounded very awkward and contrived. Also, narrators please note, if the Brummy accent is not your native dialect, please don't even try to imitate it!

Captivating

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Wonderful book beautifully narrated. Real, believable characters. Will stay with me for a long time.

History Made Real

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…… it is excellent except for the German pronunciation which is 90% of the time rather awful. I would have thought that an actor and narrator of his calibre would do his research well enough to deliver decent pronunciation, of course I can only judge the German so far. I did however find it frustrating and annoying enough to almost return the book but the story and overall narration kept me in there and not regrettably so.

Mixed narration…..

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