Robert HarrisMunich: Now a major NETFLIX movie starring Jeremy Irons, George Mackay and Alex Jennings

Bought this in September last year and have just got round to reading it , and I wish I hadn't bothered . I honestly cannot see the point of this book . The cover blurb say " A brilliantly constructed spy novel " , where ?? .... the two main characters both work for their respective governments , both in the foreign office , as minor secretaries, neither of who were spies. " treason , betrayal and murder. ?? there is no treason , nobody betrays anyone , and unless I have missed something nobody was murdered . As for the ending , one word sums it up I think , Crap. To preserve my integrity I am putting this book straight into the bin, so that it doesn't fall into the hands of the unwary .

Munich by Robert Harris was another book for my book club. I have a feeling I have read some other books by Robert Harris and found them interesting and enjoyable. I felt that this book certainly was that. Set around the events of the Munich agreement in September 1938, this is a work of fiction but I think very much based on true events of the time. We alternate between 2 men and their points of view, one an English private secretary and one within Hitler's government. I thought this was an interesting read about a period of time and event I previously know very little about.

This was a thoroughly worthwhile read. The book deals with Chamberlain’s meeting with Hitler in Munich in 1938, the famous "peace in our time" episode. The plot surrounds two civil servants, one German and the other British who, it transpired were friends at Baliol, Oxford. Vital information has to be passed from the German to the Englishmen regarding the outcome of Chamberlain’s meeting.Harris is very clever in merging fact with fiction and it enables the reader to be a fly on the wall to great historical events. Of course, the author shows some artistic freedom in guessing, or 2nd guessing, what was actually said by the two leaders, how the British civil service interacted with Chamberlain and how the events leading up to the meeting transpired. As such, his style may not appeal to everyone’s taste but I happen to like the approach and enjoyed reading this “novel”.

Although I have read a mere 20% so far, I'm looking at 5 stars. I bought this on the misapprehension that it was a pure historical analysis, but find that it is written in the style of James Patterson's thrillers. On top of that, it is just to my liking - the 1930's that I recall quite well; stiff upper lip diplomacy; the remembered phrases jump back into my mind. Well researched. I'm having difficulty putting it down. Put it on your Xmas shopping list! Watch this space.Addendum: Reading completed. VERY good. It sticks well to my knowledge of events, furthermore so realistic that I felt I was present - the high level meetings are reminiscent of my top business experiences, where you hardly dare breathe. The character descriptions are so convincing. The term "masterpiece" springs to mind. My only critique is the customary British mis-spelling of German words (p.97) but don't let that put you off.

An easy read, far too much so for the subject matter, and lacking in complexity and originality. A surprising book from this author, another reviewer has labelled it a "pot-boiler" and I am afraid that is exactly how it reads. It is also somewhat carelessly written. I try hard not to be pedantic when reading novels. However when you have a main character, whose task it is to correct the grammar of his Prime Minister's speeches, overlooking a glaring and obvious example of a grammatical error in one of them thenyou begin to wonder about the care Harris has taken with other details.