A Time to Forget in East Berlin by C.G. Fewston
“A cerebral, fast-paced thriller.” —Kirkus Reviews
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A Time to Forget in East Berlin is the second in C.G. Fewston’s award-winning “A Time To” trilogy. It is as rich in history and geography as the first, A Time to Love in Tehran, which was set in pre-revolutionary Iran. Fewston does his research, evident on every page, educating his readers while keeping a firm grip on the plot, building intrigue, and even creating an idyllic backdrop for love.
Although our main character, John Lockwood, is a seasoned CIA officer, capable of both assassinations and assignations, he is also a hopeless romantic. In this book, he falls in love with Nina, a young girl half his age, “The ice floes of [his] soul melting beneath the blazing sun of Her.” Their relationship is erotic, tender, fierce and strong. “… I was obsessed by the raw infinity of her. The infinity of us.”
But John, who is going by Jacob this time around, still has tasks to complete, secrets he must keep. There’s danger and not-so-hollow threats that he must navigate. We learn little of his mission — he’s been tracking a covert organization called the Heads of Leonidas since his time in Tehran — but the lack of details only contributes to a looming feeling of unsteadiness with an edge of fear. Our man is wary, but resolute.
Fewston presents life in East Berlin without coloring it with politics. In fact, Nina and Jacob seem to live an almost idyllic life, picnicking by riverbanks and frolicking with Jacob’s dog Boxer. There is, however, the ever-present situation in which Jacob is firmly entrenched, and we are reminded of it often. It rains the night he meets Nina, and Jacob muses that he should have known then that “… the rain was a portent of things to come.”
Fewston’s writing is rich with literary allusions and foreign phrases. His characters are educated and passionate, and the stories they tell one another are carefully threaded into the overall plot, making the novel multi-layered. The complexities of living in a divided city must simply be dealt with, and Fewston shows us matter-of-factly what life was like in those years.
Fewston’s mastery of storytelling comes as no surprise, as his earlier works have garnered significant praise. Lone Star Literary Life magazine referred to Little Hometown, America as “A national struggle that is ever timely.” The book was also a GOLD Winner in the 2020 Human Relations Indie Book Awards for Contemporary Realistic Fiction and finalist in the SOUTHWEST REGIONAL FICTION category of the 14th Annual National Indie Excellence 2020 Awards.
Although A Time to Forget in East Berlin easily stands on its own, there are intriguing flashbacks to Lockwood’s earlier adventures which may encourage readers to search out the first book of the trilogy: a mysterious KGB agent who saved his life, a love affair that haunts him, a ragged scar that Nina kisses. A debt he knows he must repay.
Fewston leaves his man standing at a train station in East Berlin. However, Fewston promises John Lockwood will return in the third installment of the trilogy, A Time to Remember in Moscow.
A Time to Forget in East Berlin is available for purchase here.
