E. R. Ramzipoor

The Ventriloquists is one of those books I'll find myself pushing on people. It reads well and wrestles with difficult, worthwhile ideas. The novel is based on historical fact: a group of resistance members in Nazi-occupied Belgium are being forced to produced a special issue of a newspaper that will serve as propaganda. Instead, they launch a crazy plot to produce a paper satirizing the Nazi occupation—knowing that taking on this project will probably result in their deaths. The cast of show more characters is varied (though they're all satisfyingly brilliant in their different ways), the dialogue reads as genuine, and the twists in the plot build up into a crazy sort of "Resistance Air Castle." Having read this book, I want to read more about the history it's based on. The author provides clear notes at the end about the extent to which characters and events in the novel are based on real life. Her additions may vary somewhat from history, but they make for great reading. show less

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The Ventriloquists by E.R. Ramzipoor is a historical fiction book inspired by true events of Belgian resistance fighters scheming to put out a satire newspaper under the Nazis’ noses. This is Ms. Ramzipoor’s debut novel.

A gang of journalists and resistance fighters in German-occupied Belgium are looking to turn the Le Soir, the country’s most popular newspaper from a Nazi propaganda rag, to their own satire rag. show more The gang is led by Marc Aubrion, a journalist a step away from being a con-man, who enjoys the bottom rungs of society.

To his aid Aubrion enlists a motley crew to help with the charade, including a Jewish gay man working as a forger for the Nazis, an industrialist, journalist, an army of kids, and a prostitute who dabbles in

The story is told through the eyes of Hellene, a 12 year old girl masquerading as a boy, who is being interviewed decades later.

I did not know what to expect from The Ventriloquists by E.R. Ramzipoor, but what I found was a novel which was funny, entertaining, and extremely well written. Even though this novel takes place during one of the biggest events of last century, it is purely character driven with a cast that is both likable and somewhat terrifying.

The author nicknames here characters which helps the reader keeps track of them, each section is told through the eyes of a different character, sometimes continuing the narrative from the previous one. The story is told by “The Pyromaniac”, Helene, to Eliza who is aptly named “The Scrivener”. The man who runs it all, Marc Aubrion (who existed and ran this scheme) is nicknamed “The Jester” due to his demeanor, and Lada Tarcovich, a lesbian running a whorehouse, smuggling operations, and writing erotica is nicknamed “The Smuggler”. “The Saboteur”, Theo Mullier (another real personality) is one which even his colleagues don’t know what to make of, but one you don’t cross and surprises the bunch. Martin Victor “The Professor” rounds up this gang. The Gestapo officer who is in charge of the propaganda paper, among other atrocities, is August Wolff, nicknamed here “The Dybbuk”, a Jewish folklore name for being taken over by a malicious spirit. Working for Wolff is David Spiegelman, “The Gastromancer”, a Jewish gay man whose family was murdered and has the useful skill of being a skilled forger.

This fake newspaper (as if the ones the Nazis produced was “real”) was known as “Faux Soir”, produced by the Front de l’Indépendance, a faction in the Belgian Resistance. The gang worked up plans to mass up the distribution of the real newspaper and have people buy their parody before they even realized it. A small act of resistance, when “fake news” was art. Amazingly a few issues of Faux Soir survived to this day.

The cast of characters is well written and defined, the author keeps the book going using wit and conviction to tell a story which should not be lost to history.This book was right up my alley, with enough comedy, irony and sarcasm, mixed in with the sadness that is part of the time. show less

I have read several WW11 era novels, and this is a very different story. Set in German occupied Belgium in the early 1940’s, a small group of revolutionaries led by the ebullient, larger than life Marc Aubrion. The story is recounted by Helene, who masqueraded as a boy named Gamin, during the German occupation. Left as an orphan after her parents are trampled in a riot, Helene lived on the streets, and takes up alliances with Marc Aubrion on the improbable quest to turn out a parody show more newspaper of Le Soir. The endeavor known as Faux Soir, is intended as a joke that directly mocks the Germans. There is a whole host of unique characters that bring the story and the the conspiracy to life. I did find the interaction between August Wolff and the linguistic ventriloquist, David Spiegelman as the most interesting perhaps. Spiegelman as a homosexual Jew, could not be more different from August Wolff. As a high ranking Nazi, Wolff is expected to act a certain way, but his inner monologue points to a character deeply conflicted about his role in the greater Nazi plot to takeover Europe. While any relationship between Wolff and Spiegelman is outlawed, Wolff feels responsible for protecting Spiegelman, while Spiegelman is stuck in an impossible position, as a Jew serving the Germans, or facing death. Spiegelman finds an odd alliance in the ranks with Marc Aubrion, and he lends his unique talent to assist them in their quest to turn out Faux Soir. This is a very interesting story and it should appeal to fans of historical fiction and WW11 era storylines. Author does a wonderful, seamless job of blending real world events and storylines with factionalized characters. Thank you Netgalley for the galley. show less

*Book received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Brussels, 1943. Twelve-year-old street orphan Helene survives by living as a boy and selling copies of the country’s most popular newspaper, Le Soir, now turned into Nazi propaganda. Helene’s entire world changes when she befriends a rogue journalist, Marc Aubrion, who draws her into a secret network publishing dissident underground newspapers.

Aubrion’s unbridled creativity and linguistic genius attract the attention of show more August Wolff, a high-ranking Nazi official tasked with swaying public opinion against the Allies. Wolff captures Aubrion and his comrades and gives them an impossible choice: use the newspaper to paint the Allies as monsters, or be killed. Faced with no decision at all, Aubrion has a brilliant idea: they will pretend to do the Nazis’ bidding, but instead they will publish a fake edition of Le Soir that pokes fun at Hitler and Stalin—giving power back to the Belgians by daring to laugh in the face of their oppressors.

The ventriloquists have agreed to die for a joke, and they have only eighteen days to tell it.

Told with dazzling scope, taut prose and devastating emotion, The Ventriloquists illuminates the extraordinary acts of courage by ordinary people forgotten by history—unlikely heroes who went to extreme lengths to orchestrate the most stunning feat of journalism in modern history.

This was a great concept with poor execution. The book is far longer than necessary, some basic history facts are incorrect (America in WWII), and the chapters are short with strange point of view choices. All of these issues would have been easily solved by a decent editor. show less