Charles McCain

This book caught my eye on the new book display at my town’s public library. An Honorable German is the story of Maximillian (Max) Brekendorf, an officer of the German Navy during WWII. The action of the book begins on September 30, 1939 and ends on September 10, 1944. The story of Max’s war experience shows the slow destruction of the naval traditions that were Max’s passion as well as the repeated bombings of Berlin and the decline of Nazi Germany. There are some great sea battles, details about life aboard ship and a U-boat, and tensions between true-believer Nazis and those who are not.

I love seafaring books and that’s the main reason I decided to read the book, but I also thought it would be interesting to read a novel from the perspective of a German naval officer. A few years ago I read Shadow Divers and explored the U505 exhibit at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry, so I had some familiarity with the topic.

The novel gives a glimpse of what it may have been like for a career military man confronted with the political dictatorship of Hitler and National Socialism, which, on the extreme right, wanted to see the eradication of all forms of rank and status. Max had no interest in politics. He’d wanted to serve in the navy since he was a young boy and is trained at the prestigious Marineschule Mürwik.

While McCain makes the point that naval officers were not allowed to join the Nazi Party, through various characters he makes it clear that there were party fanatics in the navy, particularly toward the later years of the war when younger men who were indoctrinated in the Hitler Youth became old enough to serve. Basically, Max is a thinking, moral man, a naval officer who wants to do the right thing and that isn’t always in line with Nazi policy. He is on a mission to sink enemy ships, but he also follows the custom of the sea and ensures survivors are rescued and treated well.

The novel also shows the steady destruction of the city of Berlin and how men who were away fighting the war didn’t necessarily know the reality of the conditions that their loved ones were experiencing or, if they did, didn’t comprehend the nightmare they were living. There is a striking contrast between Max’s life at sea: cruising around for days or weeks trying to find an enemy ship to attack vs. being a civilian in Berlin who experiences regular hours-long, nerve shattering airplane bombings and seeing their loved ones killed and the city turned to rubble. Coming home on leave after a long deployment to see a beautiful city after months/years of bombing was certainly a shock, but it was also a reality check against the official Nazi party propaganda that claimed they were on their way to winning the war.

McCain’s offers a succinct description of the RAF’s bombing method:
“They began with blockbuster high-explosive bombs to blow the roofs off buildings and blow the windows in, exposing wooden beams and interiors, giving fire endless pathways along which to spread and providing through-drafts of air to rush it along. Then came the small incendiary bombs, falling in their hundreds of thousands into buildings; and then the fires began. Fires medieval in their terror; fires that could not be extinguished because they were composed of burning phosphorus; liquid fire that flowed in burning streams down gutters and into the basements where women and children took shelter; fire so terrible, fire so merciless, there was nothing to do but run from it with all the strength God had given you; fire spreading so fast that running with all your strength was never enough. Fire so hot it set the very asphalt in the street ablaze and if your feet became stuck in the liquid tar, you burned like a torch, your screams unheard over the roaring of the firestorm. This was the hell brought down on Hamburg by the Tommies, and now they were bringing it to Berlin” (263). And then when survivors were digging out those who may still be alive, “Occasional explosions sounded in the distance as delayed –fuse bombs went off—designed to take out the rescuers and onlookers who gathered after a raid” (269). It also happened that water mains were shattered during the bombing and people trapped in the shelter drowned (270).

Here are some examples of the “smaller” details McCain includes:

* The government prohibited the public expression of mourning for a soldier who died because it was considered unpatriotic. After all, it was an honor for a husband/son/brother to give his life for the Führer (274).
* Returning to Berlin Max notes that someone wrote in chalk on the remaining portion of a building’s wall: “All members of the Schleicher family are dead” (209).
* All German naval ships employed Chinese laundrymen (15).
* Ship decks were made of teak wood because it doesn’t splinter when hit by shells. In the days before ships were made of steel, most casualties in sea battles came from flying splinters (55).

An Honorable German is McCain’s first novel and although it is a bit uneven—the tension between the fanatical Nazis and Max is simplistic at times and the POW section is lacking in atmosphere and tension that infuses other parts of the book—I highly recommend this novel to readers who like military fiction, thrillers, or German history.

Deborah Grosvenor is McCain’s agent. She’s the agent that discovered Tom Clancy (not that I am a big Clancy fan, but that is saying something), so it’s probably a safe assumption to say we’ll see more naval novels from McCain. I hope so.… (more)

Outstanding maritime action sequences are the high points of McCain's otherwise naïve-feeling debut. Max Brekendorf, a young German naval officer during WWII, serves on a battleship in the Atlantic, a merchant raider in the Indian Ocean and, after being adrift in a lifeboat and a convalescence in Paris, he volunteers for the U-boat force. As the war wears on, the navy, an institution that once forbade officers from joining political parties, becomes overrun with Nazi loyalists, creating tensions on Max's submarine that will eventually force him to choose between his moral sense and party directives. Unfortunately, the numerous good German/bad German scenes sustaining this uncomfortable premise are clownish at best. However, the action sequences are undeniably stunning, and McCain is no slouch with details, such as a ship's teakwood deck planks (which don't splinter when hit by shells) or the smell of petroleum in a submarine that permeated even the canned food. Fans of naval fiction couldn't ask for more authentic action, even if the novel falls short of its ambitions to salvage the reputation of the German navy. -

-Publishers Weekly (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

American readers of World War II stories are familiar with the Allied point of view. First novelist McCain reverses that perspective, portraying the war from the viewpoint of a German naval officer. Max Brekendorf begins the war aboard the "pocket battleship"Graf Spee, hunting Allied shipping in the South Atlantic and looking forward to the postwar life he hopes to enjoy with his aristocratic fiancA©e. The brutality of war and the stodgy German class structure stand in his way, but the most sinister obstacle may be the growing political power of Nazi hard-liners, who seem to become ever more fanatical as Germany's military prospects darken. Exposed to wartime atrocity from both sides, Max may have to choose between loyalty and humanity. No government, Axis or Allied, comes out looking very good in McCain's tale; Brekendorf's moral salvation is up to him alone and could cost him his life and his reputation. A vivid and compelling portrayal of World War II naval service.

-Library Journal… (more)

I just joined Library Thing. Full disclosure: I am the author of An Honorable German. I gave it five stars. Why? It deserves five stars. The novel seems to captivate each person who reads it and my readers run from teenagers to 85 year olds---men and women. I estimate close to 40% of my readers are women. This isn't a Tom Clancy book where someone gets shot on every other page or complex weapons are used in each chapter along with pages of explanations. This is a novel about someone: Max Brekendorff . Like so many in World War Two he finds himself caught up in forces way beyond his control. How does he fight for his country and maintain his honor? That is the the great question. And Max is the honorable German referred to in the title. I also would like to ad this since most writers would never make this claim--I can write. I feel that each writer has a fiduciary obligation to the English language. A writer must understand the tools of his trade; must consult such classics as Strunk and White's, The Elements of Style. Lots of readers email me and many of them complement me on my writing ability which makes me feel really good. I'm glad to be judged on both the quality of my story and the quality of my writing. A few months ago I told my editor, "it's too bad that really good writing doesn't help sell books." "It will help you eventually," he said. I wanted to explain why I gave myself five stars. I can also tell you that it is a very strange experience to surf the net and read reviews. It's fun or fun for me since all of my reviews are great. But it is humbling in many ways. It's also hard to figure out how not to put on airs, as my late Grandmother would say. If I mention that I'm a novelist in a social gathering people practically stop talking and start to ask me questions. They ask nice questions. They are polite questions. But I feel awkward if I take the spotlight from someone. If I go to a birthday party, for instance, and I don't know a lot of the people and the don't know me, I just say I'm a consultant to financial firms which is something I did for many years. I'm not complaining believe me. No one asked me to write a novel. But I thought people might be curious what it is like to get one's novel published especially since this is my first novel. It's the attainment of a life long dream but anticlimactic since I saw the cover a year ago and read and approved the final proof last November. The question I get most often is how do I do it, how do I actually write a novel. And the answer is, I don't know. I will end by saying I try not to look at my sales ranking on various sites more than once every few days and I've been pleased that a number of blog reviewers have said I did such a good job and write so well that it will be difficult to top this novel. And I wonder if I will be able to. I think I have second novel jitters or something. If you read this, thank you for reading this far and if you have read my novel or plan to then I so hope you will enjoy it and be captivated by the story since doing that is my job and I take it most seriously. All the best, Charles McCain… (more)

A German hero of gigantic proportions is depicted by Charles McCain in his debut novel An Honorable German. Throughout World War II images of the Nazi war machine were used to denigrate truly patriotic and honorable men who made up traditional military forces who fought alongside those who pledged their allegiance to the Third Reich.

Those who do not understand the call to duty and honor to country will not comprehend the viewpoint expressed by this book. Following orders is a necessity in wartime. Those who take it upon themselves to disobey put themselves at risk with those in power to be dealt with severely. Here, it is the Nazi war machine which runs the country. It has spies placed in the military to tattle on those who do not follow the orders strictly given by the cruel and thoughtless SS.

One of the most famous of all warships, Graf Spree, is described playing an important part in the main character’s career. Max Brekendorf, a proud young German naval officer, serves his country with honor and courage. Max emerges to show he is different than the Third Reich which is bent on conquering the world. Max cares for his men, ship, and country. He is recognized for his bravery by being awarded several medals of the highest order including the Iron Cross 1st Class. His personal life is interspersed within his career. This book does it justice by bringing two facets together for an intriguing tale of courage, defiance, and romance.

As the war progresses and the failure of the Nazi war machine becomes evident, hardship in the homeland takes its toll. The Gestapo is taking out its frustrations on the citizenry and even our hero runs into situations which put him at risk. Only through his friends and future in-laws does he find a way to evade the clutches of punishment. Infractions which he committed unknowingly are overlooked, because all he knew was the life of the sea.

A well-devised and orchestrated story by McCain which will at times keep you so absorbed you will not realize you have been reading many Germanic phrases with translations subtly inserted. This is a very good book historically and depicts another side of German military life.… (more)