The Undertaking

Audrey Magee's "The Undertaking" plunges into the moral complexities and personal compromises of World War II Germany through the entwined lives of two strangers. Peter Faber, a German soldier desperate for a reprieve from the Eastern Front, enters into a proxy marriage with Katharine Spinell, a resourceful Berliner seeking the security of a widow's pension. Their initial union, born of convenience and self-interest, unexpectedly ignites an intense attraction upon their first meeting. As Peter is thrust back into the brutal realities of Stalingrad, Katharine shrewdly navigates and rises within Nazi high society, each character making choices that reflect and challenge their circumstances. The novel masterfully explores themes of survival, ambition, love, and complicity amidst the devastating backdrop of war, painting a 'bold, honest' portrait of individuals caught in a 'great ravagement' as their fates shift with the tides of conflict.