Culture August 22, 2012

While the history of WWII is common knowledge, fewer people are aware of what happened in Europe right after the armistice was signed. In his new book, Keith Lowe, the author of two novels and a well-received account of the bombing of Hamburg in 1945, delves into the four years immediately following the war, and what he finds isn’t pretty. Much of Savage Continent reads like a non-fiction version of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. Chapters are devoted to, among other subjects, physical destruction, famine, moral dissolution, and revenge against collaborationists. Only one chapter, on hope, interrupts the darkness.