The Aftermath [Paperback]

Set in post-war Germany, the international bestsellerThe Aftermathby Rhidian Brook is a stunning emotional thriller about our fiercest loyalties and our deepest desires. In the bitter winter of 1946, Rachael Morgan arrives with her only remaining son Edmund in the ruins of Hamburg. Here she is reunited with her husband Lewis, a British colonel charged with rebuilding the shattered city. But as they set off for their new home, Rachael is stunned to discover that Lewis has made an extraordinary decision: they will be sharing the grand house with its previous owners, a German widower and his troubled daughter. In this charged atmosphere, enmity and grief give way to passion and betrayal.

Rhidian Brook’s arresting novel brings vividly to life a little-told aspect of World War II.” —Claire Messud

Superb. . . . Conjures surprise after surprise as it shows how the forces of politics and history penetrate even the most intimate moments of its characters' emotional lives. —The Guardian (London)

A brilliant novel. . . . A moving, always enthralling journey into the dark and light of history. —Joseph O'Neill, author ofNetherland

A captivating tale of love among the ruins but also of treachery and vengeance. . . . It poses many complex questions. —Literary Review

ReadingThe Aftermath, one can't help but wonder if this is the sort of literary memorialization . . . that Sebald might have wished for. —The Washington Post

“A fine, moving novel. . . . Brook addresses weighty themes—forgiveness, familial loss—with a light touch . . . . Bring[s] to mind no less a novel than J.G. Ballard’sEmpire of the Sun.” —Financial Times 

“Brook is wonderful at evoking the atmosphere of this forgotten time and place. . . . Brook handles the often shocking turn of events with a sparenlc+