I've found that I can gush a bit too much about this book, and therefore end up putting people off. So I'm going to be as restrained as possible in this review. Please know that inside I am jumping up and down with enthusiasm! Not only is this a novel telling the true story of the notorious Nazi Heydrich, it's also a novel about the author struggling to relay the truth through the medium of writing. If you feel that it sounds all a little highbrow and post-modern, well, it is. However, it's written with such passion that you can't help but get swept away with the drama. The fact that you can also go on and fact check everything only makes this novel all the more amazing. Written in concise nuggets rather than chapters, with the author's voice permeating the storytelling, this novel is thrilling and oddly accessible. Even if you've never read anything like this before, or tend to stay away from 'literary' things, I guarantee that you will enjoy this.

In simple terms this is the best WW2 fiction title you'll ever read. On a higher level it is unique in its style. No other author has so accurately detailed how much is assumed when writing fiction about true events. Binet's voice comes through in HHhH as he debates how he can possibly guess the thoughts of any of his characters. Either Nazi or otherwise. Told with a passion and reverence that will keep you hooked to the end.

For anyone with an interest in the history of WW2 this is a must-read. Laurent Binet personal crusade to tell the remarkable story of this heroic action filled many gaps for me. It is also a very good read.

Extraordinary story told with extraordinary style and spirit. Binet covers much from 13th Czech history to modern film and literature in telling the history of the assassination of Heydrich the author of the Final Solution, the 'efficient' Nazi solution to unwanted members of their society. Told from the perspective of Binet as he tries to write the novel (is it a novel?) he battles with the issues of representing history in fiction, both style, fact and its interpretation. With short chapters it builds to its final drama drawing in all the research of the author, depicting the horror of the Nazi machine and the humanity of those destroyed by it. Utterly fascinating, surprisingly humorous, moving on many different emotional levels, it's a surprise, shock and delight.

Now this was a book I did not know how to take. My dad lent it to me after I watched the film The Man with the Iron Heart which tells of Heydrich's assassination but in doing so he said it was written a bit differently. And he was not wrong. This is basically two stories in one, the first is the mostly historically accurate story of Heydrich's not so pleasant rise to power and the events leading to his assassination. The second is Binet's own struggle in telling the story of Gabčík and Kubiš and their efforts (and those of all the men, women and children that helped them) in achieving their goal and taking out one of the most powerful and most black hearted men in the Third Reich. Normally, this odd talkative style annoys the hell out of me but for some reason the way Binet has done it makes everything more real. It's as if you are both sat beside a fire and he is telling everything to you directly, answering queries that show on your face and clarifying points when you look confused. By the climax of the assassination story, you end up as invested as Binet in making sure Gabčík and Kubiš are given the recognition they deserve. And in this I feel Binet has achieved his goal.