Fred

A Novel Of Political Intrigue And Mystery

Revisado: 01-07-12

"The Collaborator" by S.L Stebel is novel of political intrigue driven by the psychological implications of the duality and juxtaposition of self and other. Set in the early post World War II period as Germany and Israel begin to move toward normalized relations, the novel is successful as a political thriller and as a mystery. Stebel's depiction of the machinations of the Israeli ruling party to save their mission of improving relations between the two countries as adversity compounds is a savvy commentary on realpolitik that is not diminished by the action's historic context. The answer to the question, "who is Ernst Gottliebsohn?" an amnesiac statistician acting as a functionary of the mission is not revealed until the very end, after what can only be described as a spectacular inversion.

The plot of the novel turns on several well drawn characters engaged in a search for the "real" Ernst Gottliebsohn as negotiations are being held in Germany. One of these character's search for the "self" of the statistician results in a greater understanding of his own inner conflicts. Norman Glass is an American psychiatrist who is chosen to aid Gottliebsohn to find out what is behind his amnesia and hopefully clear his name. In the process of trying to get Gottliebsohn to remember what happened in Cologne in 1939, Glass is also shown to be in a process of self discovery, the result of which, though not pleasant, is healing.

The audio version of “The Collaborator “ is greatly enhanced by the skill of the voice actor Michael Bell’s reading of the text. Bell employs subtle variations of inflection and tone, making the different characters engaged in dialogue instantly recognizable to the listener. The reader’s rendering of Captain Kohn as the investigator on scene, who essentially has Gottliebsohn in a kind of mobile custody is especially enjoyable. Kohn’s character serves as a comic foil for the morose accused and as a revealer of secrets, a detective in the tradition of Dickens' Mr Bucket from "Bleak House" or Dostoyevsky's Porfiry Petrovitch from Crime And Punishment.

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