War of Dreams - Anton Venter

"Described by Portland Book Review as an enjoyable read, War of Dreams was runner-up in the History category at the 2021 San Francisco Book Festival."

It's the Second World War and the setting is Europe. Alexander, a German, enters the war as a teenager. He is quickly forced to face a number of life challenges; drifting away from close teenage friends, hurtling towards adulthood, coming to terms with his sexuality and seeing his family disintegrate. In a short space of time he exchanges mountain hikes and carefree living for a life of secrecy as an informant and agent in the Nazi's war machine. Alexander participates in the War not out of free will. It is pressure from family and friends that leads him to volunteer to join the Storm Troopers, the division that starts out as a security outfit to protect Hitler. Instead of being dragged along by this mob's unruly behaviour, sexual exploits and hatred for the Jews, Alexander rather wants to get on with his life. He wants the war to be avoided and wants his family back together in the setting that he loved as a carefree teenager. A transfer to the SD (Sicherheitsdienst) is a welcome escape from the Storm Troopers, although he suspects it was arranged by his good friend, Claus. Despite the war and their different circumstances Alexander maintains contact with Claus, who pursues a successful military career but then develops his own agenda with the war and its outcome. Their paths would cross a number of times, controlled by a strange destiny. Although each of these accidental encounters with Claus highlights how different their war aspirations are, they ultimately desire the same for their country, the end of the war. The war and the roles his family members play in it become a major source of conflict. Alexander's father and brother become members of the Nazi regime early on, but with a passion that eludes Alexander completely. We get a glimpse of what his father and brother's lives are like as engineers in the Luftwaffe. Although fanatically dedicated to his motherland, his father turns out to be a double agent for the Russians and Alexander learns about this in a situation that is horrible for both of them. It is also at this point that Alexander's newly found sexual identity leads to a catastrophic consequence. This novel is a "coming of age" story. It seeks understanding from the reader for a young German who is, after being uprooted from a happy childhood, dragged through a world war. In this war he justifies being a murderer, makes deadly enemies and loses close friends as well as close family members. Much has been written about Germany's Nazi regime and how Germany's enemies experienced war. Has enough been written about the other side? Innocent Germans who did not want war, were unmoved by its propaganda and yet were involuntarily dragged into it, often with consequences no less devastating than for Germany's enemies? This is a fictitious story about humanity and passion, set in a historically accurate timeframe. Although Alexander and his family are fictitious, other characters are based on real life figures as documented in actual World War Two historical accounts. The plots, schemes and espionage scenarios are also based on real events as recorded in historical accounts. This novel sheds light on the often overlooked aspects of war, shows us the understudies, and gives us a glimpse of the acts and actors behind the side curtains.