Lumen (Martin Bora)

Set in the months following the German invasion of Poland in 1939, this first book in the Martin Bora series follows a Captain in the Intelligence arm of the German army who is tasked with solving the murder of a famous Polish nun in Cracow (aka Krakow). He's given a sidekick or sorts, in the form of a visiting Catholic priest from Chicago, who has been sent by the Vatican to write a report about the nun as a possible candidate for sainthood. Meanwhile, he must also deal with the odious womanizing officer he is roommates with, and the troubling increase in civilian killings he learns of. Captain Bora is a thoughtful, university educated, sober soldier, whose notions of honor and law conflict with the wartime reality and his own desires. The result is a mystery that spends a good deal more time on his moral struggles than your typical whodunit.The book does a very good job of placing the reader in the early moments of World War II, as seen through the eyes of a willing soldier who isn't yet aware of the nature of the beast he's a part of. Some of the book's best moments are when Bora comes into contact and conflict with the SS, who are clearly engaged in some completely different and separate agenda from his own straightforward military one. There are other nice details, such as references to Bora's previous service in Spain during the Civil War, and a tense meeting with a Soviet unit (recall that at the time, Germany and the USSR split Poland between them). Unfortunately, the period detail isn't enough to sustain the somewhat plodding pace of the story, which wheezes slowly through Bora's investigation of the nun's killing and a subplot involving several Polish actresses involved with his roommate. There's also a lot of discussion of religion and faith with the Chicago priest that didn't connect with me at all. The premise of a German army "detective" is a good one, but on the whole it feels like a first book in need of an experienced editor who could give it a little more shape and trim some of the fat. Originally written and published in 1999, it has been republished in conjunction with the second in the series, Liar Moon.

Highly original plot, time frame and characters. Captain Martin Bora is a Wehrmacht officer with a hyper sense of honor and patriotism who finds himself in the early stages of WWII (Poland 1939) fighting for an amoral regime already up to its ears in genocide and atrocities against noncombatant civilians. Bora is part of the German occupying forces in Krakow, Poland's cultural capital, directing mop-up operations against remnants of the Polish Army and evolving elements of a local resistance. His immediate superior has become attached to a Catholic mystique--the Mother Superior of a famous abbey. The nun is murdered in the cloister of the abbey and Captain Bora is ordered to investigate by his superior.The procedural that develops is unique in its inclusion of a running discussion of theology, honor and Catholic church doctrine. Bora's investigation is complicated by a second murder and by the ongoing interference of his new superior (a Nazi eugenics fanatic) and by German security forces (SS and SD) who have embarked on a terror campaign against Polish Jews and other minorities. Bora's faith in his commitment to his country, profession and faith is under constant attack, and a betrayal by his wife is an almost fatal blow.Of the three Martin Bora books in print, this one (the first) is probably the most challenging to the reader, but is quite fine in its own way. The two books that follow continue Bora's progress through the gradually ebbing fortunes of the German forces and moral dilemmas evolve in those circumstances. A thoughtful and entertaining series by an excellent writer.

I have read the Martin Bora books in a rather back to front fashion, coming to this the first one available in English with the knowledge of what happens to him in later adventures. In a strange way I thinks it helped coming to the young rookie military policeman after knowing his later self. In "Lumen", Bora first experiences the horrors of war as waged by the Wehrmacht in Poland in 1939. He comes from the minor Prussian aristocracy where military service, honour, courage and loyalty defines the man. I found Ben Pastor's plot clever and very instructive. I only wish that her full output of Bora books could be translated into English as I am fascinated to discover what he learns at Stalingrad and before that in France.

Pastor writes some truly amazing sentences. A lot of them might seem obtuse at first (they certainly did to me) but actually just require you to sit and wait and think about exactly what she's saying with each word and phrase. I would recommend this series for Pastor's wordplay alone, but the story is also fascinating. Horrifying look at the Holocaust and human corruption. It's an incredibly bleak story. I wouldn't recommend it purely as a mystery novel, as Pastor has a way of making the mystery plot unsatisfying. The series isn't "let's solve the mystery," but a deep character study of Martin Bora, a character who happens to sometimes be assigned mysteries to "solve."Four stars instead of five because I sometimes felt the plot was dragging.

Ms. Pastor has created an honorable character possessing conflicting loyalties of duty, honor and faith with moments of self-doubts. While it is a murder mystery, the plot also focuses on Bora’s growing awareness of the Nazi regime he has chosen to support. The well-written book also contains interesting supporting characters ranging from ardent Nazis to sympathetic soldiers and civilians unfortunately caught up in the war. Lumen was an excellent and well-written book launching the Martin Bora series. The series is not in chronological order, but I recommend reading the books by order of publishing date. The subsequent books in the series continue to develop Bora’s character while revealing more of his personality along his fears and conflicting emotions. A true gem of a series.

No, I didn't like this. It was, frankly, a bit weird.The story is set in Poland (Cracow, not Krakow as I think it should be) in late 1939 immediately following the German invasion. Captain Martin Bora is a Wehrmacht officer who -- although not any kind of investigator or military policeman -- gets assigned to solve the murder of a Polish nun in a local monastery. How unlikely is that?Bora seems not a very nice character -- I suppose a German officer of the occupying forces wouldn't be -- but also something of a cipher. We learn little about him. He is surrounded by an equally odd cast. Most of the text is dialogue that didn't further very much my understanding of whatever story is there.On the "life's too short" principle, I abandoned this half-way through.

The plot of this, the first in the Martin Bora series, would probably work well in any setting - a Nun, a famous mystic, is shot dead in her own cloister. No one hears the shot, the convent is locked, no weapon is found. Who killed her, how and why are puzzles enough for any detective.But Martin Bora is not a detective. He's a German Army Captain, assigned to Intelligence. And this is Poland, just after the German invasion. It's a difficult time, and Bora has not only to solve a potentially sensitive murder, but has to negotiate delicate relations with the SS as well, not to mention a difficult superior officer.Part of Bora's problem is that he is an honourable man in what is an increasingly dishonourable war. As the brutality shown by his own side becomes more and more evident, Bora's moral code may put his own life at risk.And then the officer he is sharing quarters with apparently commits suicide.A well paced, absorbing and sometimes harrowing mystery, which shows people facing terrible moral dilemmas without attempting any trite answers.

Set just after the German invasion of Poland in 1939, this is a well written, intelligent thriller. Captain Martin Bora is a young officer who wants to make his mark, while being uncomfortable about many of the things he witnesses and also takes part in. The author makes us both aware of Bora's complicity and yet also his humanity. "His eyes burned and ached with smoke, and he wouldn't wipe them for fear of appearing moved, because he wasn't," as one passage puts it so well. His troubled encounter with a previous piano teacher and his complaints about shootings leads to his superior office, Colonel Schenck, stating, "We're all in it. If it's guilt, we're all guilty".When Bora first arrives in Poland, he is billeted with Retz, who is out to enjoy life and relishes the advantages of uniform. He is also working with Colonel Hofer, who has been visiting an Abess, Mother Kazimierza, claimed to be a saint. This leads to Bora visiting the convent with Hofer, where he comes into contact with Father Malecki, a priest and American citizen, who has been given the task by the Church of investigating the unofficial cult surrounding the Abess. When Mother Kazimierza is shot, Father Malecki unwillingly has to help Bora investigate. Was she a saint? Was she involved in the underground or working with the Germans?Everything about this book works well, drawing you in and demanding to be picked up and read. Bora is a very human character and you feel both for him and Father Malecki and the difficult positions both find themselves in. Colonel Schenck, with his obsession about reproduction, and Retz and his complete selfishness, bring depth to the book. Everyone has something to hide and even Bora and Malecki cannot be open with each other, even if investigating together. I highly recommend this book and hope that more in the series will become available soon. If you enjoy this novel (and you will!) you may also like  The Warsaw Anagrams  and  Zoo Station . The Warsaw AnagramsZoo Station

Congratulations to the publisher for reissuing this fine novel and making it available to a new readership. When I read the first Martin Bora novel some years ago, I was really impressed and looked forward to more of the series. The series is available in Italian, French, German, Dutch, Polish and other languages but up to now not in English, the language the books were originally written in! In Lumen Pastor has created a wonderful evocation of a time and a place, Krakow and its hinterland shortly after the German occupation, and before the Germans are fully settled in. The edginess and brutality on the streets and in the countryside provide a counterpoint to the claustrophobic world of the convent where the murder of the abbess takes place. The investigator, Captain Martin Bora of the Wehrmacht, like all the characters in the book, is deftly and convincingly drawn, a soldier with duty, obedience and the army in his blood, a cultured man who denies his aristocratic background, a lapsed Catholic nevertheless affected by decency and conscience, a husband who has made a bad marriage. Part of what is fascinating about this novel is how the reader can observe Bora's growing disillusion and disengagement with the Nazi authorities he serves. Another noteworthy aspect is how Pastor draws those Nazis. They are by no means caricatures and it is thought-provoking to consider their own mindsets and justification of behaviour. I suppose what is at the heart of this novel is the question of the value of focusing on an individual murder when mass murder is taking place all around. Read it. If you want to be made to think, you will not be disappointed.I fervently hope that more of the Bora novels will now become available in English. Otherwise, I will just have to learn Italian!

Martin Bora is a young, highly intelligent and idealistic officer in the German Army. A professional soldier in their Intelligence Corps,, an honorable man, and a catholic, he believes the army he is proud to serve in should embody decency even while occupying Czechoslovakia. He is also a catholic. Ben Pastor deploys all these elements, on the whole intelligently, while dealing with a complex who-done-it plot, the murder of a possibly saintly nun and Bora's gradual realization that the war he is in isn't going to be a honorable affair but full of horrors. It's an intriguing book, well plotted and gripping, though personally I would have enjoyed it more if it had been more 'Graham Green' and less 'Agatha Christie' but that's possibly unfair. I think it pretty well delivers what it sets out to do and I shall very probably check out her - (Ben Pastor is a female Italian Academic living in the U.S) - other Martin Bora books.Pedro