Any Survivors?
The narrator is a refugee in London in 1939. Turfed out of his lodgings and finding himself homeless with five pennies in his pocket and a flute his only possession, he wanders the streets until he drifts into a music club, where he is approached by a representative of Geheme Macht (Secret Force). He is supplied with a Danish passport and instructions to travel to Kiel. A complex conspiracy unfolds as he lives through it. Playing entirely by ear he discovers that he has assumed the identity of a U-Boat sailor who has been awarded the Iron Cross – the reward is a trip to Berghof to meet the Fuhrer himself.
The unpublished manuscript of Any Survivors? was discovered in the attic of one of Martin Freud’s grandchildren. It is a satirical tale of the futility of war in which the hero stumbles from one conflict to another. The fast-paced action and the wry humour make for a uniquely fascinating read.
