Die Inseln unter dem Winde - Review by Robert Breuer
In: Books Abroad, Vol. 27, No. 3 (Summer, 1953), Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma, p. 285
One could be tempted to classify this novel as romantic "thriller" or to compare it with Sacha Guitry's lighthearted oeuvre; but the author surely intended to give us more than the rather amusing story of the two Messrs.
Spangenberg, whose real identity is not revealed until the very end and after a perplexing and highly entertaining story told by one of them in such fascinating manner that hardly anyone could have anticipated the denouement. Lernet-Holenia is a master of sophisticated dialogue, a writer with a keen sense for unusual happenings, one who builds up climax after climax by adding the most improbable situations, though still not overtaxing the reader's doubts as to their eventual impossibility.
The dramatic progress of the story, full of suspense, is not halted but rather enlightened by a wide variety of thoughtful discussions encompassing philosophy, religion, the machine age, life and death, friendship, love and dozens of other subjects, and by brilliant and colorful glimpses into our mode of life, yesterday and today, in Europe as well as on those Central-American islands which become the scene of deeply moving experiences for the story's two heroes.
The question "Who is who?" may remain uppermost in the reader's mind; unwittingly, however, he finds far more than a fantastic tale. In it the author has embedded no small amount of wisdom, making the book a remarkable tour de force.
Robert Breuer
New York, N. Y.