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    The Alphabet House
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    The Alphabet House
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    The Alphabet House
    Audiobook15 hours

    The Alphabet House

    Written by Jussi Adler-Olsen

    Narrated by Graeme Malcolm

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    In the tradition of Alan Furst, the #1 international bestselling author delivers his first stand-alone novel, a psychological thriller set in World War II Nazi Germany and 1970s England

    British pilots James Teasdale and Bryan Young have been chosen to conduct a special photo-reconnaissance mission near Dresden, Germany. Intelligence believes the Nazis are building new factories that could turn the tide of the war. When their plane is shot down, James and Bryan know they will be executed if captured. With an enemy patrol in pursuit, they manage to jump aboard a train reserved for senior SS soldiers wounded on the eastern front.

    In a moment of desperation, they throw two patients off the train and take their places, hoping they can escape later. But their act is too convincing and they end up in the Alphabet House, a mental hospital located far behind enemy lines, where German doctors subject their patients to daily rounds of shock treatments and experimental drugs. The pilots' only hope of survival is to fake insanity until the war ends, but their friendship and courage are put to the ultimate test when James and Bryan realize they aren't the only ones in the Alphabet House feigning madness.

    Millions of fans around the world-and in this country-know Adler-Olsen for his award-winning Department Q series. His first stand-alone, The Alphabet House, is the perfect introduction for those who have yet to discover his riveting work.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateFeb 24, 2015
    ISBN9780698189003
    Unavailable
    The Alphabet House
    Author

    Jussi Adler-Olsen

    Nacido en 1950, Jussi AdlerOlsen es uno de los autores europeos de novela negra que más éxito ha cosechado.La víctima 2117 es el octavo volumen de su exitosa serie Los casos del Departamento Q, publicada en más de cuarenta y dos países y con más de quince millones de lectores.Ha ganado numerosos premios, entre ellos el Plume d’Or, el Glass Key, el De Gyldne Laurbaer y el Premio Barry.

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    Reviews for The Alphabet House

    4/5

    25 ratings24 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I'm not sure how this book reads in the original language (vs. translation). I found the story fascinating, but sometimes the syntax/sentence structure was a bit 'odd' or offputting. I also found the two halves of the book very disparate - the first part (taking place during the last months of WWII) and the second part (taking place in 1972) are jarringly different in tone and style.

      Over all a good story - I enjoy Adler-Olsen's writing.
    • 5/5
      2 jeunes soldats britanniques pilotes d’avion sont obligés de se faire enfermer dans un hôpital psychiatrique en Allemagne pendant la 2e guerre. Bryan réussit à s’évader mais retrouve son ami James 30 ans plus tard en Allemagne avec les 3 autres simulateurs allemands.
    • 4/5
      I had trouble with keeping the characters straight, something I often find with foreign names on audio books. It is a good story though.
    • 4/5
      A dark and heavy book. Some of said it was a depressing read, which there are certainly elements, but their are also elements that are uplifting. Themes of friendship, hardship, means of survival, guilt, and coming to peace with one's past all carry this story. Although there are plot lines that may be deemed difficult to believe, I have encountered numerous actual stories where a mix of human determination, a bit of luck, quick problem solving, and ingenuity all make the impossible quite possible.Two British pilots, and very close friends, are shot down over Germany during World War II. Against all odds, they are able to avoid being captured as prisoners of war, only to prisoners of a different sort. Assuming the identifies of Nazi SS officers and then pretending to suffer from what today we refer to as PTSD, they are sent to a mental institution. At this mental hospital, they are not as safe as they would hope and are forced to avoid each other to prevent detection. The fates of these two Englishmen take very different paths.The second part of the story takes place 30 years later, when several of the patients of the 'Alphabet House', as the mental institute was known, are reunited, and not in expected or pleasant ways.You wish to find more humanity in this story, but unfortunately, it brings to light the brutality of human nature and the consequences of that. An engaging and powerful story that challenges one to think of one's own limitations under heavy psychological (and physical) hardships.
    • 2/5
      Too long, especially Part 1. Both parts defy credibility.
    • 3/5
      I will keep it short -- the book is quite depressing. I will stick to Adler-Olsen's Department Q novels.
    • 5/5
      Absolutely fantastic book! An amazing adventure that pulls you in until the end.
    • 2/5
      I could only listen to this book for a few commutes - maybe 4 or 5 hours total. There was ZERO character development and the story itself was simply too unbelievable.

      I also need to care about the characters - or at least, hate them or something. I did not really get to know these characters.

      And the narrator could put me to sleep. there really was not much that I liked about this book at all but I will leave it at 2 stars since I only listened for a portion of the book.
    • 4/5
      A complex, well researched novel about two British WW2 airmen shot down over Germany in 1944, who manage to escape onto a train of severely wounded German soldiers returning from the Russian front. The two fliers take the places of two senior German officers which is just the start of their problems.
    • 4/5
      When their plane is shot down over Germany, two RAF pilots and good friends hop a train carrying patients to a hospital/sanitarium, and survive by pretending to be German soldiers in need of psychiatric treatment. They are subject to extensive electroshock and drug treatments. One of them is able to escape, and in 1972 returns to try and find out what happened to his friend.I had some problems with the plot of this one, which seemed mostly unbelievable, starting from the very beginning when they succeed in replacing dead and dying German soldiers. Why wouldn't the Germans who were chasing them after they were shot down not have the train stopped and thoroughly searched? They would have been caught easily if that had been done. But, if you can suspend your disbeief about the first part of the story, the book's second section, about event in 1972, is pretty well done.
    • 2/5
      I received this novel as a gift and would not have likely purchased it otherwise, as the genre (thriller) is not one that I normally seek out. Having said that, I can say that this is one of the worst I have read, regardless of genre.I would like to be able to suspend belief in the case of some fiction, and can do so when the story is intentionally ridiculous, however when a novel is written seriously, and contains utterly absurd story lines and patently ridiculous fact situations and plot contrivances, I cannot avoid irritation. This book, which has the makings of a good story, has so many eye rolling occurrences as to make it virtually unreadable (or more accurately unenjoyable, since I did read it).Put simply, I can only recommend this novel under one circumstance. If you are incredibly dumb and gullible, perhaps you might believe up to half of the fact situations that arise in the course of this story.
    • 4/5
      I'm a huge fan of Jussi Adler-Olsen's Department Q mysteries featuring Detective Carl Morck.I thought it was the next entry in the series, but it's actually an older stand alone book from Adler-Olsen making a North America debut.Two British pilots, James Teasdale and Bryan Young are doing flyover photo reconnaissance of a German town during WW2 when their plane is shot down. In an attempt to avoid capture, they jump on a train of wounded German soldiers. And finally in desperation, they throw two Germans off the train and take their places. Unbeknownst the them until later, the train is full of shell shocked SS officers bound for a mental hospital.Teasdale and Young are too good at their subterfuge - they end up admitted to the hospital and subjected to treatment. Much time passes - until one of them escapes. And one is left.I thought this was a great idea for a book. Indeed, it has its basis in reality. Adler-Olsen's father worked in a psychiatric facility and Jussi wondered about malingerers or those living out their lives in such a facility.Once the two Brits land in The Alphabet House, the pacing of the novel slows down. Adler-Olsen draws out the time, echoing what the two servicemen would be feeling. There are many cringe worthy moments that can only make the reader appreciate that much of this is based in reality.The second half is from 1975 when the the first goes back looking for his comrade. In this second half the pace picks up as we discover what happened in the last thirty years to both men. And how the past has a long reach....The Alphabet House explores war, friendship and the innate desire to live, all couched in a tense, atmospheric narrative.
    • 4/5
      This is a novel in two distinct sections. The first part involves two British aviators who are shot down during WW2, assume German identities and end up in a hospital for mental patients. One eventually escapes. Part two of the book is the escapees quest decades later to find out what happened to the comrade he left behind. The book is overall nicely written and suspenseful but requires giant leaps of faith as to how the meticulous Germans would not detect they were not Germans by simply using the "mute act".
    • 4/5
      Two English pilots - Bryan and James - are shot down over Germany during WWII and escape by hopping onto a train filled with SS officers who are heading towards a hospital for treatment. The first part of the book details their stay in the hospital as they pretend to be German SS officers themselves - they are subjected to electroshock treatments and the brutality of 3 German officers who are also pretending to be insane so as to not have to rejoin the war. While Bryan eventually manages to escape, James is left behind. The second half of the book takes place in 1972 during the time of the Munich Olympics and details Bryan's attempt to determine if James is still alive. Although you wish for a happy ending to this story, ultimately it is truly sad and a stark reminder of how the ravages of war destroy people's lives, even if one is lucky enough to survive.
    • 4/5
      Set to be released in February 2015, The Alphabet House by Jussi Adler-Olsen is not a typical war story rather it is an intense standalone thriller centered around two RAF pilots, James Teasdale and Bryan Young. The first section of the book focuses on their reconnaissance mission, their escape from capture, only to find themselves behind enemy lines in a mental hospital for high ranking officials who find themselves escaping capture and certain death by pretending to be German patients, only to find themselves behind enemy lines in a mental institution, known as the Alphabet House, where unspeakable trials are being conducted on the patients. It does not take long for James and Bryan to realize they are not the only two feigning mental illness and the stakes are raised. The second part of the story occurs thirty years after the war, the reader learns of James from the Alphabet House, however he knows nothing of Bryan, that is until a former intelligence offers James some solid information upon which he decided to act and James decides to go back to Germany and search for any information on Bryan. Adler-Olsen has crafted a taught psychological thriller spanning three decades and creates an intense atmosphere, intriguing characters, many exceptionally unlikeable, and extraordinary plot twists, and a fiendish game of cat and mouse. The Alphabet House is a book readers will not want to set down, it is fast paced from the beginning and this reader could not wait to learn what would happen next. I highly recommend The Alphabet House to all fans of psychological suspense.
    • 4/5
      The narrator was perfect the story exciting. A Great read!
    • 3/5
      Die Beschreibung der Szenerie im Sanatorium, also knapp die Hälfte des Buches, ist faszinierend und zugleich beängstigend geschrieben. Der zweiten Hälfte fehlt es m. E. an der Dynamik und Spannung des ersten Teils, deshalb nicht so faszinierend wie in der Werbung beschrieben.
    • 3/5
      I couldn’t describe the book any better so from the book cover:

      “During World War 2, two British pilots, James and Bryan, are shot down over Germany. They know that they will be executed if taken hostage. Pursued by German dog patrols, they manage to escape by jumping on to a German hospital train transporting mentally deranged German SS-officers away from the front. James and Bryan throw a couple of patients off the train so that they can occupy their sick beds, hoping to make an escape later on. However, the train takes them to "The Alphabet House", a mental hospital far away from the front line. Their only means of survival is to simulate madness. But can they do so? Without going mad for real? And are James and Bryan the only ones faking it?”

      I’ve mentioned before that I tend to stay away from books dealing with certain subjects and WWII is definitely on my personal “stay away” list. Alas, nothing is written in stone and sometimes the premise of a book just sounds too appealing and I have to break down and give it a try. Besides, Mr. Adler-Olsen assured me in the forward that this was not a book “about the war” it is a book “set in war time”. The two mean the same thing to me. Sometimes I am pleasantly rewarded for stepping out of my comfort zone (The Book Thief) and sometimes I am not. I sit on the fence with this book.

      First of all I should warn any potential readers of a gentler constitution that there are a lot
      (A LOT!!) of gristly (grizzly?) scenes in this book. I listened to it on audio and found myself driving to work grimacing (okay, grimacing more than I usually do on my drive to work). Of course it is a book “set in war time” so I knew that was going to be part of it. The book consists of two parts. Part one deals with “The Alphabet House”, an insane asylum for SS officers, where James and Bryan find themselves delivered by the train. When one of them escapes, by necessity and lack of options leaving the other behind, we move into the second part of the book which takes place 30 years later. With equal parts undying friendship and survivor’s guilt the soldier who escaped has never stopped looking for the friend he had to leave behind. Despite having hired professional private detectives to search for his friend no trace of him has ever been found. Just as he is ready to give up his search and admit that he probably did die when the hospital was bombed near the end of the war, a clue falls into his lap and he goes looking one more time.

      Although both parts of the book are interesting I found myself wishing things would move along at a little bit of a brisker pace. Obviously, since our two protagonists were forced to assume the identity of two other men there was a name change involved. As it turns out most of the characters in this book were known by two or more name/nicknames and they were used interchangeably depending on who was doing the speaking. This got to be a little confusing and I would have enjoyed the book a bit more if in the second half the author could have stuck to using one name per character.

      Although the book is not in a genre I usually enjoy I am glad I picked it up. Mr. Adler-Olsen did a fine job with a complicated subject.
    • 5/5
      Two British pilots, James and Bryan, are on a reconnaissance mission over Germany when they are shot down. To escape capture they jump aboard a train that turns out to be carrying wounded SS officers. The pair take the place of two of the officers hoping for a chance to escape unnoticed later. Unfortunately, the chance doesn’t come and they have to act as if they have had some sort of mental breakdown. Their act is so convincing that they are taken to The Alphabet House so named because of the Nazis’ penchant for bookkeeping, giving everything including different types of psychogenic ailments like those suffered by the inhabitants of The Alphabet House an alphabetical and numerical designation. The two continue to feign mental illness, an act that is aided by drugs, and electric shock. Soon, though, they discover that they are not the only malingerers and these others are not above murder to protect themselves from discovery. Eventually, Bryan escapes alone. The story then switches to 1972. Bryan is a successful doctor and businessman. He had spent years searching for James after the war but eventually gave up. However, when he meets a man who is from the area of The Alphabet House, he hires him to find any information he can about any survivors. With his information, Bryan is on the trail again but rather than James, he finds the other malingerers who benefitted financially from the war and are determined to stop anyone from uncovering their crimes. This is the first book I have read by author Jussi Adler-Olsen and, as it turns out, it was the first book he wrote; it is, however, the first time it’s been released in North America so firsts all around. Despite its setting, The Alphabet House is not, according to Adler-Olsen, a war story. It’s also not a perfect book. At times, it strains credulity almost to the breaking point and it says a great deal about the writing and the sheer adrenaline rush of the story that, despite the occasional ‘huh’, it never interferes with the enjoyment of the book. This is one edge-of-your-seat, nail-bitingly intense, unputdownable and a whole lot of other adjectives and adverbs that can be used to describe one hell of a psychological thriller. In other words, I liked it a lot. This may have been my first book by Adler-Olsen but it will definitely not be my last.
    • 4/5
      While I received this from Netgalley (a VERY long time ago) in exchange for an honest review, I ended up listening to this book on Audible.

      4 stars.

      This is a tale of two books.

      The first half of is mind-numbingly monotonous and downright boring, almost to the point of putting it on the DNF shelf. The second part is exceedingly suspenseful, complete with violent confrontations, a touch of romance, and a tale of revenge on a trio of monstrous villains. Adler-Olsen touches on the universal themes of the horrors of war, man's inhumanity to man, the corrosiveness of guilt, and the cleansing nature of forgiveness. This book was written in 1997, and it is easy to see that Adler-Olsen hadn’t yet developed the writing skills he displays in his Department Q series. Even still, this is a worthwhile read.

      "The Alphabet House" is first set during World War II. Two Englishmen, James Teasdale and Bryan Young, bail out when their plane is shot down over Germany during a reconnaissance mission. In desperation, they assume the identities of shell-shocked German SS officers. Assuming their roles too well, they are confined to a mental hospital behind enemy lines. How long will it take for their captors to realize that James and Bryan are imposters? What effect will the pills and shock treatments that the doctors administer to their patients have on the British soldiers' minds? Can they escape from this hellhole? The situation spirals out of control when three fellow inmates viciously turn on James and Bryan.

      The second half is also set in Germany, almost 30 years later, during the 1972 Munich Olympics. In the second half, the story really comes alive, as the friends deal with the fallout of their imprisonment.

      This book was obviously extremely well researched, the detail is magnificent, horrifying, and yet strangely fascinating. The pacing and layout were cleverly done – the first half is slow moving and plodding, allowing the story to unfold at a pace that allows the reader to almost experience what these two friends are going through. It’s very disturbing but absolutely compelling; you simply can’t look away. The second half is much faster paced, and I’m not going to say anything for fear of giving away the surprising events. It did ramp up significantly to the completely unexpected ending.

      This is not a war story as much as it is a story of friendship under extreme circumstances, character-driven throughout, often violent, but always engaging and thought provoking. I found it to be an excellent, moving story, haunting and evocative, with some great edge-of-the-seat moments.

      Overall a very good read.
    • 5/5
      A real thriller. This one will reach out, grab you, and not let you go till the last page. How would you survive if you were trapped behind enemy lines while on an intelligence mission during World War II? Two British pilots, Bryan Young and James Teasdale are about to find out. Enemy soldiers with tracking dogs are on their trail. Every civilian is a possible enemy. What can they do to escape capture? The only way out is to impersonate patients on a German army hospital train. Can they fake mental illness for days, weeks, even months to survive? One of the pilots, James has a passing knowledge of the language, but Bryan can’t speak a word of German. He can’t understand the simplest command or question. Everyone is their enemy, guards, doctors, nurses, even the other patients. What lengths can they go to to survive? How long will they be just another designated letter in the Alphabet House. Even if one can escape, will he be able to save the other from a lifetime of madness? A great read. It’s easy to see why author Jussi Adler-Olsen is regarded as Denmark’s number one crime writer. This book provided for review by Dutton Books.
    • 4/5
      This book, although just translated into English, was first published in Denmark in 1997, and predated Adler-Olsen’s Department Q detective series.It tells the story of two British pilots, Bryan Young and James Teasdale, friends from childhood, who were sent on a dangerous aerial reconnaissance mission over Germany during World War II. Their plane is shot down, and the two manage to bail out, but now they are in German territory, somewhat injured, and have no way to get back to the Allies. They jump onto a railroad car carrying injured German SS troopers, and assume the identity of two of the men. Because this is a car for those who are damaged psychologically, the Brits can get away with not speaking. James does understand German, but Bryan does not. Thus Brian’s efforts at appearing confused are convincing, but to Brian’s surprise, James is an even better actor. The two are transferred along with the others to a sanitarium known as Alphabet House because of the alphanumeric categorization of patients with mental illnesses. (Such special treatment for SS officers who had mental problems was of course not available to most sufferers, who were gassed to death.)At Alphabet House, James and Bryan are subjected to radical treatments for their putative psychoses, including frequent electroshock and daily administration of dangerous anti-psychotic drugs that induced catatonic-like states. Bryan tried not to take his pills, but this too was dangerous; if the officials at the facility suspected anyone of malingering, that person would be executed. As it turns out, however, Bryan and James were not the only ones pretending to have psychiatric disorders. But the others who are faking are determined to take no chances with anyone knowing about them; they have a secret to protect that will make them rich if only they can survive until the war is over. Thus, the two Brits are constantly observed, judged, suspected, and mistreated by the German prisoners to cause them to slip in their roles, if indeed they are playing roles. And as the German malingerers - high-level sadistic Nazis - increasingly suspect the two, the tension ratchets up enormously.Evaluation: Although a few aspects of the story strained credulity, this psychological (in a double sense) thriller kept me on the edge of my seat once I got into it a bit. (Jim was pulled in right from the start.) Even though Adler-Olsen wrote this debut novel many years ago, you can see a talented writer at work, who is adept at pacing and characterization. I did not find the characters at either end of the morality spectrum unduly caricatured. This is a solidly good book, and it is a standalone. We both enjoyed reading it, as we have enjoyed the other books by this author.
    • 2/5
      Dass Adler-Olsen gute Thriller schreibt, ist hinlänglich bekannt. So wurde auch sein Erstlingswerk, das bereits vor 25 Jahren erschien, mit entsprechenden Vorschusslorbeeren bedacht (offenbar ohne dass es von den entsprechenden Leuten vorher gelesen wurde).
      Der Beginn ist vielversprechend: Zwei britische Soldaten stürzen im II. Weltkrieg über Nazideutschland ab und retten sich, getarnt als psychisch kranke Nazigrößen, in einem entsprechenden Militärkrankenhaus. Schweigend entgehen sie ihrer Enttarnung, doch ihr Aufenthalt dort wird zu einem Martyrium... Dreissig Jahre später finden diese entsetzlichen Erlebnisse unweit des ehemaligen Lazaretts ihre Fortsetzung.
      Der erste Teil, der die Zeit der Freunde in dem deutschen Militärkrankenhaus beschreibt, lässt bereits erahnen, dass von diesem Autor noch einiges zu erwarten ist. Zwar ist die Sprache noch nicht ganz so flüssig wie in seinen Folgebüchern Erbarmen oder Schändung, doch die Spannung, die aus der jederzeit möglichen Enttarnung resultiert, lässt einen weiter und weiter lesen. Doch dann kommt Gewalt ins Spiel und damit wird manches unplausibel und einfach unlogisch, insobesondere das Ende des 1. Teils (Wie kann ein lange Bettlägriger Kämpfe auf Leben und Tod und andere körperliche Strapazen ohne weiteres bewältigen?).
      Der 2. Teil, der rund 30 Jahre später einsetzt, nimmt an Unlogiken zu und ist immer weniger glaubhaft, worunter natürlich die Spannung leidet. Die Zufälle nehmen überhand und Normalbürger werden zu Kampfmaschinen bzw. es hagelt Spontanheilungen.
      Zwei Punkte gibt es für den guten Auftakt (wenn auch verbesserungswürdig) und für die an sich gute Idee. Als Erstlingswerk ist es verzeihbar und Jussi Adler-Olsen hat sich ja gut weiterentwickelt ;-)
    • 2/5
      Ich wusste gar nicht, worum es geht, denn ich hatte einen Carl Mørck - Krimi erwartet. Da war ich dann überrascht, dass es eine Zweiter-Weltkriegs-Geschichte war. Zwei englische Piloten, die seit der Kindheit befreundet sind, werden in Deutschland abgeschossen. Sie können in einen Lazarettzug fliehen und mischen sich unter die Patienten, indem die die Identitäten zweier Kranker annehmen.Diesen Teil fand ich zwar auch schon sehr unglaubwürdig, aber auch sehr spannend. Da habe ich wirklich mit Bryan und James mitgefiebert.Die beiden kommen dann in ein Sanatorium für Geisteskranke, das "Alphabethaus" und ab da konnte ich irgendwann gar nicht mehr zählen, wie oft ich "Schwachsinn" dachte. Ich will das gar nicht aufzählen, da würde der Platz nicht reichen.Trotzdem fesselten mich manche Teile, mich interessierte ja schon, wie es mit James weitergeht und ich fand das Ende auch ganz angemessen. Aber zwischen Anfang und Ende war halt noch der Rest des Buches....