Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Russia, the fourth power in the occupying force, controls East Germany, having erected the Berlin Wall only a few years earlier. The balance of power is fraught, the peace fragile, shaking with every international confrontation. And caught between the four former allies are the German civilians, still bruised by defeat but with poignant memories. Within the walled city the tensions are replicated in the lives of its inhabitants. Secrets, hostilities, divided loyalties, strange alliances and a sense of entrapment underpin the life of pleasure and privilege enjoyed by foreigners posted to West Berlin.
But it's at the Devil's Mountain that Lucy begins to understand why she has been drawn to the city. Clearly not as innocent as she appears, she is aware of her role in a story that started long ago: Is her marriage one of love or convenience? A trap or an escape? Crucially, can she tell a friend from an enemy?
Few characters in The Hedge of Thorns are quite who they appear to be--and in a city where secrets and betrayal are embedded in history and fear, even love may be sacrificed.