This thread is for historical fiction reviews.

The i Tetralogy
By Mathias B. Freese
ISBN-10: 1587364042
ISBN-13: 978-1587364044
Trade Paperback, 380 pages
June 15, 2005
Hats Off Books, a division of Wheatmark
Reviewed by Sabrina Williams


Mathias B. Freese's fictional account of a concentration camp prisoner and his sadistic guard is a raw and disturbing look at the destructive capabilities of humanity. The i Tetralogy is a frightening book from the outset, plunging the reader into unimaginable despair.

The reader is first introduced to "i," the shell of a human being left after the tortures of Nazi persecution. He observes the shreds of humanity left in his prison mates, noting his own discard of notions he once considered to be important. As the drudgery of the camp is described, the reader gets a sense of the constant threat to survival. Those that have not resigned themselves to their impending doom will be inconceivably tormented until they lack spirit and become empty shells like i.

The story then shifts to the perspective of the guard, Gunther. The relationship between i and Gunther is difficult to describe. At times, it seems i envisions Gunther as a lifegiver, or parent of sorts, but then life is no longer of consequence to him, so that isn't quite it. It is obvious that he prides himself on measuring Gunther's temperament to the degree that he can avoid his wrath. He trusts his own survival tactics enough that he strives to impart them on a new inmate.

But i is invisible to Gunther. Whereas the camp is an individual experience for i, Gunther dismisses him as one of the masses that he will toy with daily. Each broken soul is another step to his ultimate goal of transcendence. Gunther considers himself a craftsman in the extermination of a race. While his actions appear to be those of an insane man, he endeavors the reader to seek out the same capacity for murder within themselves.

Abruptly the scene changes to America, where Gunther fled after the Allied invasion. As an old man living in the 1990's, the hatred and bigotry of his youthful military days has boiled and morphed into a hatred of everything and everyone not German, from the Pakistani deli owners to his own American wife and sons. Incredible rage lies within him. From page 233, "I am at war with the day, the world, everything, angry at mild events and circumstances. I am angry at the talents I own and the failure of the world to find them express, important--valuable." Decades after Nazi Germany fell, Gunther is still at war.

Finally, the reader is proferred the writings of Gunther's son, Conrad. In "Gunther's Lament," Conrad tells his own disheartening story, sifting through the details of his childhood, attempting to make sense of abstract evil. He probes his mother and brother for their own perspectives on the abusive man who controlled their lives. He must learn all that he can about his father to reassure himself that he is not the same.

This book was probably the most difficult, but most important book I've ever read. Freese has mastered the art of writing in a way that will be revered. The story drives the reader to such despondency that it cannot be consumed all at once. I had to alternate between The i Tetralogy and another more positive spiritual book to keep from crashing headlong into utter hopelessness. It is painful to read, both because of the unimaginable horrors that lie within and the all too familiar patterns of human behavior that simmer beneath the surface, waiting to erupt into violence at any moment. It is however, a story that has to be told, regardless of its fictional nature. The watered-down accounts of the Holocaust that have made their way into American history barely hint at the magnitude of the true atrocity.

Often, when a book impacts me in the way that The i Tetralogy has, I will pursue an interview with the author. However, in the epilogue, Freese lays his story bare in such a way that it is essentially another facet of the tale. After finishing the book, I felt like I had had a insider's view into the mind of a literary genius--a dark and poignant journey. I really feel there are no questions left to ask. I would suggest that readers begin the book by reading Freese's "Raison d'Etre," as the author suggested to me. No matter where the reader begins, the impact of the book will be profound.

Visit the author at www.mathiasbfreese.com