A German Love Story is subtitled 'a documentary novel'. In fact, it is neither fish, fowl nor good Bismarckherring. It purports to tell the sad story of Pauline, the German hausfrau whose husband is away at the war, and her lover, Stani, the Polish prisoner billeted next door. The narrative is clogged with long-winded speculations, rhetorical questions and banal comments…. (p. 482)

Indeed, the love story is abandoned for long stretches while the author indulges himself in essays on the self-deception of the Nazi leaders, on the Poles' contribution to the grand alliance, and on the startling discovery that 'reason goes by the board when emotion gets the upper hand'. The final insult to the lives of Pauline and Stani is the author's obvious satisfaction with his researches to the neglect of the story he had been investigating. (p. 483)

John Mellors, "Dreadful Things" (© British Broadcasting Corp. 1980; reprinted by permission...