The book´s ending


Yesterday I finished reading the book and I was a little bit confused by the ending.
Could anybody explain it to me?

reply

[deleted]

[deleted]

I don't blame anyone for being confused by nearly the entire ending. By that I mean the actual last page or so. Basically, it's a cliffhanger though. A bit disappointing that we don't find out what happends beyond the fact that March runs into the woods with a Luger, but that's the way it is. Though perhaps I'm wrong? Can anyone enlighten us further?

reply

March runs into the woods with a Luger,but he is gong to commit suicide, because the nazi soldiers are after him

reply

[deleted]

I think he is not really commiting siucide because of the nazis but because of the FACT that the whole holocaust is true and he - as an SS-Solider was in some way part of this. The knowlegde that the holocaust is true is unbearable for him.

reply

Surely he had no hope of leaving the country alive after what happened, pity he never made it, but at least he had hope that Charlie was safe and out of Germany ... with the proofs!




''Is there noone among them you could trust? No man of integrity?''
-''Not that I know of''

reply

Yep - I think Buttermilk's answer is the closest to my view. There was no way he was getting out of the situation and he had realised that some time ago. His job was finished once he was sure Charlie had time to get out of the country so the ending, although ambiguous was clearly March's death - whether by his own hand or the Gestapo.

reply

I never got the impression he was going to kill himself -- a coward's way out. I got the impression he was defying them, gun in hand, and forcing them to kill him.

Just finished the book five minutes ago and decided to look up who played whom in the movie.

reply


He had a black SS helicopter covering him and he was surrounded by an SS commando team in the woods, March obviously tried to make a run for it and presumably got shot in the back.

reply

A coward's way out?

If March turns to fight, he'll be cut down instantly, probably before he even gets off a shot (and remember: he's right-handed, and his right hand is now a bloody pulp). If he's captured alive, he'll be tortured in even more extreme ways than he's already experienced up to that point.

The one thing that the adult March is shown to be throughout the novel is his own man. He isn't a mindless drone of the Nazi state, and from the moment that Jagger informed him that the Gestapo were taking over the investigation into Buhler's death, March knew what continuing with the case could mean. And yet he did.

So at the end of the book, March has won. He's found the truth at the heart of the mystery, and satisfied the professional investigator in himself. He's also known what it is to have the love - or at the very least, the lust - of a beautiful, passionate and (most importantly of all) an independent woman (remember the memory of the prisoner who was released to marry his love, and of how he was satisfied to know that there was another life outside of the one stretching before him?). Best of all, he knows that the truth about the Final Solution will be revealed to the world, that the policy of détente between America and Germany will be irrevocably shattered.

What's left? He can't escape. He faces excruciating pain, to be followed by death. Instead, he walks off determined to end his life in the same way that he has lived its last days. On his own terms, and resisting the wishes of his 'masters'.

A coward's way out?

Grow up.

reply

I completely agree with this summary. After all, March is always been the loner (remembering his nick was "Wolf") and has had a defiance, or at least a streak of independence within him.

In any case, his aim was to be the decoy, as Harry-T puts it, so that Charlie can get out.

reply

Whichever method he uses to end his life (killing himself or forcing the Gestapo to do it), it seems obvious to me that March cannot afford to be taken alive. He knows far too much.

Even though Charlie has managed to get out of Germany, she is still terribly vulnerable, and her mission will in jeopardy be until she has delivered the material to the NYT editor. Remember, the Swiss maintain good relations with the Reich (they have to), and it would only require a phone call to extend the (wo)manhunt to the Zürich airport. Apprehending her would be even easier if they "persuaded" March to reveal the flight she plans to take.

I think the most likely scenario would be for him to take out his pursuers until he has only one bullet left, then use the last bullet on himself.

reply

March's nick was "fox" because he was independent and not a "wolf" which is a pack animal.

But I do agree with the summary above..

reply

charlie gets away with the evidence. he finds the site of a death camp so he knows it was all true - and he then kills himself because he will be killed anyway, but because charlie has got away he has already got his revenge.

i loved the book - i checked on here to see if the film was any good - but lets be honest - the book is ALWAYS better than the film.

reply

I think it is pretty clear that it was a Butch and Sundance ending. He didn't commit suicide, he had already won as he was certain Charlie fled the country.

He was carrying out the last act of defiance against the Gestapo and dying as a hero!!!

Has the author ever weighed in on this?

reply

There's no hard and fast answer to this. The ending certainly suggests that March dies; his situation is, after all, utterly hopeless. Whether that is by suicide or being shot, one can only speculate. It's also possible (although unlikely) that he was taken alive.

The reader, by following March's thought processes in the final chapter, is also left to assume that Charlie did indeed get away but there really is nothing to confirm it other than March's own personal belief that she did. It's entirely plausible that she was apprehended at the Swiss frontier, that possibility having been explored in their conversation before they parted.

In short, you have to come to your own conclusions. I'm pretty sure that was Harris' intention in writing the novel.

reply

March was not taken alive at the end, because there was no reason for such thing: he was "freed" to get to Charlie with Gestapo following him, yet he saw through the ruse and led them in the opposite direction. There was no need to keep him alive as it was clear he wouldn't betray Charlie, so the Gestapo would probably employ "no-prisoners-taken" method at this point. Whether he is simply shot, commits direct suicide, or suicide-by-cop, is unknown.

What happened to Charlie after they parted? No one will ever know. She might get out alive as planned, be arrested at the border or in Switzerland, be pulled for speeding by a cop who knew the original Magda Voss and arrested, die in a car crash on the way...

This is not a signature.

reply

March was not taken alive at the end, because there was no reason for such thing


Your statement that there was no reason for him to be taken alive is hardly conclusive proof; there could well have been. To torture him to force him to reveal the whereabouts of Charlie McGuire, perhaps; scientific torture, you understand, and not just another kicking from Globus. As I said, all the evidence seems to suggest that he dies but it does not explicitly state it.

reply

There is one problem with that. Charlie was not seen for some time and teh Gestapo was unable to find her (so they staged March's "escape"). There were three possibilities: she was hiding somewhere in Germany with the bag Luther brought from Zurich (and the Gestapo knew about that bag), she gave the bag to somebody to hide it for some time or take it out of Germany, or tried to escape Germany and smuggle out what was inside the bag.

The problem is that, in case the options two and three were true, time for the Gestapo was strongly running out. They had no idea when she exactly left Berlin and in which direction, so the search would be very difficult, and also it must have been large-scale search, which required both time and people. It took only about 16 hrs to reach Swiss border. If they wanted to find Charlie before she left the country or get rid of the bag's contents, they needed to do it fast: she was not seen for many hours and she could be basically anywhere. The country was large, and Charlie spoke excellent German (though it is mentioned that something in her behavior could indicate she was a foreigner), and also because of the Fuhrertag most of the police and Gestapo would be busy and unavailable to conduct large-scale search across Germany. They needed to catch her quickly and get to what was inside the bag, and they simply had no time for such measures (probably the place where March was tortured was adapted to perform actions such as scientific torture?), so they decided to perform such desperate action as the staged escape.

This is not a signature.

reply

I got the impression that Xavier ran into the woods with the gun to make a last stand with the Gestapo closing in on him. Only to find himself surrounded by Ukrainian insurgents who after a bloody battle with the Gestapo take him to their hideout where he lives to fight another day... ;) (one can hope!)

Just finished the book last night, found it a little haunting, especially the description of Xavier being tortured. It was all very well written without being overly graphic however.

reply

Yes! The glass is half-full.

reply

As I remember it Xavi was providing a decoy so whats-her-name could get over the border. By the time he's on foot there are plenty of clues as to where he is-Auschwitz's remains and that he's had it one way or another which is what he wants. Anyway the book is a history text disguised as a thriller so it works quite well that Auschwitz's last victim is the bloke that blows the gaff-a German nationalist to boot.

Marlon the Cat 1991-17th October 2005

reply

Whilst it can be obviously construed that March was going to have a sticky end either way, it is possible he survived - due to the internal wranglings between the Nazi security branches - and for the author (Robert Harris) to writa a Fatherland 2. Wishful thinking anyway.

I loved the book which was such an original theme, especially after thriller authors had run out of material with the end of the Nato/Warsaw Pact Cold War

reply

If March was gunna commit suicide, he wouldn't need to run into forest or whatever he did. He would have just done it, right? I think, he checked his Lugar was loaded and went for cover, drawing in the Gestapo to get him, rather than him go out and get mauled by the people who had followed him in.

I am studying this book for A-Level, enjoyed it but not enjoying having to write an essay about March and whatnot!

http://centralperktv.proboards56.com/index.cgi?

reply

[deleted]

I got the feeling he was gonna try to take out a few Gestapos with him. >.< The ending is one of the best I've read in any book, the part where he sees all the bricks sent a shiver up my spine.

reply

I think that Charlie escaped, since the Nazis were trying to get March to lead them to her. If they had know where Charlie was, they would have just killed March or locked him up a thrown away the key.

I take it that the ending is March's final middle finger to the Third Reich, when he throws his hat away he is just March, not an SS Man or a member of the Master Race.

It's unlikely there will be a sequel, but Fatherland is definitley my favorite Alternate History book, it is such a difficult genre to write, Harris did wonderfully.

Are Harris's later books as good as Fatherland?

reply

Harris' later books are not as good as Fatherland, IMO.

Enigma is pretty good and a decent story, but not as compelling as Fatherland. I didn't feel as connected to the characters.

Archangel is probably the most like Fatherland, but therefore suffers from predictability.

Pompeii is okay. I view it as the "summer blockbuster" of Harris' works. Its a bit lacking in plot, focuses alot on big, disastrous explosions (I could almost see a special effects bonanza as I was reading), and has an unbelievable ending. Its somewhat enjoyable, but in a different way than his other books.

reply

Is Archangel an Alternate History story? No spoilers please.

reply

Yes, Archangel is an alternate history. Not as immersive in the alternate timeline as Fatherland, though.

reply

I choose to see the ending, as March preparing to fight the men coming for him, and knowing full well that he will not survive. He chooses to go down fighting.

reply

Firstly, the ending of Pompeii is, I'm pretty sure, based on fact; some people actually did do what he did involving the water system.

As for Fatherland, I always envisaged him dieing 'Boromir' style taking down as many gestapo with him and the reason he goes into the forest is to give himself some cover. I'm sure the amount of adrenaline pumping through him at that point would make being left or right handed not matter.


_____________

A Plane. With Snakes On It. On DVD.

reply

Pompeii's ending may well have been based on fact - I don't know. You gotta admit that it is pretty amazing, to the point of requiring a suspension of disbelief, though. Especially if one is not familiar with the facts.

reply

<<<Pompeii Spoilers>>>
<<<Pompeii Spoilers>>>


The way I see it the pyroclastic cloud would have just gone straight over the top of them and there would be enough air trapped inside the pipe (it was open to the air at one end at least anyway wasn't it?) for them to breath.

With a bit of luck (anymore earth tremors which dislodged the position of the pipe could effectivly trap them in a small section of pipe) I'd say they would be in the safest place to be.

_____________

A Plane. With Snakes On It. On DVD.

reply

Don't you guys remember March's own thoughts earlier in the book. In one hairy situation (can't remember which) he grabs his gun under his jacket and thinks to himself something along the lines of 'Better to make a last stand here than get taken in by the bastards.'

No shame at all if he puts a bullet in his head, but I get the feeling he was gonna try and take a few of them down before being killed. As someone said, he'd have no need to run into the woods if he was gonna end things himself.

He obviously felt ready to die after convincing himself that Charlie had escaped and discovering for certain the Auschwitz camp existed. But absolutely no way was he gonna let himself be taken alive, and no way did the Gestapo have any intention of taking him alive. However much I'd love a Fatherland 2 as well, we have to accept it'd be a little ludicrous for him to be rescued by Ukrainian partisans, and that the hero died.

reply

my interpretation of the book's ending was that he checked his gun and went out to kill as many as possible before getting killed himself. He knows Charlie made it to the USA so it's "safe" for him to die

Mondale to Hart: "Where's the beef?"

reply