The Torqued Man had an interesting concept, which I really liked. Tell the same story from two different perspectives and let the reader try to figure out what was really going on during a time of espionage, manipulations, double crossings, and war. I've always liked the journalistic style of storytelling, which is the approach taken in this book, so I thought it would be interesting to be led around by the nose, so to speak, and try to figure out what was really happening. And while there were a couple of things that did catch me off guard, and I really wanted to fully immerse myself in the story, there was something off about the way it was written that didn't make me feel empathetic towards the characters or allow me to get fully involved in the lives of these people.

First of all, the book was well-written, a mix between historical fiction and political thriller, but it did feel sluggish at times. I don't usually tend to mind when books move slowly, especially historical fiction, as it gives me a chance to really absorb the atmosphere of the time period and what was happening. However, some of the sluggish points were on things that I don't think were really necessary to the story, and I will admit I put the book down to read something else for a while before picking it back up again. The dual POV can be useful or it can create problems in a book, and for me, I think it affected the suspense / tension in the story line; however, the fact the story lines weren't aligned was not an issue and I actually thought that was fascinating. I started realizing quite early on not to take anything literally and understood that every action would have another side of the story that would be quite different. I got to the point where I stopped trusting anything I read and wondering what was really going on.

I really enjoyed Piked as a main character and thought De Groot was quite annoying. Pike was rough around the edges and could be quite crass, but I found him to be a lot more interesting while Adrian spend his time whining about socialism. This was definitely the author's intention, to give us these two characters, one who spent time in a Spanish prison cell, and the other, a German official, whose job was to oversee Pike, who does not see himself as working for Hitler, but still works for the Nazis in Nazi Germany and has all the comforts that that entails. Nobody could be trusted as you just didn't know if anyone was a spy or what their purpose was in being there. Unfortunately, I felt like there was so much subterfuge going on that the story got sluggish, and I just didn't empathize with any of the characters towards the end of the story.

Verdict
The Torqued Man had an interesting concept, and I liked the dual story line as they overlapped each other so you got both sides of the same story which made you wonder exactly which one was true, or what exactly was going on. However, these same story lines also took away from the suspense and bogged down the story, plus they made me less empathetic towards the characters. I had no issue understanding the story, but I do wonder if someone who is not familiar with WWII time lines might struggle with the somewhat out of sync story lines. I was also disappointed with the ending as it just didn't feel satisfying; I think maybe I wanted more of a confrontation? A good lesson here though: There is always another side to the story. ( )

The Torqued Man, Peter Mann's debut novel, is—how can I say it?—a marvelous sort of chimera, dark, comic, full of historical detail (some real, some invented), with a strong thread of gay sensibility running through it. The story is told from the perspectives of the novel's two central characters, neither of whom sees the other with full clarity.

Adrian is a member of German military intelligence, not comfortable with much that's happening in his country (he's a closeted gay man), but accepting that his work will benefit the Nazi government and attempting to keep his hands cleaner-than-others' while getting them dirty. Pike is an Irishman who fought in the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War and is now in one of Franco's prisons.

As part of a pre-invasion-of-England move, Adrian removes Pike from that prison, with the goal of training him in preparation for sending him to Ireland, where he will be responsible for trying to reduce English morale and foment anti-English sentiment among the Irish. Pike has also been approached by the English, who want to use him as a source inside Germany. Adrian finds himself fixated on (in love with?) Pike. Meanwhile Pike is bored, being offered no work of any real significance by the Germans and English, and sets out to develop his own crusade.

The novel is told through two parallel narratives: Adrian's journal and Pike's "novelization" of his exploits. The contrast between these narratives makes for interesting reading and creates moments of humor withing the personal struggles each man is waging.

The Torqued Man is a smart book: one that will have you thinking about both the history of WWII and about the ways people choose to live their personal ethics. The Torqued Man can provide a very satisfying start to 2022 for readers who like complex tales with humor and ambiguity.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss; the opinions are my own. ( )