Keith Thye’s novel opens in the thick of battle, with a World War I German soldier pinned down in a foxhole. The soldier, a Danish man named Bjorn Dansgaard, survives the war—and a near-fatal bout of the deadly Spanish Flu—and goes on to found a family line that will wind its way across decades of history. DANISH CONNECTION, inspired by the family stories of the author’s wife, Ann, who is of northern German heritage, follows generations of the Dansgaard family as they persevere through monumental events like the Great Depression and World War II. It’s a sprawling journey that will take the family from Europe to America, from warfare to Watergate, through the Cold War to 9/11. The book is, at heart, a work of history, using the story of the Dansgaards as a framework for an exploration of the 20th century’s major historical touchstones. The story alternates between a ground-level perspective of its characters’ experiences and a broader discussion of the origins and inner workings of events such as the rise of Nazism in Europe, the Watergate scandal, and the fall of the Berlin Wall.
The novel’s greatest strength—its astonishing level of detail—is also frequently its most significant flaw. When Thye focuses on his character’s direct experiences, such as Bjorn’s wartime injuries and observations of the field hospital where he recovers, or the Dansgaard family’s mounting fears during Hitler’s rise to power, the author’s knack for vivid detail and rigorously researched facts (the book includes a lengthy list of references) make for a powerful and immersive tale. But DANISH CONNECTION too often veers into extended explanations of historical events that, while providing helpful context, throw the reader out of the story and, in many cases (such as the history of the Mexican War or the founding of Las Vegas), are unnecessary digressions that serve little useful purpose and merely drag down the novel’s momentum. The work shines brightest when it focuses on the emotional core of its family saga, welcoming the reader into the day-to-day experiences of the Dansgaard clan as they celebrate births and marriages and weather times of suffering, sickness, and death.
Keith Thye’s historical novel DANISH CONNECTION is a fascinating and ultimately moving family chronicle, rendered with clean, straightforward prose and a deep affection for its characters.
~Edward Sung for IndieReader