Amazing read! The author wrote a story that was interesting and moved at a pace that kept me engaged. The characters were easy to invest in.

Review of Radio Underground by Alison Littman


Radio Underground is a historical novel about a revolution in Hungary against a repressive communist regime in the 1950s and the consequences of those actions. The book has three points of view; Eszter, her daughter Dora, and a man going by the pseudonym of “Mike.”

While the pacing was quick, I had two issues with this book. The first is that the blurb gives away too much of the plot. I would advise reading the book but ignoring the description on the back. The second issue I had was the writing. The perspective of “Mike” is a man who writes in broken English to a German rock and roll DJ. I believe the author was choosing words that might imitate broken English but it often felt clunky and hard to read. I’ll give you some examples.

“I will try, so read strong….I reminisced that someone had stepped on my head.”
“It forwarded me to anger since he escaped seeing what I saw.”
“The code will not go forward if the jamming makes continuous.”

Additionally, the word choice of his young sister seems incredibly formal and inauthentic of how a 12 year old would speak.

However, these two issues do not take away from the incredible story of people rebelling against their Communist government. I was on the edge of my seat for much of the story. The characters were well developed and their relationships seemed real. I gave this book 4 stars.

Trigger warnings for rape, torture, and violence.

This book was released on November 28, 2018. Thank you to Netgalley and Last Syllable Books for providing me with a copy

Fabulous read. Thoughtful and well researched with realistic characters that were easy to relate to. The time was late 1950’s and early 60’s, set in Budapest behind the iron curtain during the student revolutions. The events were meticulously researched thru letters written to radio free Europe. It portrays how underground news, rock and roll helped fuel and aid the growing rebellion against communism. It was captivating and well written.
Thanks to the author, publisher and Net Galley for the ARC. I look forward to reading her future releases.

As the story builds, I couldn’t find any point of interest and didn’t feel any connection with any of the characters. I gave up on this story. I gave up on this story.