Wide Bay author Tony Matthews has done it again, bringing to life what is probably the most astonishing story ever to emerge from the era of the Second World War.
What would it be like to be trapped deep underground for six long and terrible years with no hope of rescue or escape? This is a profound question explored deeply in Tony’s new book, Entombed, and the key point here is that Entombed, although written in the form of a novel, is inspired by an amazing true story and real events. There is no doubt, this is one of the greatest true-life narratives of that period.
The story begins with six German soldiers led by Captain Hans von Roth who are accidentally buried alive in a vast subterranean military stores bunker at the port of Gdynia, Poland, in 1945.
At first they believe they will soon be rescued, but as the hours drag into days, months and finally years, it is appallingly clear that the men will almost certainly face a terrifying death in the grim darkness that surrounds them. They struggle to find a way out of their personal hell, but each fierce attempt leads only to failure and despair. The men face debilitating disease, violent death, and even madness as they attempt to understand the terrors of what lies ahead.
Meanwhile, in Berlin, Hans von Roth’s wife, Erika, is desperately attempting to survive the fall of the city and the Russian hordes destined shortly to occupy it. Facing starvation, massive aerial bombing, Soviet shelling and a host of other dangers, she is also attempting to discover what has become of her missing husband.
As the years pass, the men trapped underground are suffering from disease, thirst, freezing conditions and even mental aberrations. They struggle constantly to find a way to the surface but nothing seems to work, and fate is particularly cruel. Violence erupts between them. They fight bitterly. Sickness, death, dread and destruction become endemic to them all. Can any of them survive this horrific nightmare?
In Entombed, Tony has woven a carefully structured and beautifully written tale of great love, great despair and a desperate struggle for survival like no other. The story pushes all the frontiers of human frailty and courage to their very edges, tearing at the borders of desperation and also thrusting the reader into a constantly deeper understanding of the real meaning of alternating hope and despair under conditions so atrocious, so devoid of any promise of success, that the only way out appears to be death itself.
This is a story of immense struggle against immeasurable odds — a struggle tempered in fear and real-life horror, but it is also a story of great love and anguish — the anguish of Erika von Roth who, unaware that her husband is still trapped underground in Poland, is fighting to survive in post-war Germany. Erika must now find her own way through the love she retains for her lost husband, and the growing, unexpected and self-betraying love she is experiencing for a man who was once one of her sworn enemies.
Inspired by a true story and actual events, Entombed is one of Tony’s personal best, and is certainly one of the most awe-inspiring untold stories ever to emerge from the era of the Second World War.
Entombed is already capturing the imagination of the world. It has been published in Australia by Big Sky Publishing and will also be published in Europe. In Brooklyn New York, there is a two week waiting list at the public library. It is available through all good book stores or online through Booktopia. There is a short book-trailer at vimeo.com/79417316
