Enigma by Robert Harris

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Title: Enigma

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Author: Robert Harris

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Setting: Bletchley Park

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Characters: Jericho

Claire Romilly

Tom

Hester

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BACKGROUND.
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For anyone who has not heard of the Enigma machine, it was a device that was used to decode radio transmissions sent by the German navy.

In the most basic terms, it was a typewriter that was designed to type each letter differently to the key actually pressed. So a would become k, or an h would become e and so on.

The brilliant minds at Bletchley were able to crack five of the six codes, as they were typed on a standard 3 rotor Enigma machine. However the last code was typed on a unique 4 rotor machine, which made it almost impossible to crack without capturing either a specially adapted machine or a code book.

By disguising each letter as another letter, the German forces could send messages to each other regarding allied positions and effectively target our ships, or simply put, kill our troops.

The residents of Bletchley Park, at the time of the Second World War, were among the most elite of England's mathematical thinkers of that time. The purpose for their being there, to crack the codes and to save England from defeat.

The book itself is a work of fiction, however Harris did talk to former residents of Bletchley Park and their experiences are reflected in his work.

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THE STORY.
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Tom Jericho is a brilliant mathematician. He was recruited from Cambridge University to join other brilliant men and women at Bletchley Park, to try and crack the Enigma codes.
He and others like him are cryptographers trying to break an almost unbreakable code designed by the Germans.
There are six variations of the German naval Enigmas. Limpet, Dolphin, Oyster, Porpoise, Winkle and Shark.
Of the six, Shark is the most difficult to decipher as it has been typed on a specially adapted four rotor machine.
After months of work and great loss of life, Tom discovers a back entrance to break Shark.
He is hailed as a hero, and many lives are saved from the German U-boats.

Unfortunately at the same time, he succumbs to physical and mental exhaustion, has a breakdown and has to be sent back to Cambridge to recuperate. Also the Woman he has been seeing and fallen in love with, cools off their relationship. All in all he is at a loss, filling his days with sleep and nothing more intellectually stimulating than a crossword.

What Tom is unaware of, is that the Germans have cottoned on to the fact that the code has been broken, and so modify their Enigma machines to another setting, one which yet again cannot be broken.
Tom is escorted back to Bletchley park to again pit his mind against the formidable Shark code.
To make matters worse, he only has a limited amount of time in which to do this, as a massive allied convoy is being targeted by U-boats as they cross the ocean, with both essential supplies and thousands of passengers aboard.

Upon his return, he finds that Claire Romilly, the beautiful young woman he is in love with has disappeared. Nobody seems to have a clue where she has gone, and it is suspected that she may have passed on the information that Enigma had been broken to the Germans.
Tom must investigate Claire's life and liaisons, as well as break the code before the German U-boats attack the allied convoy.

As Jericho and his team work feverishly to break the code and avoid disaster for the Allied submarine forces, he comes to the conclusion that a traitor is at work among his fellow cryptographers. When Claire suddenly disappears and is found to have removed important information from her workplace, accusations of Nazi collaboration are made. Tom is desperate to find Claire and with the help of her room mate, Hester, he sets out to clear her name. This, along with cracking the code and finding the traitor, is stretching him to his breaking point once more. This story presents a fascinating view of the world of wartime codebreaking, as well as an exciting romance."

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RESOLUTION

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While I really expected to enjoy this one, I was mildly disappointed as to how little substance there was to most of the story.

I would say that over half of the book was more given over to a love story, or at least a search for his lost love. I personally thought that this short changed the people who were actually involved all those years ago.

The parts describing Bletchley and surrounding area were very detailed, and the way the author portrayed feelings and described the conditions of that time were very believable. I just wanted more of the struggle of Enigma and less about Claire.

While Tom's search for Claire did have some relevance for Enigma, I just thought that saving thousands of lives would be more important than a bunk up for the chaps at that time, so Tom lost my sympathies after a while.

Of course, all books are open to interpretation, and maybe if I had read this one while I was in a different frame of mind, I may have thought differently. It took me 5 days to plough through and at only 451 pages of standard size text, this is a long time for me, which must reflect my lack of enthusiasm for the story.

In conclusion I would say that it was ok, neither good nor bad. Not one that I would rave about or read again in a hurry though.

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