"The Third Man is an artful, tremendously absorbing novel, rich with the humanity of its characters, exquisitely told. Splitter's achievement is powerful, thrilling, and unforgettable."
—Elizabeth McKenzie, author of The Portable Veblen
"Randolph Splitter has woven a rewarding tale of exile and the hardship of healing. Exhaustively researched, every page rings true. A fascinating and important story."
—Martin Fletcher, former Middle East correspondent and author of The List, Jacob's Oath, and other books
"The Third Man title borrowed from Carol Reed's movie is put to ingenious use in this affecting novel about Jewish refugees from Vienna - a girl saved thanks to a kindertransport, and a butcher's apprentice who jumps ship in England. The result is a powerful depiction of Vienna in the 1930s and Britain in the 1940s, where two rootless and bereaved people rebuild the future they had lost."
—Brigid Grauman, Belgian-based journalist and author of Uncle Otto's Puppet Theatre: A Jewish family Saga
"A brilliantly researched book, set in Vienna, on the terrible impact of Hitler on predominantly Jewish parents and their families in the years up to the second world war which led to many making the unimaginable decision to let their children go on the Kindertransport in 1939 to England without them. And then to try to understand what that meant for child refugees then and now faced with a new country, language, and culture. A moving and emotional read for everyone and a very personal experience for me as a Kindertransport child who survived without parents from the age of 4."
—Sir Erich Reich, former Chair of the Kindertransport group of the Association of Jewish Refugees (UK)
"As a historical novel should, The Third Man explores history through the story of characters whom the reader cares about and who are confronted with that history. The history that the novel illuminates is a traumatic one, the fate of European Jews during the 1930s and 1940s …. The novel benefits from excellent historical research and the skillful way it intertwines the personal stories of the main characters with the larger history. The story is never simplistic in its depiction of the historical, moral, and existential problems its characters confront. This book is a compelling read—it is hard to put it down."
--Rick McCormick, Professor Emeritus of German, University of Minnesota, author of Sex, Politics, & Comedy: The Transnational Cinema of Ernst Lubitsch