Portrait of an Unknown Woman by Daniel Silva

In between book club books gives a good time to try to catch up on the TBR shelf. This always leads me back to whatever Daniel Silva books are there. 

Portrait of an Unknown Woman  is a bit of departure from Silva's general M.O. There are no political stances, no threats of destroying world peace or any of the major nations, nor any international spy missions. What it is is a intriguing look into the world of art dealers, forgery, and some Ponzi schemes. 

Gabriel Allon, former head of Israeli intelligence has retired to Venice with his wife Chiara and his twin children. She has taken a job as the head of the Tiepolo Restoration Company and Gabriel has become the stay at home father while he recovers from the bullet wound that nearly killed him in The Cellist. Of course, if he remained in retirement, there would be no novel. Having received a call from his friend and London art gallery owner, Julian Isherwood, he sets off on the trail of a major art forgery ring that is operating from Berlin to Spain to the United States. After Isherwood receives a letter saying that a painting that he recently sold was a forgery and the woman who sent the letter was killed, there is only one person whom Isherwood would call. 

As the novel intertwines art history, forgery, and danger, Allon sets out a trap by creating forgeries of Grand Masters. Through a complicated series of events, especially sting operations involving Sarah, her husband Chris and some old arch-enemies of Gabriel, the investigation of the murder reaches a climax on the tarmac of a Long Island airport. 

Silva creates intense drama in his books without feeling the necessity of long-winded descriptions. It is interesting that he has shifted the focus of the novel to more of an art perspective and take Allon away from his intelligence job at The Office. This was a fascinating narrative into the real world of Gabriel Allon. It will be interesting to see how his character further evolves in the next novel, The Collector. 
 

The Other Woman by Daniel Silva

Daniel Silva is my go-to author when I want a well crafted, complex, entertaining, and mind expanding novel. With the coronavirus lock down, it has been good to read some books that have been on the to read shelves for a few years. Because Silva books are not short novels, one needs a block of time to really digest and enjoy them. 

In The Other Woman, Silva builds on his previous Gabriel Allon stories. This time he assembles his team to ferret out a mole within the MI6 bureau in London. He pulls in much of the story of Kim Philby, who was a double agent for the British Intelligence. Silva interweaves the fictional characters, including a daughter of Philby into his novel to provide the thrilling escapades of a new mole in the intelligence venue. 

The book's premise to aid with the defection of a Russian agent in Vienna ends tragically and Allon is blamed publicly for the blunder. In order to save his reputation and that of the Office, he becomes aware of a traitor who has ingratiated him/herself into the intelligence agency of a foreign service. The key to the operation is an elderly woman, who in Andalusia is writing her memoirs, The Other Woman. 

With his sometimes rival Graham Seymour, the two embark on a quest to find the mole that has been supplying the Russians with sensitive information. They set their sites on Alistair Hughes, who was the MI6 head in Vienna. They realize that this was the impression that the Russians wanted to give and so the two plod on. They pour over file after file until they realize the Philby connection. With that knowledge, they launched a plan that would uncover the mole's identity and bring him/her into custody.

As in all of Silva's novels, the twists and turns keep readers on the edge of their seats. He is so gifted in the way that he allows Gabriel Allon to showcase brilliance and resilience. To detail any more of the plot, would be to spoil it for those who want to read it for themselves. The reader sits on the fence between dying to know what will happen and not wanting the book to end. A must read for all spy novel fans.

Mightier Than the Sword by Jeffrey Archer

Opening the 5th installment of the Clifton Chronicles is the IRA planted bomb on the MV Buckingham. The reader was left hanging at the end of Be Careful What you Wish For as to how many passengers would die and how much of the ship would be destroyed. 

 Much of the novel centers around Harry Clifton and his devotion to the release of Anatoly Babakov, the Russian author who has been imprisoned in Siberia for writing a book on the real Joseph Stalin, Uncle Joe.  His visit to the North Side of Pittsburgh was descriptive and spot on. Entrusted with the knowledge of where to find the sequestered book Harry finds himself in a precarious place from which he must extricate himself.

Emma Clifton continues on as chairman of Barrington Shipping in the troubling times after the IRA bombing. She continues to work diligently to keep the company afoot despite the machinations of Lady Virginia Fenwick who is fiercely determined to cause the demise of the company and Emma.  In order to do this she files a libel suit against Emma. This action permeates the pages of the book and the result of the trial is the ultimate cliffhanger.

Giles Barrington's political career as a member of the House of Commons cruises toward defeat as he, while still married, has a torrid one night stand with an interpreter in Berlin. The consequences of his action has far-reaching effects into not only his life but also his country's security. Was Karin to be his love or is she a spy for the Russian government. 

Much of the novel centers around the banking and stock world of Farthing's 
Bank with Sebastian's mentor's death. The takeover by Adrian Sloan and his dealings with Lady Virginia push Sebastian out. The plotting on both sides keeps the reader on her toes sorting out how each will out maneuver the other. The love story of Sebastian and Samantha illustrates the conflict of idealism and the desire to pursue monetary rewards. She haunts him and he pursues her to what seems the ends of the earth, only to find out she has been harboring a secret from him.

The decisions each person makes in the course of these novels have far-reaching repercussions. They are page turners and, of course, end in cliff-hangers. Storytelling at its best.

The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown

So much attention has been paid to the 1936 Olympics and how Jesse Owens was such a hero. Hitler was trying to show how wonderful Germany was and did everything in his power to create a venue that would elevate the German people. Imagine his mortification when Owens won 4 gold medals. But Owens wasn't the only thorn in Hitler's side. The U.S. rowing team with member Joe Rantz was another group of unlikely winners.

Although the story of the 8 man rowing team, Brown focuses his account on Rantz and his life and place on the team.The book, in addition to being a life history focuses on the themes of survival and perseverance. Rantz overcame so much to be even able to make the rowing team in Washington as  well as the Olympic team. His home life was basically nonexistent as he was virtually abandoned by his father after his mother died and his father remarried. At a time he survived by foraging in the woods near his home for food. 

Brown also brings the reader into the world of the sport of rowing. The descriptions of the building of the rowing boats and the training that is involved in becoming a part of a world class rowing team. The sport was usually considered for the rich and elite of the East Coast in the 1930s, but the team from Washington dispelled this legend. Can you imagine a ticker tape parade for a rowing team in today's world? 

Upon arrival in Germany, the team faces an even greater obstacle to success - the inequitable treatment of teams not from the Nazi and Fascist countries. At Kiel, where the rowing events were held, the U.S. team was given the outer lane, subject to the wrath of the winds and weather of the North Sea, while Germany and Italy were given the inner lanes, protected from those conditions. 

The book reads like a novel and, although you know the results, the ending is a real page turner. Brown's list of references gives evidence of his thorough research. The interviews that he conducted with Rantz add personal touches. I will be anxious to hear Brown when he speaks in Pittsburgh on 14 March 2016. It should be an interesting and entertaining evening.

Winter of the World by Ken Follett

The second part of Follett's Century Trilogy, Winter of the World, continues the saga begun in Fall of Giants. It didn't take nearly as long to read this book as the last. The novel begins in 1933 as Germany is struggling with the rise to power of Hitler, fascism, and economical distress. England is dealing with much the same issues and the United States is trying hard to avoid another international conflict.

It would be impossible to summarize this book of over 950 pages. Follett again centers his novel on the families of Fall of Giants with the children of the significant characters becoming the protagonists. They are there at the center of the action, but also give voice to the philosophic ideas of the time leading up to World War II and when they are living out parts of that tortuous time in the history of the world. Paramount among those are Daisy Peshkov who marries into British political royalty, but who loves another, Woody and Chuck Dewer, sons of a powerful American senator, Carla Von Ulrich, a young German girl who dares to challenge Hitler's policies, and Russian spy Volodya Peshkov. It is around their stories and the historical events that the novel turns. 

Although the book continues through to the end of the war, there are a few seminal scenes that will stay with the reader long after the book is finished.  One will never forget when the Carla finds evidence of Hitler's killing of the infirm and mentally challenged children. It is painful to read and the reader is as outraged as she is. Would any of us have had the courage to do what she did. The bombing of Pearl Harbor is described in such detail that you can hear and feel the bombs falling and see the planes above. It is tragic for not only for our nation, but also for those characters who were in close proximity. And then there is the crushing London blitz, the plan to invade France and the landing on Normandy Beaches. The Battle of Midway is portrayed as a real turning point in the war and where the code breakers managed to outwit the Japanese. We can detest Stalin as much today as many of his contemporaries did. Follett's roots as an espionage and writer of spy fiction shine through as he focuses on Russians gathering intelligence on the development and production of nuclear bomb.

The book is a compelling read and this reader is anxious to have a block of time to be able to read the next installment in the trilogy, The Edge of Eternity.

The Fallen Angel by Daniel Silva

If it is July, it must be time for a new Daniel Silva book. And July, 2012 was no different. I finally have had a break in my "required" reading schedule to sink my teeth into The Fallen Angel, which has been teasing me from my to-read shelf for 7 months. Silva manages in his books a synthesis of plot twists, travel books, and art history. This book is no exception.

Gabriel Allon, the renowned art restorer and Israeli intelligence operative, is restoring a Caravaggio for the Vatican when he is summoned to St. Peter's Basilica. A woman's, Claudia Andreotti,  body has been discovered on the floor. Is it suicide or murder?  True to the spirit of Silva's novels, the incident is merely the tip of the iceberg and calls, once again, Allon out of retirement. He and his wife, Chiara, are thrust into the investigation that leads them to an operation that stretches from the Vatican to the Middle East, a side trip to San Moritz, from antiquities dealers to Hezbollah. There are infinite twists and plot thickeners that keep the reader nearly breathless as the pages turn.

In order to get to the root of the matter, that of course means the money trail, Allon summons the familiar cast to the safe rooms of King Saul Boulevard. They are Ari Shamron, Uzi Navot, and the erudite archaeologist, Eli Lavon. As the Pope makes an historic visit to Jerusalem on Good Friday, what is going on underground becomes even more earth-shattering, literally. The climax and denouement provide a guided tour of Temple Mount and perhaps the discovery of the first Temple of Jerusalem. What follows is shocking, heart-rendering, and pure Silva.

Daniel Silva remains one of my favorite authors to read. He never disappoints in his plot machinations. descriptive passages, or character development. He also seems to be clairvoyant in his political story lines. The involvement in The Fallen Angel of the Vatican bank and antiquities curation, seems to have foretold the scandal marking the end of Pope Benedict's reign. Silva is a master of research and attention to detail to which I am drawn. For this book, however, I really wished I would have had a map of the city of Jerusalem and its landmarks to help guide me along as I followed Allon and Lavon in their attempt to disarm the ticking time bomb. The book ends with a shocking conclusion that will make us wait until July 16, 2013 in The English Girl to unravel.

In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson

In the Garden of Beasts was the October Selection for The Gables book group. Ironically, I had purchased this the day before I got the reading list for the year. I was excited that I was going to read a book that was actually on my "To Be Read" list. Larson has extensively researched (nearly 30 pages of references and citations) the tenure of William Dodd as U.S. ambassador to Germany during the rise of Hitler and Nazism.

This is the first Larson book that I have read and I found the writing to be interesting, engaging, and thought-provoking. William Dodd was a learned professor at the University of Chicago. His interest was southern history and he was in the midst of completing a major treatise on the south when tapped to be the U.S. ambassador. He had studied in Leipzig, was fluent in German, a liberal, and seemed to fit the bill when no one could be found to take the position. He was given two hours by President Roosevelt to accept or refuse the post after it was offered. Upon his acceptance he moved his family: wife Mattie, son Bill and daughter Martha to Berlin. He was an atypical ambassador in that he didn't have a lot of money and he lived and acted frugally. As such he did little to ingratiate himself into the German diplomatic circles and was often the brunt of their jokes.

Maybe naivete is too strong of a word, but Dodd really did not find the situation in Germany as alarming as it looks from the 21st century upon his arrival in Berlin. Despite the fact Jews and American Jews were being attacked and murdered, he seemed powerless to bring the urgency of the situation to Roosevelt or the German government. In reality, he believed as did most Americans that Hitler would lose his power base and fall from the leadership ranks. In the four years that the book covers the reader through Larson watches this belief change to one that reflects the urgency and abomination of the situation. He spoke out vehemently on one occasion, saying,

“You cannot expect world opinion of your conduct to moderate so long as eminent leaders like Hitler and Goebbels announce from platforms, as in Nuremberg, that all Jews must be wiped off the earth.”

In the Garden of Beasts chronicles not only William Dodd's life and work, but also that of his daughter, Martha's. In fact, she is almost the focus of the book. Martha was, to say the least, socially motivated and promiscuous. As a literary agent in Chicago, she was a very close friend of Carl Sandburg and Thornton Wilder. Later she added Thomas Wolfe to her conquests. As a resident of Berlin, she was enamored of the Nazi movement and counted a number of them as suitors, including Rudolf Diels, the first head of the Gestapo. But it is with Boris Vinogradov, an NKVD (Russian Secret Police) agent that she continues a prolonged love affair. Could it be that he is interested in her for the access to information that she has? Martha's story is intriguing and disturbing. She returns with her family and without Boris to the U.S. when Dodd resigns his post, but continues her intelligence collecting and eventually flees the country with her husband, Andrew Stern, when they are investigated as moles and communists.

It is easy to see why In the Garden of Beasts rose quickly to the top of the NY Times best seller list. It is nonfiction, but reads like fiction. It gives insight, heretofore unchronicled, into the life of an ambassador in the most troubling time of a century. Larson investigates all the German hierarchy of the Third Reich and the reader can't help but be fascinated by some of their private lives. But more than that it is the life story of a down to earth family man who is trying to do what he can to preserve peace among nations and peoples. Don't miss this one.

The Good German by Joseph Kanon

Set against the backdrop of the Potsdam Conference at Schloss Cecelienhof, The Good German is a spy thriller, mystery, and a love story all at the same time. The characters are intricately drawn and the city of Berlin described in a way that you can see the horror left as the aftermath of war. The book commences as Jake Geismar arrives in Berlin to cover the conference. There is an ulterior motive - to find Lena, his former lover. In Potsdam he witnesses a body being washed ashore - an American soldier and from that point he is on a mission to find out the murderer. The investigation leads him to Professor Brandt, Lena's father-in-law and ultimately to Emil, Lena's husband, a scientist who is working with Werner von Braun building rockets.
The book was a bit slow to start, but once you figured out the characters and their inter-relationships, it became a page-turner. There are some thrilling chase scenes, some very heated romantic scenes, and a bit of comedy at times. The depiction of the rally after VJ day with Patton, Truman and Churchhill puts the reader in the midst of Berlin where there is distrust among the allies. One comes away with the realization that there were choices men and women had to make that were not easy and fraught with moral dilemmas and the question that begs to be answered - who were or was the "good German."