Mix Karl Marlantes (of Matterhorn/Vietnam fame) and the Cold War, and you get a good story! This novel is set in Helsinki shortly after the end of WWIMix Karl Marlantes (of Matterhorn/Vietnam fame) and the Cold War, and you get a good story! This novel is set in Helsinki shortly after the end of WWII, when tensions from the war and desires for future domination remained extremely high between/among Finland, Russia and the United States. The main characters are a young American husband and wife, who have been posted to Finland on a “diplomatic” mission. (He was in the US military during WWII, so the reader assumes that “diplomacy” has a mixed interpretation!) The other two main characters are a Russian couple, also from a military background and also posted to Helsinki for “diplomatic” purposes. The American and Russian men had met during WWII, and upon reconnecting in Helsinki, challenge each other to a friendly 10 day ski race in the north of Finland. Through a series of good-natured errors, the race receives international attention and becomes a metaphor for, and focus of, the tension between the US and Soviet Russia. But – this is not at all just another Cold War thriller (and if that is what you are looking for, I suggest you find a novel that truly is in that genre). This is a story about life at that time and place. Particularly it is a story of the two wives (American and Russian), which is an interesting and different twist. The two women become friends, and the reader experiences their daily lives and their reactions to the tense environment. The American woman is from Oklahoma, and she brings her Oklahoma University sorority persona to Helsinki. She is trusting and a good planner, but most of all she wants to help Finnish orphans in the orphanage in Helsinki. The Russian woman is completely consumed by fear of her any word or action being taken as subversive, with the resulting punishment being the gulag or death. These fears are heightened by her love for her two young children. Her every thought is cautious and reactive/calculating, and she is constantly worried and mistrusting. Through her, the reader experiences a daily life perspective of a Soviet woman. The orphans and the ski race are thrown into this extraordinary tense political situation. Karl Marlantes can write a good story, and I thoroughly enjoyed this one. ...more
This novel continues the story of Sira, the strong woman heroine (and sometimes spy) of Maria Duenas’ previous novel The Time in Between. The time is This novel continues the story of Sira, the strong woman heroine (and sometimes spy) of Maria Duenas’ previous novel The Time in Between. The time is 1945, and Sira and her husband move to Palestine to continue her husband’s work for the British government. The author does an excellent job of portraying Palestine in 1956 and 1946. The reader sees the three cultures – Arab, Jewish and British – as they mix and mingle and as they hate and fight. Sira is caught in the violence, and she (now a widow) and her son move to England to live with her mother-in-law, who, although her house is large and well located, is virtually penniless. Again Maria Duenas captures the spirit of the time – even though victorious, England is cold and hungry. Sira accepts a position as a government informant, which takes her to her native Spain as a “reporter”. Her task is to cover the visit of Eva Peron to Spain. The political situation and destitute nature of Spain are well described in contrast to the lavish reception given to Eva Peron. Sira’s next “job” takes her to Tangier on behalf of a British insurance company. The reader experiences the multi-cultural life of post-war Tangier, while ghosts from the past continue to haunt Sira. The storyline was entertaining, but what I most enjoyed were the in-depth descriptions of four countries – Palestine, England, Span and Morocco – immediately after WWII. Maria Duenas’ descriptions were clearly well researched and nicely written. ...more
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