Unfortunate Englishman: A Joe Wilderness Novel: 2 - Rilegato

Lawton, John

Rilegato

ISBN 10: 0802123996 ISBN 13: 9780802123992

Casa editrice: Atlantic Monthly Pr, 2016

Riassunto

Branching off from his widely acclaimed Inspector Troy novels, John Lawton deliversThe Unfortunate Englishman, a captivating, meticulously researched, and richly detailed historical thriller set during the height of the Cold War, starring East End Londoner turned spy Joe Wilderness.

Having shot someone in what he believed was self-defense in the fog of 1963 Berlin, Wilderness finds himself locked up with little chance to escape. But an official pardon from Burne-Jones, a senior agent at MI6, means he is free to goalthough forever in Burne-Jones’s debt. His return to London is brief, when another assignment from Burne-Jones puts him into the line of danger again. His newest operation will take him back to Berlin, where he spent several years working the black market while employed by MI6 after the war, and which is now the dividing line between the West and the Soviets. Khrushchev and Kennedy are playing a game of chicken, gambling with the fate of millions of German lives. On August 13, 1963, barbed wire is laid down, separating the Soviet controlled sectors from the rest of the city. This wire will become a wall. With an old paramour at threat in the divided city, and the inscrutable Khrushchev developing plans for something which could change the fate of the Cold War forever, Wilderness is thrust into matters well beyond his control. And meanwhile, MI6’s new man in Moscow has to improvise some quite unusual techniques in order to get the information he needs.

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Recensione:

Praise for The Unfortunate Englishman:

[Then We Take Berlin and The Unfortunate Englishman] are meticulously researched, tautly plotted, historical thrillers in the mold of World War II and Cold War fiction by novelists like Alan Furst, Phillip Kerr, Eric Ambler, David Downing and Joseph Kanon.” Wall Street Journal

[A] superlative Cold War espionage story . . . Lawton’s gift for memorable atmosphere and characters, intelligent plotting and wry prose put him solidly at the top of anyone’s A-list of contemporary spy novelists.” Adam Woog, Seattle Times

A stylish spy thriller . . . as essential as the Troy books . . . Both series benefit from the excellence of Lawton’s writing . . . All these adventures arrive gift-wrapped in writing variously rich, inventive, surprising, informed, bawdy, cynical, heartbreaking and hilarious. However much you know about postwar Berlin, Lawton will take you deeper into its people, conflicts and courage . . . Spy fiction at its best.” Washington Post

[A] stylish, richly textured espionage novel . . . With The Unfortunate Englishman, Lawton shows himself to be the master of colorful, unpredictable characters . . . His crowning achievement is Joe Wilderness [who is] loaded with personal charm and animal magnetism . . . Lawton brilliantly weaves real historical events into the narrative . . . His novel is a gripping, intense, inventive, audacious, wryly humorous, and thoroughly original thriller.” Open Letters Monthly

Outstanding . . . Real historical events the building of the Berlin wall, J.F.K.’s visit there lend verisimilitude to Joe’s attempt at one last big scam. Intricate plotting, colorful characters, and a brilliant prose style put Lawton in the front rank of historical thriller writers.” Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Lawton gets the Cold War chill just right, leading to yet another tense exchange across a Berlin bridge, but unlike, say, the film Bridge of Spies, the principals here are not freighted with moral rectitude but, rather, exude a hard-won cynicism in conflict with dangerously human emotions. The result is a gripping, richly ambiguous spy drama featuring a band of not-quite-rogue agents that will find genre fans reaching for their old Ross Thomas paperbacks to find something comparable.” Booklist (starred review)

Wilderness is the perfect Cold War protagonist. With his second adventure (Then We Take Berlin, 2013), Lawton bids fair to build a compelling rival to his seven-volume Troy series.” Kirkus Reviews

Even reviewers have favourites and John Lawton is one of mine. Nobody is better at using historical facts as the framework of a really good story.” Literary Review (UK)

The tone of unsentimental realpolitik means The Unfortunate Englishman earns the right to that le Carré-esque title . . . A complex and beautifully detailed tale, a full-blooded cold-war spy thriller given an added dimension courtesy of Wilderness’s quirky humour and his pragmatic take on morality and honour.” Irish Times

Berlin and Moscow again, joined by London in The Unfortunate Englishman, a cleverly misleading title, one of the many twists in John Lawton’s constantly entertaining Cold War saga . . . The spying detail is well mixed with humour.” Times (UK)

For those who want a bit of substance to their thriller reading . . . This is an atmospheric and convincing novel . . . The plotting is complex . . . [and] enjoyable, and few authors are as good as Lawton in framing their novels around interesting historical facts . . . Wilderness is a very engaging hero . . . The period detail is subtle and convincing and there are also some nice touches of humour and fascinating glimpses of real historical figures . . . A treat from beginning to end.” Sydney Morning Herald

Lawton [is] possibly one of the most under-appreciated British espionage writers . . . Nowhere as heroic as Le Carre or Deighton, Lawton confronts the absurdities and weaknesses of his highly fallible characters alongside the dangers of the Cold War. Endearing and all too human, as if Smiley was both morally flexible and at times a figure of fun!” Love Reading

John Lawton . . . manages to weave together all the elements of a le Carre-style Cold War thriller with the tough strands of good old-fashioned criminality. Joe Wilderness is every bit as brave, clever, devious and anti-heroic as the most famous black marketeer of all Harry Lime himself.” Crime Fiction Lover

Lawton’s characters are so intriguing, they will undoubtedly send the reader looking for the first in the series, Then We Take Berlin. The Unfortunate Englishman is a spy novel in the best le Carré fashion . . . the chillingly realistic mind-games, intrigue, and political maneuvering of the Cold War era . . . Beautifully done and well written. Lawton deftly picks up the loose ends of the story and weaves them into a captivating narrative that keeps the reader hooked . . . An informative and entertaining read.” Killer Nashville (Book of the Day)

[A] stylish new espionage thriller . . . Joe is as smart, conflicted and cynical as any Raymond Chandler character . . . It’s hard to find a more fascinating time and place than Cold War Berlin, but Lawton still uses his narrative skills to transform history into gripping fiction . . . Lawton is a master at weaving the historical facts into the threads of his fictional story and bringing both to vivid life.” Read Me Deadly

L'autore:

John Lawton is the author of ten novels, including Second Violin,Flesh Wounds, and Bluffing Mr. Churchill. His thriller Black Out won a WH Smith Fresh Talent Award,A Little White Death was named a New York Times notable book, and his latest novelA Lily of the Field was named one of the best thrillers of the year by Marilyn Stasio ofThe New York Times. He lives in Derbyshire, England.

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Atlantic Monthly Pr
• Data di pubblicazione: 2016
• ISBN 10: 0802123996
• ISBN 13: 9780802123992
• Rilegatura: Copertina rigida
• Numero di pagine: 352