[AQD]⋙ PDF City of Secrets A Novel Stewart O'Nan 9780670785964 Books

City of Secrets A Novel Stewart O'Nan 9780670785964 Books

Download As PDF : City of Secrets A Novel Stewart O'Nan 9780670785964 Books

City of Secrets A Novel Stewart O'Nan 9780670785964 Books

Stewart O'Nan has written some of my favorite books, most notably, Last Night at the Lobster. That book haunts me to this day. He chooses subjects that fasciate him, and after much research, creates spare lovely fictional accounts, or, as in the case of reporting on the circus fire in Hartford of 1948, a nonfictional record. One of his books that I loved he wrote as a journal with Stephen King about the Red Sox's 2003 year. So it was not puzzling to discover his talent at turning his hand to a historical novel about an event that had piqued his interest - that of the destruction of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem in 1946.

For Brand, it was next year in Jerusalem, but without the sweetness. Brand is living there after WWII, but his name and even his profession has been created by his "cell," the underground Zionist movement present when for a short time the factions in Israel fighting the oppressive British mandated government coalesced for the common goal. This is an eyeopener -- Leon Uris's Exodus informed the world of what was happening in the struggle for a haven for the misplaced Jews of Europe, but this short, spare novel is much more succinct in its presentation. Brand, going under the name of Jussi, is anxious to contribute to the cause and usually finds himself and his taxi serving auxiliary roles. I was particularly surprised at the number of tourists who descended at that time despite the bombings, the danger. But O'Nan and his credible style brought all to light beautifully.


Tags : City of Secrets: A Novel [Stewart O'Nan] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <b>“Stewart O’Nan’s  City of Secrets</i> will keep you up all night reading – what a beautifully crafted novel.” <b>– Alan Furst,Stewart O'Nan,City of Secrets: A Novel,Viking,0670785962,Government, Resistance to,Government, Resistance to;Fiction.,Historical fiction,Holocaust survivors,Holocaust survivors;Fiction.,Jerusalem - History - 20th century,Jewish fiction,Jewish refugees,Jewish refugees;Fiction.,Jews - Palestine - History - 20th century,Palestine - History - 1929-1948,Thrillers (Fiction),Fiction,Fiction - General,Fiction Jewish,Fiction Literary,Fiction Thrillers Historical,Fiction-Coming of Age,Fiction-Thriller,FictionJewish,FictionThrillers - Historical,GENERAL,General Adult,Israel,Jewish,Literary,MysterySuspense,O'NAN, STEWART - PROSE & CRITICISM,Thrillers - Historical,United States

City of Secrets A Novel Stewart O'Nan 9780670785964 Books Reviews

I read this before the very fine review appeared in the New York Times. The book is a wonderful read and I think it equal to his best work. I recall reading Leon Uris' book Exodus two three times in high school and City of Secrets shares in major part the setting but O'Nan's is the far better book.
Terrific insight into post war British Mandate. Learned a lot. Even better insight into trying to live a normal life after surviving the camps. Very well written, flows beautifully.
A unique perspective on the Jewish resistance to the British occupation of Palestine. Beautifully written.
Jerusalem of the pre- and peri- Israeli War of Independence during the time of the Mandate are the setting for this spy/adventure novel. It's quasi-historical (e.g., a sophisticated Rothschild has a cameo role) and features the usual "Casablanca" set of characters minus "Rick's Place" and Rick. There is the Jewish refugee/protagonist from WW-II Europe who drives a taxi and is recruited to the Irgun. There's a dedicated Jewish revolutionist; the man of many faces and diverse talents, the prostitute-with-the-heart-of-gold and the disturbing past, the Peter Lorre whining-type almost thug co-conspirators and the resolutely obtuse and not-very-nice British Mandatory Police and troops.

The author includes some background material sufficient to acquaint the reader with the setting. This creates a convincing mis en scène but the unidimensional characterization detracts from what is otherwise an entertaining (if predictable) plot. The ending (bombing of the King David Hotel) sort of trails off to an indistinct conclusion, an all-too-frequent device in this genre of novel. Atmospherics are reminiscent of the series by authors Matt Baynon Reese and Alan Furst. More interesting and accurate historical detail can be found in any number of books (e.g., Morris', "1948", supplemented by "Israel's Secret Wars", Makovsky's, "Churchill's Promised Land" and Fromkin's, "A Peace to End all Peace"). I'd suggest this book for entertainment on the beach or airport waiting area. It's not in the same class of easy War of Independence entertainment like "Exodus", but it's better than Thomas Friedman.
A Latvian Jew freed from imprisonment in World War II internment camps makes his way to Palestine in 1948 and joins the Haganah, the Jewish paramilitary organization that led the fight for Israeli independence. His new name is Jossi. He operates as a courier in Jerusalem, part of a small cell that includes an older woman with whom he had fallen in love.

Terrorism and the struggle for Israeli independence

Then the Haganah merges with the far more radical Irgun, and the stakes for Jossi rise dramatically. Jossi and others in his cell are quickly drawn into terrorism designed to kill British soldiers in the occupation force. Jossi is terrified. This is the picture that emerges early in Stewart O’Nan’s new thriller, City of Secrets.

“He wasn’t weak enough to kill himself,” O’Nan writes, “but wasn’t strong enough to stop wanting to. There was always the question of what to do with his old life, memory seething inside him like a disease.” Having lost his whole family in the Holocaust, Jossi is haunted by nightmares of the experience. Even his deepening love affair causes nightmares about his dead wife.

O’Nan skillfully portrays Jossi’s evolution from a frightened refugee into a terrorist. Along the way, we learn a great deal about the tactics of the Israeli independence movement. As history has recorded, the consequences were sometimes tragic. City of Secrets deals with the country’s most notorious act of terrorism. As historical fiction, City of Secrets contributes to our understanding about the road to the State of Israel.

About the author

Stewart O’Nan is the author of seventeen novels and a half-dozen other works. He is American.
One of my favorite authors.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book which encouraged me to do a little research on the history of Israel under the British Mandate.
Stewart O'Nan has written some of my favorite books, most notably, Last Night at the Lobster. That book haunts me to this day. He chooses subjects that fasciate him, and after much research, creates spare lovely fictional accounts, or, as in the case of reporting on the circus fire in Hartford of 1948, a nonfictional record. One of his books that I loved he wrote as a journal with Stephen King about the Red Sox's 2003 year. So it was not puzzling to discover his talent at turning his hand to a historical novel about an event that had piqued his interest - that of the destruction of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem in 1946.

For Brand, it was next year in Jerusalem, but without the sweetness. Brand is living there after WWII, but his name and even his profession has been created by his "cell," the underground Zionist movement present when for a short time the factions in Israel fighting the oppressive British mandated government coalesced for the common goal. This is an eyeopener -- Leon Uris's Exodus informed the world of what was happening in the struggle for a haven for the misplaced Jews of Europe, but this short, spare novel is much more succinct in its presentation. Brand, going under the name of Jussi, is anxious to contribute to the cause and usually finds himself and his taxi serving auxiliary roles. I was particularly surprised at the number of tourists who descended at that time despite the bombings, the danger. But O'Nan and his credible style brought all to light beautifully.