November 26, 2007
Novelist and former war correspondent Pérez-Reverte (The Club Dumas
; The Queen of the South
) adds another taut literary thriller to his critically acclaimed list. Andres Faulques, an award-winning war photographer, is holed up in a stone tower on the Spanish coast, purging his wartime memories by painting a battle-scene mural. He has abandoned photography and is also unsuccessfully trying to banish the memory of his lover, the brilliant, bewitching Olvido, also a war photographer, who was killed as Faulques watched. One day, a strange visitor, the Croatian ex-soldier Ivo Markovic (who turns out to be the subject of one of Faulques’s most famous photos), arrives with an evil agenda: he plans to kill Faulques, but first he wants to tell him how the photo altered the course of his life. (Let’s say it didn’t do him any favors.) Some readers may find the narrative slow—much of the novel takes place in Faulques’s head, with lengthy reflections on the atrocities he has photographed, the social responsibilities of artists and photographers, and the consequences of choice and chance—though others will relish the meticulous details and dark, brooding tone.
Starred review from March 31, 2008
Pérez-Reverte delivers a wonderfully suspenseful wartime thriller about a painter and photographer who receives a visit from his troubled past in the form of a man who was the subject of one of his photographs. Simon Vance's classical British accent brings added life to the story, offering a vivid reading that will transport listeners to another time and place. His delivery is clear and often unnerving, knowing exactly when and where to capture the profound sense of foreboding and tension that abounds. Vance's performance is remarkable. He brings central character Andres Faulques into existence through a tremendous attention to detail and dialect and a firm understanding of Pérez-Reverte's gripping tale. Simultaneous release with the Random House hardcover (Reviews, Nov. 26, 2007).