Silva is my favorite writer in the genre. This book feels like it could very easily be happening today. And not just in this era, but right now, this afternoon.
Over the years as he has developed the character of Gabriel Allon, it appears that he has grown in his appreciation for Israel and for the Catholic church. I dont know much about Silva personally, except that he is married to a Today Show reporter, a fact that premptively disqualifies him in the minds of many Freepers. Silva tells his story well in gripping fashion, with pacing as fast as Dan Brown, but without Brown’s PC sensibilities, and implausible fantasies. Silva’s stories are plausible and almost disturbingly realistic. His characters are multi-dimensional, flesh and blood human beings.
The back story on Allon is that his mother was a child of the holocaust, he is an art restorer and agent of the state of Israel who almost single handedly took down each of the assassins who murdered the Israeli Olympic team in Munich. He is also, thanks to having saved the Pope’s life a personal friend of the pontiff, ostensibly an awkward position for a Jew.
His description of the current and historical turmoil in the Middle East is, at least from my perspective, very accurate. As I read the news each day, I find myself hoping that Israel has an army of men like Gabriel Allon.
A must read.
Silva’s my favorite, too, for his elegant prose, his well-drawn characters, and his clear-headed insights. He’s such a master of his craft, I bet even some unreconstructed liberals can’t help buying his books.