He’s Done It Again
The only reason I’m blogging right now is because I can’t be reading. My iTouch has temporarily run out of juice.
July 20 was D-Day. That would be Daniel Silva day. He is, pretty much, my favorite author nowadays. He releases one new book a year, so for those few days after I get the new book, I am one happy camper. For the rest of the year I wait.
If you like spy thrillers and haven’t yet experienced a Daniel Silva read, I encourage you to check him out.
For several years I took creative writing classes from Elnora King of Fresno. Not only did she help me and a host of my writing buddies get published in various media, but she ruined my reading for all time. Unless whatever I’m delving into is exceptionally well-written, I read with (at least an invisible) red pen in hand. Daniel Silva is one of the few authors where the only red pen in evidence would be to mark all those wonderful turns of phrases he uses.
The Rembrandt Affair is the tenth in a series of novels featuring the protagonist Gabriel Allon, a legendary Israeli spy-assassin cum art restorer. The juxtaposition of the disparate halves of Gabriel’s life drives the novels. What I love most about Gabriel are his flaws. He’s a real person, not a superhero. He seeks as normal a life as a man with his past can have, but he’s driven to respond to his country’s needs–often as dictated by Ari Shamron, also legendary as the former head of the Israeli intelligence service. Silva paints Allon as conflicted, not wanting to do what he must. The novel is character-driven, and Silva takes pains to make those characters rounded and real. His prose is lyrical but not overdone, his images sharp and vivid.
My favorite sorts of books are those that make me reach for the encyclopedia (well, Wikipedia now) to learn more about the elements of the backstory. Silva from the beginning has made me want to learn more about the world of fine art, art restoration–and the world of spies, Israeli-style.
Time’s up. Gotta see if the iTouch is recharged.
If you ever get your tushie here I’ll be able to tell you about real spies.
Oh, my, you do have real powers of persuasion, too!
The truth is sometimes more interesting than fiction.
Always looking for new books to read! Thanks!
I’m such an eclectic reader that I’m always waiting on one author or another. And when my book comes, the world stops spinning and the only movement is the rocking chair until I’ve closed it to wait for another year.
This is a copy of my response to your response to my “Let’s Eat” blog (since I really don’t expect you to go back there again):
Katie’s Mom said…
Say what? word verification: “sprogi”; where do you see it? Use it in a sentence. Dinner is tonight (Sunday). Last night was wine, cheese, & crackers – I was too tired to even open a box and throw it in the microwave.
How would you and Foxy like to take a one day road trip? We could go during the week on your day off. Maybe over to Mariposa or wherever I don’t have to do any trekking that would leave me finishing the trip by ambulance while you drive my car back and where the girls are allowed to bring their significant humans?