It was with a certain amount of trepidation that I started reading this book . It looked like yet another cookie-cutter novel with overblown descriptions, generally regarding things blowing up:“Europe is exploding, and one man must find out why…” But I was pleasantly surprised to find that dripping with the intrigue of shady dealings and international relations, Daniel Silva's Portrait of a Spy is engrossing, exciting and even at times charmingly humorous.
Life
The book starts with an amusing introduction to a strange Italian art restorer and his wife that the inhabitants of the little village in Cornwall (and the reader too) are so very curious about. We quickly learn that he is Gabriel
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Allon, an ex-Israeli secret service agent and after a few pages of (fairly interesting) digressions on terrorism, Islam and Europe, Allon is plunged headfirst into a race against time. At the start of a romantic weekend in London, Allon spots a man
Set in the background of ensuing coordinated bombings across the European continent, this novel is about Allon and his team from the Office (the Israel secret service) and the CIA trying to figure out who is behind the bloodshed and stop them before they continue with their unholy war.
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Silva's knowledge of the regions of Europe and the West Asia and his experience in writing tightly-knit, fast-paced thrillers are evident as we follow a motley set of interesting and vividly different characters through different scenarios and places. We have Nadia, the daughter of a dead mogul who uses her father's extremist contacts to help the Office track down the Islamic fundamentalists behind the bombing. We have Shamron, the ancient bigwig of the Office, who looks on Allon as his protégé and child. We have the Americans, the terrorists, and the rest of Allon's team—Mikhail, Dina, Navot… Coupled with the settings of Saudi Arabia, USA, Europe and so on, the characters and the plot work to create a compelling read.
The Internet tells me, however, that I have only dipped my toes into the vast universe of Gabriel Allon and, though naysayers claim that Silva does get repetitive after a spell, this universe is one that I am eagerly waiting to further explore.
Dhruva is a Std XI student at P.S. Senior Secondary School.
Title: Portrait of a Spy
Author : Daniel Silva
Publisher: Harper Collins
Price: Rs.299