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The novel was a finalist for the Prix Goncourt. Da Empoli was an advisor to the Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi. He knows a thing or two about the inner workings of government. This novel, translated from Italian with lots of political intrigue, is surprisingly humorous if not downright funny at times. It gives us political insight and provides intrigue, as well as a peek into Putin’s world. Our narrator is a foreign journalist who tells the story of Vadim Baranov, the Wizard of the Kremlin, who quit his job as advisor to Vladimir Putin, known as the Czar. Baranov is based on a real advisor to Putin, Vladislav Surkov. The chaos of Russia in the 1990s is the background for the Czar’s rise to power. When Putin is involved, it's always hard to distinguish from fiction. A couple of weeks ago, actor Michael Stuhlbarg, preparing to star as the late Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky in the Broadway play Patriots, was assaulted by a man who threw a rock at him in Central Park; this could have come straight out of the novel!
This book is completely entertaining. Fast-paced with lots of twists and turns, the mystery is full of intense menace and is truly absorbing. A famous, dying, mystery writer invites a young “pen pal” to help write his story. At the same time, he suggests they may solve an old mystery. 20 years ago, his wife and son simultaneously disappeared and suspicion had always fallen on him. Even now, there are dark whispers that he had gotten away with murder. As you may expect, there are second wives, a wayward nephew, and a tragic daughter involved. However, there is plenty you will not suspect and I was thrown for a loop. Lots of fun!
James is one of the best novels I’ve read in years. It’s so smart, so brilliant — sometimes funny, sometimes shocking — I think Twain himself would approve of what Everett has created: a reimagining of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This one is going to be awarded the Booker and the Pulitzer. Recommended wholeheartedly!
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