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[(A Grasp of Kaspar)] [Author: Michael Baxandall] published on
An unexpected, gripping and fiercely intelligent postwar thriller by one of Britain's leading cultural historians which will remind readers of John Buchan, Erskine Childers, and John le Carre.
Paperback
First published May 6, 2010
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About the author
Michael Baxandall
30 books27 followersArt historian who developed the theory of period eye. He worked as a curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London as well as teaching at the Warburg Institute and the University of California.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 19, 2011
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ....a slight bit of action....ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
May 6, 2012
I have to say I very much enjoyed this novel. It reminded me of Len Deighton's Game Set and Match series. Set in a time gone by in sleepy Switzerland and reminiscent of a spy story.
The protagonist, however, is not a spy in the strict sense of the word. Carrying out a gentlemanly version of industrial espionage for an old friend who is looking to buy a weaving company, the quirky historian at the centre of the story uncovers unexpected twists and a plot that leads back to the 2nd world war and German occupation of towns he plods through.
The plot is convoluted and so many characters are introduced and then disappear that I constantly lost track of who was who, who was doing what to whom and why.
Although the individual details of the plot don't always tie up and few characters end fully formed, the feel of the story is consistent. A misty Switzerland in the mid 1950s. Sleepy towns only livened by political debates by pipe smoking professors in coffee houses and ambiguous half chases along deserted mountain paths right out of a Hitchcock film.
The book is ambiguous, but perhaps those times were and this reflects that. The author introduces moral questions on several levels and sometimes we don't even know if the main character is simply being paranoid.
I can imagine some finding this a difficult read and occasionally I picked up the book not really knowing why as little seems to happen on each page.
The overall story does make sense, however, and deliberately leaves as many questions as answers. Like much of the weather in the book it is murky, but like the landscape it is set in, worth taking the time to experience.
The protagonist, however, is not a spy in the strict sense of the word. Carrying out a gentlemanly version of industrial espionage for an old friend who is looking to buy a weaving company, the quirky historian at the centre of the story uncovers unexpected twists and a plot that leads back to the 2nd world war and German occupation of towns he plods through.
The plot is convoluted and so many characters are introduced and then disappear that I constantly lost track of who was who, who was doing what to whom and why.
Although the individual details of the plot don't always tie up and few characters end fully formed, the feel of the story is consistent. A misty Switzerland in the mid 1950s. Sleepy towns only livened by political debates by pipe smoking professors in coffee houses and ambiguous half chases along deserted mountain paths right out of a Hitchcock film.
The book is ambiguous, but perhaps those times were and this reflects that. The author introduces moral questions on several levels and sometimes we don't even know if the main character is simply being paranoid.
I can imagine some finding this a difficult read and occasionally I picked up the book not really knowing why as little seems to happen on each page.
The overall story does make sense, however, and deliberately leaves as many questions as answers. Like much of the weather in the book it is murky, but like the landscape it is set in, worth taking the time to experience.
October 26, 2015
If anyone wishes to have the joy sucked out of reading, I would recommend this book. I've read problem solving questions in grade school math text books with better pacing and character development than this.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews