Proteus

by Morris L. West

Big John Spada is a self-made millionaire. From his headquarters in New York, he directs enterprises around the world with military precision. Privately, Spada also funds Proteus, a clandestine movement that works to free political prisoners and combat tyrants wherever they may be. Then news arrives from Argentina that the Buenos Aires secret police have arrested Spada's daughter Teresa, a doctor, after she performed emergency surgery on a man with gunshot wounds. They then take her husband Rodolfo whose outspoken editorials have angered the country's fascist government. A scheme is hatched by Proteus to rescue them, but soon the enemies of Proteus begin to target Spada himself.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Australia, Espionage, Drama

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Morris Langlo West was born in St Kilda, Melbourne in 1916. At the age of fourteen, he entered the Christian Brothers seminary ‘as a kind of refuge’ from a difficult childhood. He attended the University of Melbourne and worked as a teacher. In 1941 he left the Christian Brothers without taking final vows. In World War II he worked as a code-breaker, and for a time he was private secretary to former prime minister Billy Hughes.

After the war, West became a successful writer and producer of radio serials. In 1955 he left Australia to build an international career as a writer. With his family, he lived in Austria, Italy, England and the USA, including a stint as the Vatican correspondent for the British newspaper, the Daily Mail. He returned to Australia in 1982.

Morris West wrote 30 books and many plays, and several of his novels were adapted for film. His books were published in 28 languages and sold more than 60 million copies worldwide. Each new book he wrote after he became an established writer sold more than one million copies.

West received many awards and accolades over his long writing career, including the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the W.H. Heinemann Award of the Royal Society of Literature for The Devil's Advocate. In 1978 he was elected a fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1985, and was made an Officer of the Order (AO) in 1997.

Morris West died at his desk in 1999.

Reviews

[Debbie Zapata · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sep 5, 1055am ~~ Review asap.
Sep 8, 10am ~~ My second title in a semi-unplanned author project, this book was hard to put down. The fast pace and urgent situations made it exciting, but throughout the story the main question was never far away: what should a citizen do to combat the violence that is taking over our society? If we remain quiet aren't we making ourselves accomplices to evil?

Surprisingly current for a book that was published in 1979. The inside jacket says "Proteus is a work of fiction which, tomorrow, may become a harsh reality."

I believe we are more than halfway there already.

Where is a John Spada when we need one? Or even an alien invasion? Anything that would remind our stupid selves that each and every person on this planet matters, that governments should not be allowed to 'disappear' people, that we have to learn to live together and respect each other or we are all lost.

[Kashfia Firdous · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome!!! Everyone should read this right now to understand the times better. On point!!

[Fonch · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ladies and gentlemen after many days without commenting we will continue with the habit of giving my opinion about my last readings. The first thing, I have to say is that this criticism is not going to be as dry, nor as harsh, as "Letters of Philip II to his daughters" https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... (I will try to translate it very soon into Polish) in which I wanted to show my nature as a historian, and protest against certain things. This is not going to be so vindictive, although it will have something of vindication. The second thing is that I do not believe that this week I can advance much with my challenge, because on Thursday, and Friday I have to attend a series of presentations that celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the Maastrich Treaty, and both the Director of my Thesis and the Secretary of my Thesis Court are involved, so I can not miss in any way. So this week I won't be able to advance the Goodreads challenge, nor read the book I had promised "Ancient of Genes” of my friend Dan Gallagher https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5... https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... , but I hope to be able to carry it out soon. Just like Pierre Benoit's "Green Island" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3... https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... , which seems to be becoming the eternal island, because I never finished it.

It is not a book "Proteus" (which I bought on the same day as "Lie Down with Lions" by Ken Follet https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... two writers, who due to their political and religious whims lost my favor) that I will remember, but I will soon forget it. This year I think the worst book I read in 2022 "Lazarus" was written by Morris West https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1... . The typical work of a self-conscious modernist, who I do not understand because he is Catholic, when everything he seeks can be found in Protestantism. That said, I was struck by this book. Indirectly Morris West had already spoken of the Argentine Dictatorship in "Eminence" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5... (where, as before he imagined Hugo Wast in 666, an Argentine was about to be Pope https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2... . I owe you a review of this book by the way.) However, "Proteo" is more than a novel denouncing the Argentine dictatorship. Unlike other bodrios like "Tower of Babel", https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1... "Scandal in the Assembly", https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4... (without a doubt the worst book, which I have read to Morris L. West) or his ecclesiastical thrillers (I thank Don Juan Manuel de Prada https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... , and my friend Ramón S. For Unmask such a faker) is not badly written. It reads very well, and it doesn't take long to do so. Morris West when he moves away from the Catholic Church does it very well. What is it that throws me back from "Proteus"? I would argue that West's lack of scruples, which falls into an immoral Machiavellianism https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... (the end justifies the means, breaking with the Medieval Scholastic Tradition). The idea was very interesting a Secret Society called Proteus (for the sea God in a changing way), in the style of the Bildelberg Club, Skull and bones, or the Freemasons, which under its philanthropic façade tries to reach agreements with Dictatorships, to reach a better world we will build bridges. The first thing I should throw in the face of Morris West. It is a phrase of St. John Henry Newman in "Apology pro vita sua" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4... And things are not fixed in committees. Suffice for any secret society to plan the same as the fictional society of the Australian author. What this book proves is that hell is paved with good intentions. In the Proteus Society (inspired by a God of the pagan seas). There are Nobel laureates (Hugo von Kalbach), communists (Castagna), or ecclesiastics (Francistek), the old uncle Andrea, and Spada (my character in Rebellion was called Klai la Spada, that's why I bought this novel) tries to introduce his son-in-law an Argentine opposed to the Military Dictatorship. Here West does the same as Follet (telling the story as far as he is interested in telling it). He is not interested in telling what caused the Military Dictatorship. The failure of Peronism (Estela de Perón), and the link of the latter with extreme left forces, which were dedicated to kidnapping, and killing opponents I share this wonderful article from @religionenlibertad (weekly that I recommend. Where my admired, and dear Pablo J. Ginés works. To the people of Goodreads go to my Instagram account, and there you can see the link). My father was offered to give a lecture in Argentina, and he didn't want to go because of the violence of the extreme left. As Patricio Lons would say (this was already prophesied by Hugo Wast in "666", which will be reviewed here soon). This does not whitewash the atrocious crimes of the Argentine dictatorship, with disappearances, tortures, and deaths, but if you want to be fair, and objective you must tell your readers how the events occurred. A similar case is the case of El Salvador, no matter how far to the left the murdered religious might be (some were not leftists), it is not lawful to eliminate them physically. In West he detected the morality of the Pharisee his character attacks the Argentine Dictatorship because they have raped, tortured his daughter (Teresa), and they have also locked up his son-in-law (Rodolfo Vallenilla), and almost killed him. But he makes deals with the communist ambassador (Kolchak, to free a dissident named Lermontov, but still with what sympathies West treats him unlike Videla) whose regime has murdered millions of people. This does not seem to worry West, who like Greene always shows very nice communists like Anatoly Kolchak, already cited. The novel has something of Mario Puzo's Godfather https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2... , and something of Richard Condon's "Prizzi`s honor". https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3... It is very interesting especially after the Argentine side to see Spada as if he were Michael Corleone. This novel is the degradation of a good man, and the worst unlike the wonderful novel "Crossfire", or "The Whisper of the Devil" by Miyuki Miyabe https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1... https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8... https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... (you can get both novels in @quaterni_editorial) where you see how revenge is turning you into a monster (The video game Baldur's Gates https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... I love had a phrase from Friedrich Nietzsche https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... saying that to fight monsters it is necessary to act like one of them so as not to be one of them. The problem is that Spada acts like a monster, and ends up becoming a monster against those he fights.) Spada to free his son-in-law asks the revolutionaries for help, and when they offer to hire an assassin. I don't know if West, or his protagonist is hired, and he kills one of his friends (I don't understand this absurd subplot it was not necessary to hire a murderer). That West solves with Spada killing the murderer, and avenging his friend, but the culprit is him for having contacted the murderer, who proposed the Tiger (it is Spada's first fall into sin, and more will come). In Argentina when he rescues his son-in-law, and a dissident (Chavez as the Venezuelan dictator) that the revolutionaries have asked him to do. He will not hesitate to hand over an Argentine Colonel to the revolutionaries to be killed. You get halfway through the novel, and you see that Spada has already saved Teresa, and Rodolfo Vallenilla (everything seems finished, and it should have ended there). But it's only the end of the first act. Spada has created a company as a screen to cover up Proteo's activities. He strikes a deal with his rival Max Liebowitz, and chooses a successor Mike Santos. Also working for him is a very addicted secretary named Kity Cowan (who is crazy about Spada), and his right-hand man is named Maury Feldman. Well, there is no censorship of what the protagonist does throughout the novel, and if there is it is for selfish reasons. Teresa will tell him not to do anything, because she doesn't want to be tortured again. Feldman gives him Machiavellian advice. That the only thing he fears is that he will become an outlaw (like the drows, or the Pharisees who can do the barbarities, as long as we do not catch you) (then this man starts giving advice to the Catholic Church of what to do). What angered me is that no one tells him that what he is doing is wrong. The character is a sociopath (like those in Alan Moore https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4... Watchmen), unscrupulous. It reminds me of a villain from a comic book either Batman, Spiderman, or any villain from a novel by Ian Fleming https://www.goodreads.com/series/4962... https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... , or Sax Rhomer (the protagonist's final plan could have been had by a bad guy from Bond, or Dr. Fu Man Chú) It is true that they kill his family. But in the end he ends up becoming a monster, and a terrorist. The way to solve the business plot reminds the Godfather (executed the traitor as in the saga of Copolla choose the Godfather 1, or 2. Not to mention that Santos is wasteless. It could have been the protagonist's conscience, and it ends up being the opposite.) I doubt that the Military Dictatorship has the arm so long as to attack a citizen, and more that it has as much wealth, and power as the Spada has. West is curious I am surprised I kept quiet the crimes of the communists who are many millions more dead. The end is regrettable turning the protagonist into a terrorist/martyr, attacking the most ruinous, overrated, and useless Institution. Had he triumphed, he could have formed a world government, as my friend Professor Manuel Alfonseca's Vamona attempted in his novel "Descent into the Hell of Venus." https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3... https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... or have tried what the character in Colleen McCuloough's "A Creed for the third millenium" tried https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1... , that if she had triumphed she would have become the antichrist, even if she pretended, to be a Christ figure. Being the only problem that the blackmail of the protagonist has not succeeded. I asked myself, how could someone like West be allowed to be a reference for the Catholic Church? Graham Greene does offer you the dark side of betrayal in "The Human Factor" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6... https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... I don't see it here. But a grimdark pamphlet, where the bad guy is praised (in the style of A Song of Ice, and Fire by George R.R. Martin https://www.goodreads.com/series/4379... https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... . I would have liked to give him more, but because of the amorality of the story my grade is (1'5/5).

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book. Morris West is a terrific story-teller but I should remember that from the previous Morris West books I have read albeit a long time ago. John Spada, son of a large and established Italian family, is the head of a hugely successful business in New York but his daughter has decided to marry a Argentinian who speaks out against the establishment and the disappearances. John is also carrying on the leadership of a secret society that links influential people around the world who use their positions to achieve philanthropic gain that above board, political approaches could not.
When John's daughter and son-in-law become a "disappeared" statistic, John turns the might of his empire(s) to find and free them. He does this but then looses his entire family in a suspicious fire. Now that he is alone and has no-one in his life (his nearest relative is his uncle in Italy) he chooses to take on the might of the collected world governments and persuade them to release all prisoners of conscience. If he succeeds in the UN or not, you will have to read to find out.
I think what I like about Morris West is his straight to the point style. No padding here, no pointless diversions into a land of make-believe. Sure he has twists and turns and deceits for the reader but every page contributes an essential part to the story. It keeps you reading on and rewards you for the effort. A little book with a big story. Perfect.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up in a secondhand bookshop while travelling, because the book I'd been intending to read turned out to have a sick serial killer of a narrator, one who seemed to find killing amusing.

Proteus, of course, is now a fairly old book (1979) and occasionally that's obvious in the text. Its subject matter is still relevant - the corruption at the heart of many nations' governments which results in innocent people being incarcerated and tortured without reason. (Guantanamo Bay is a prime modern example.)

In terms of the story, West takes on a huge challenge, and I'm not sure that it comes off. His main character, John Spada, is a super successful businessman whose only child marries an Argentinian journalist, a man who's already in trouble with his government because of his outspoken writings. But Spada is also the undercover leader of an organisation whose main aim is to free innocent people who've been convicted of no crime but are a 'nuisance' to the State, and he performs this other role well, using his money freely, and being able to work with the people in the know who can make a difference. His organisation is reportedly very large yet somehow they all manage to keep their group invisible.

Things go awry for Spada, as they must in any good book, and instead of continuing on a benevolent path, rescuing innocent people, he turns to a kind of vigilante approach. I guess West is saying that even the best people can be corrupted by frustration with evil; certainly Spada, for all his integrity, goes downhill in due course in a way that I didn't find particularly believable. I'm sure other reviewers have given better synopses of the plot, so I won't expand on it here.

So why only 3 stars? West's characters lack real personality somehow; he gives them ticks and traits, but they don't come alive. There are dozens of characters in this book, because the subject matter and plot have considerable breadth, but they all speak with a similar voice: they're likely to slip from saying plot-moving statements to intoning the theme at the drop of a hat. Even in books, people don't preach to this extent. And it's often hard to tell where West's loyalties lie: in his own life he had an on-off relationship with the Catholic church, and most of his Catholic main characters are pretty loose in their religion; they don't really seem to present much of a faith. West had huge concerns about corruption, as is evident here, but the book swings all over the place, and poor old John Spada is swung around with it. He has reason to be deeply angry but the way his morals change doesn't quite ring true.

In spite of my criticisms I found the book surprisingly readable (as most of West's other books have been); even when my critical mind was saying - 'I don't believe that bit' - my reading mind wanted to keep on reading, to see what happened. Personally I found what happened rather disappointing: the climax is BIG, in keeping with the rest of the book, but it's not believable: it's Hollywood, rather than West.

[Sowmya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this waaaay back in 2002 (??) A total gamechanger for me. I don't own a copy, but I hope to read this again sometime.

[Angus Mcfarlane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second of West’s books I’ve read recently, and while this doesn’t follow the last one, it did have a running theme of Rome and the catholic global connection. This one has a much harder edge and centred on a secret organisation which exists to deliver justice outside of the regular state mechanisms. And while starting in Rome, the plot travels elsewhere in Europe, the US and various other countries, with pivotal action taking place in Argentina. On one hand this is a traditional thriller, as difficult situations are faced with boldness, tact and an element of luck. But the richness of the story comes from the emotion related to the family and business relationships which motivate and constrain the protagonist. Nor is the story a simple good guy wins. Thus, the moral tension of how justice might be enacted is explored with the full range of human emotions which might result as a personal consequence

[Manuel Sánchez]

I read this in 2012

[Danilo DiPietro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Proxy for Book III of Joyce's ULYSSES where we’re inside Stephen’s head for the entire episode. Tough sledding but worth it.

[Shelley Alongi]

That new word spoilers can also mean foreshadowing of events. I think that’s a better word. But language changes things sometimes.

Yes, there were spoilers but you still hope that the end of it was different. This book was rather focused and I wondered a couple of times, why there wasn’t a little bit more of the human element in this book. Do you know that somebody is going to break a rule somewhere. my best example is somebody could have taken the vials and mix them up and release them in the city of there designation before any of the gestures were given. There was no room for something to go wrong because nothing did go wrong in this book. If it went wrong, it was because it was supposed to go wrong such as his daughter and son-in-law, both being in prison. That wasn’t supposed to happen in the stretch of normal life.

when they found the contacts who killed the kernel, nothing went wrong there either. He did suspect that he was being used for some purpose he didn’t agree with, but he didn’t put up much resistance. At least the conflict was there.

As far as the plot and the idea for the novel Plays out, I thought it was idealistic. I think in an organization of that size there would definitely be some things that didn’t go as planned. Otherwise, the idea of putting in place of private organizations to combat the ills of the world is a theme that has many incarcerations. Those incarcerations are Both fictional and nonfiction. I do admit to being a little surprised at the ending even though I knew he was probably going to die. I just didn’t know it was going to be in such a public way. I think the real surprise would’ve been if he didn’t die, and all the prisoners were released. That was probably not going to happen even in real life so I probably would hav Discounted the book if that did happen in it’s pages. However, even though I knew how it was going to end, I was still surprised and that is the work of a good storyteller. It was a little idealistic also, but I think that was the point of the whole story. It was intriguing enough that I Looked up some other books written by Moris West and they look intriguing.

One more thing I will mention is that the idea of kitty and John having an affair after the death of his wife was one of the lighter moments of the story, and it did help to bring some Lightheartedness in the maelstrom of such a chaotic subject.

I don’t think I would recommend this book for a fireside read on the winter night but it wasn’t a bad read.

[Serge]

Argentina, 1970s - the military junta has taken over, time of the desaparecidos. After his daughter and son-in-law are abducted, an American businessman goes on a crusade on behalf of political prisoners and eventually steps outside the law. Not all the character motivations and actions in this novel are entirely credible, but, as usual, Morris West creates an excellent sense of time and place, and explores serious moral issues. The exciting plot smooths over any loopholes in characterization.

[Sergio Mic · Rating 4 out of 5]

La novela cumple con las expectativas que te crea la sinopsis, un drama de espionaje internacional y corporativo al final de los 70's
La trama esta perfectamente desarrollada, el argumento es sólido y en lo general, es una excelente historia, excelente entretenimiento, recomendada: te atrapará y te dejara con ganas de seguir leyendo.
Si tuviera que hacer un comentario es que el personaje principal por momentos se siente... de un idealismo rayando en lo infantil.

[Bob MacDonald · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book slow to start with. Though the main character remained unchanged throughout the book, it involved two separate stories.

The second plot was so far-fetched and unrealistic that I kept reading to learn how the author was going to get out of the corner he'd painted himself into. He took the easy way out and had the main character commit suicide - thus bringing the matter to an unsatisfactory close.

[Marisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Libro que expresa muy claramente que el peor enemigo del hombre es el propio hombre.
Que importante son los derechos del ser humano que se respeten, libertad de expresión.
Muchas veces nos asombramos y criticamos los delitos individuales, pero cuando estos son masivos son tomados como justificados.
Es un libro para reflexionar acerca de la vida, violencia, muerte, derechos humanos, guerra biológica, represión, venganza

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A page turner that was hard to put down; full of surprising twists and turns. I love how West brings out the big moral and ethical issues in his works. Combined with a brilliant plot and a flawless writing style, the result is close to perfection. No wonder he was so hugely popular in his day.

[Orestis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Μια καλή ιδέα που χαραμίστηκε σε ένα βιβλίο με ερεσιτεχνικό γράψιμο. Κρίμα...

[Lisa Gunders · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really challenging on the question of how much we can expect from people who have suffered for a cause.

[Lucas Placenti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great depiction of Argentina was in the time of El Proceso from the view of a foreigner. Everyone should read it to rethink our present.
Absolutely thrilling fron beginning to end.

[Bob Box · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read in 1980. Drama about a multi-national corporation.

[Cikgu Tan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Blows hot and cold. Starts well enough but became way too predictable come the later sections. Good dialogues and character development. Don't age well though.

[Adele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Definitely 5 Star. And this is still happening now and will continue. I will never forget this book.

[Pamela Lugo · Rating 5 out of 5]

"No hay Biblia, ni Talmud, ni Corán que codifique la moral del mundo moderno"
"Pero la guerrilla y los terroristas no ejercen el monopolio del juego brutal"

[Lel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as his others

[Balam Abello · Rating 4 out of 5]

Proteus is a novel by Morris West which was published in 1979. This is a fascinating high finance high wire thriller that although at times it may seem a bit dated; nevertheless, it captures the essence of an international double life Wall Street saga.

West’s uncompromising mastery of the language will easily transport you to the high glitz scenery of a powerful and influential Italian family, the “Spadas.” And with one fell swoop he will drop you in the middle of Wall Street with all its power hungry pathos.

However, the book is a staunch criticism of torture. Ironically, it is this aspect of the book which in today’s world it makes it the more compelling. His narrative is unapologetic and we will feel at the very least empathetic towards people who have fallen prey to these wicked dehumanizing hellish places.

The central character, John Spada, a balls-to-the-wall powerful captain of industry who cannot accept anything less than total victory and the destruction of his enemies, will be confronted with abject failure.

This experience will transform him, thus unleashing the ire of Proteus upon the planet.

Well that’s it. Or did you think I was going to give the away ending? Go ahead and read it!
http://balamabello.com

[Bowerbird · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a gripping story which held me throughout but I enjoyed the first half more than the second. The story is set in the 1970s and when we first meet John Spada he is a wealthy industrialist with a loving wife and daughter. The countries he has dealings with in the arms trade are not always the most scrupulous but Spada is able to justify this as necessary. Secretly though he is also head of Proteus, a worldwide organisation working to create a better world and he uses his money and influence to further various good causes. Then his daughter marries a man from Argentina whose outspoken editorials make them both a target for the secret police. The book becomes unputdownable as a scheme is hatched by Proteus to rescue them.
However, John Spada hasn't finished. As his own situation takes a turn for the worse he takes on the world in order to improve the lot of prisoners unjustly detained by world powers who feel threatened by them. This makes a very chilling read, is not a comfortable one.

Having read The Devil's Advocate many years ago I was aware that Morris West did not write light fiction. I didn't know whether to give this book 3 or 4 stars, but the quality of the writing deserves the extra star.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I realised as soon as I started this book that I hand already read it a long while ago but I read it again and felt just as disturb by it as the first time. I felt for John Spada and his great losses and even greater desire to rid the world of the inhumanities practiced by some nations and governments. He had money, power, charisma and the backing of a secret society founded by himself but even that wasn't enough.

[Matias · Rating 2 out of 5]

Proteo no me atrapo desde un principio. Creo que llega a conclusiones precipitadas, sin que lleguemos a congeniar con los personajes. Si bien toca temas muy difíciles de digerir, las hace de forma superficial y no llega a demostrar al lector el horrible contexto de su historia.
La historia tiene matices horripilantes, pero las trata como el relato de un diario/periódico. Creo que el material o la idea es buena, pero no su ejecución.

[Maria Aranzabal · Rating 1 out of 5]

Proteo no me gusto tanto de lo que me ubiese gustado que me gustara.
Tiene uno de los tipos que me gusta leer y eso es el terrorismo, pero tambien tiene lo que no me gusta que aiga en una historia y eso es la politica y el maltrato a personas inosentes y por eso es que no me gusto tanto la historia, ubieron partes que me gustaron, pero fueron muy pocas.

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was decent, well written, but suffers somewhat from a dated style. I also wasn't satisfied with the ending and, in general, the main character, John Spada, was too idealistic for my taste. An intelligent political and corporate thriller, though.

[Cws]

F Wes