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Peace Talks
Edvard Behrens is a senior diplomat of some repute, highly regarded for his work on international peace negotiations. Under his arbitration, unimaginable atrocities are coolly dissected; invisible and ancient lines, grown taut and frayed with conflict, redrawn.
In his latest post, Edvard has been sent a nondescript resort hotel in the Tyrol. High up on this mountain, the air is bright and clear. When he isn't working, Edvard reads, walks, listens to music. He confides in no one – no one but his wife Anna. Anna, who he loves with all his heart; Anna, always present and yet forever absent.
Honest, honourable, tragic, witty, wise, an unforgettable novel of love, loss, and the human longing for peace, Peace Talks maps the darkest and most tender territories of the human heart.
In his latest post, Edvard has been sent a nondescript resort hotel in the Tyrol. High up on this mountain, the air is bright and clear. When he isn't working, Edvard reads, walks, listens to music. He confides in no one – no one but his wife Anna. Anna, who he loves with all his heart; Anna, always present and yet forever absent.
Honest, honourable, tragic, witty, wise, an unforgettable novel of love, loss, and the human longing for peace, Peace Talks maps the darkest and most tender territories of the human heart.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published April 16, 2020
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September 28, 2025
ANDANDO AVANTI, ANDANDO ALTROVE
Racconto che procede su due binari paralleli che s’incontrano molto prima dell’infinito.
Edvard è un alto diplomatico che si occupa di missioni di pace, presiede negoziati tra forze avverse che tentano di trovare una soluzione alla guerra, provano a raggiungere un accordo. È un mediatore per eccellenza.
È norvegese, ma parla francese, inglese, e forse altre lingue. Le fazioni che cerca di mediare nel ritiro di un hotel di lusso tirolese parlano arabo: conoscono bene l’inglese, ma lo usano solo nei momenti non ufficiali, per il resto ci sono i traduttori simultanei in cabina.
…un elaborato stratagemma teatrale. In queste trattative le parti in causa non fanno altro che cercare di introdurre in fretta e furia nuove carte durante le sessioni. Gli inviati speciali arrivano “di gran carriera”, come si suole dire, come attori minori in un’opera di Shakespeare, per comunicare presunte concessioni, oppure nuove proposte o testimonianze da sottoporre all’attenzione.
Adorazione dell’agnello: particolare dal Polittico di Gand di Jan van Eyck. 1426-1432
Edvard racconta e parla in prima persona. Si rivolge ad Anna, sua moglie, inglese, psicoanalista, impegnata per la pace e i diritti umani.
Il secondo binario riguarda proprio lei. Anna non c’è più, è andata via: è morta due anni prima. È stata uccisa.
Ma Edvard le si rivolge direttamente, le parla, interloquisce con lei come se fosse ancora lì, presente. Le fa domande, immagina le sue risposte, le sottopone commenti, le fa confessioni, e racconti delle sue giornate. Del suo lutto. Del suo impegno a venirne fuori. Andare avanti, e andare altrove.
Ti amo ancora. Ti amerò per sempre… È una strana storia d’amore, questa, finché non ti soffermi a riflettere sul fatto che ci siamo trovati. Non per un colpo di fortuna, mi piace pensare, ma perché era inevitabile. Non aveva niente a che fare col fato, o col destino. Era un algoritmo. Un’equazione che poteva produrre solo quel risultato. Un allineamento che doveva per forza verificarsi. Dopotutto, chi altri ci avrebbe mai voluti?
Jean-Louis David: La morte di Marat. 1793
I due binari si incontrano, o meglio, si sono incontrati due anni prima quando Anna è morta. Per mano di un terrorista. Oppure di un estremista. E forse non era mano d’islamico, o forse era mano di sovranista nazionalista fascista nazista.
Edvard soffre, sente l’assenza di Anna, ma invita alla calma, alla pace, non vuole vendetta, non cerca giustizia sbrigativa. È il suo mestiere. Ma è anche quello che sinceramente sente. E che vorrebbe.
Accade poco in queste pagine, nulla, a parte le chiacchiere di Edvard, che sono uno schermo sottile dietro cui si nasconde il mondo dei sentimenti inespressi, e forse inesprimibili, perché è così difficile definirli, dargli un nome, una consistenza. Ancora più difficile affrontarli e comprenderli.
Colloqui di pace, ma soprattutto uno studio commovente e diretto della fragilità dell'amore e del tempo, della fortuna e del dolore, di ciò che resta quando scende il silenzio.
Sono così felice. E nel contempo, così triste. Una convergenza dei due stati d’animo. E mi manchi tanto, tantissimo. Però, questa è la vita. La bella vita. Ho avuto una vita così bella, vero? Sono così fortunato. Eravamo così fortunati, giusto? Così felici. La vita è così breve. Ma allo stesso tempo, va avanti così a lungo, così alungo. Non sono tanto gli anni trascorsi, quanto quelli che restano. Tutti quegli anni che si spalancano davanti a me.
Come non pensare al bel libro di Julian Barnes Livelli di vita?
Jean-Joseph Weerts: Charlotte Condray, l’assassina di Marat. 1880
Racconto che procede su due binari paralleli che s’incontrano molto prima dell’infinito.
Edvard è un alto diplomatico che si occupa di missioni di pace, presiede negoziati tra forze avverse che tentano di trovare una soluzione alla guerra, provano a raggiungere un accordo. È un mediatore per eccellenza.
È norvegese, ma parla francese, inglese, e forse altre lingue. Le fazioni che cerca di mediare nel ritiro di un hotel di lusso tirolese parlano arabo: conoscono bene l’inglese, ma lo usano solo nei momenti non ufficiali, per il resto ci sono i traduttori simultanei in cabina.
…un elaborato stratagemma teatrale. In queste trattative le parti in causa non fanno altro che cercare di introdurre in fretta e furia nuove carte durante le sessioni. Gli inviati speciali arrivano “di gran carriera”, come si suole dire, come attori minori in un’opera di Shakespeare, per comunicare presunte concessioni, oppure nuove proposte o testimonianze da sottoporre all’attenzione.
Adorazione dell’agnello: particolare dal Polittico di Gand di Jan van Eyck. 1426-1432
Edvard racconta e parla in prima persona. Si rivolge ad Anna, sua moglie, inglese, psicoanalista, impegnata per la pace e i diritti umani.
Il secondo binario riguarda proprio lei. Anna non c’è più, è andata via: è morta due anni prima. È stata uccisa.
Ma Edvard le si rivolge direttamente, le parla, interloquisce con lei come se fosse ancora lì, presente. Le fa domande, immagina le sue risposte, le sottopone commenti, le fa confessioni, e racconti delle sue giornate. Del suo lutto. Del suo impegno a venirne fuori. Andare avanti, e andare altrove.
Ti amo ancora. Ti amerò per sempre… È una strana storia d’amore, questa, finché non ti soffermi a riflettere sul fatto che ci siamo trovati. Non per un colpo di fortuna, mi piace pensare, ma perché era inevitabile. Non aveva niente a che fare col fato, o col destino. Era un algoritmo. Un’equazione che poteva produrre solo quel risultato. Un allineamento che doveva per forza verificarsi. Dopotutto, chi altri ci avrebbe mai voluti?
Jean-Louis David: La morte di Marat. 1793
I due binari si incontrano, o meglio, si sono incontrati due anni prima quando Anna è morta. Per mano di un terrorista. Oppure di un estremista. E forse non era mano d’islamico, o forse era mano di sovranista nazionalista fascista nazista.
Edvard soffre, sente l’assenza di Anna, ma invita alla calma, alla pace, non vuole vendetta, non cerca giustizia sbrigativa. È il suo mestiere. Ma è anche quello che sinceramente sente. E che vorrebbe.
Accade poco in queste pagine, nulla, a parte le chiacchiere di Edvard, che sono uno schermo sottile dietro cui si nasconde il mondo dei sentimenti inespressi, e forse inesprimibili, perché è così difficile definirli, dargli un nome, una consistenza. Ancora più difficile affrontarli e comprenderli.
Colloqui di pace, ma soprattutto uno studio commovente e diretto della fragilità dell'amore e del tempo, della fortuna e del dolore, di ciò che resta quando scende il silenzio.
Sono così felice. E nel contempo, così triste. Una convergenza dei due stati d’animo. E mi manchi tanto, tantissimo. Però, questa è la vita. La bella vita. Ho avuto una vita così bella, vero? Sono così fortunato. Eravamo così fortunati, giusto? Così felici. La vita è così breve. Ma allo stesso tempo, va avanti così a lungo, così alungo. Non sono tanto gli anni trascorsi, quanto quelli che restano. Tutti quegli anni che si spalancano davanti a me.
Come non pensare al bel libro di Julian Barnes Livelli di vita?
Jean-Joseph Weerts: Charlotte Condray, l’assassina di Marat. 1880
April 23, 2020
This is an exceptional novel. Endlessly clever, beautiful, harrowing, and often hilarious. One of the most satisfying things I've read in years.
A series of international peace talks (between an unnamed regime and the insurgents who tried to topple it) provides the backdrop against which the narrator, a distinguished British-Norwegian diplomat called Edvard Behrens, explores the intricacies of his own marriage. The talks themselves are fascinating and it feels like Tim Finch is drawing on personal experience of this arena. It also provides a nice touch of intrigue to the personal storyline (in the end, what is the political, but personal?) in the early pages. For quite *why* Edvard is writing so movingly to his wife isn't initially clear. We sense a breakdown in communication, and feel his anguish and loss, but whose fault is it? His own? Hers? A third party? And what, if anything, can be done to bridge the distance, achieve some sort of reconciliation between them?
Like any couple who have spent decades together, Edvard and Anna have created a bubble of us-ness from memories ranging from the mundane to the tragic and life-changing. I cannot think of a more beautifully evoked account of the inner workings of a long intimacy. I was utterly seduced by Edvard and his enormous capacity for love and, initially at least, envious of Anna that she should be the object of something so all-consumingly and devastatingly unbreakable.
The prose is exquisite, the characterisation impeccable and by the time I'd reached 20% of the digital copy I was sent to review, I had already pre-ordered a paper copy. There is such passion for language, so many beguiling phrases and perfect sentences on every page; this is a book I will return to again and again.
At one point, Edvard tries turning on the radio in the lonely waking darkness of his hotel room, hoping the dulcet tones of the World Service reporting on car bombings and assassinations in Lahore will help him drift back off to sleep. Having reached for this same absurd solution myself at times it suddenly hit me that I should get hold of an Audible version of Edvard himself I could turn to instead. I've now bought this as well.
I am sure PEACE TALKS will feature on all the finest prize lists this year. I hope it wins.
With many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me see an advance copy of this title in exchange for an unbiased review.
A series of international peace talks (between an unnamed regime and the insurgents who tried to topple it) provides the backdrop against which the narrator, a distinguished British-Norwegian diplomat called Edvard Behrens, explores the intricacies of his own marriage. The talks themselves are fascinating and it feels like Tim Finch is drawing on personal experience of this arena. It also provides a nice touch of intrigue to the personal storyline (in the end, what is the political, but personal?) in the early pages. For quite *why* Edvard is writing so movingly to his wife isn't initially clear. We sense a breakdown in communication, and feel his anguish and loss, but whose fault is it? His own? Hers? A third party? And what, if anything, can be done to bridge the distance, achieve some sort of reconciliation between them?
Like any couple who have spent decades together, Edvard and Anna have created a bubble of us-ness from memories ranging from the mundane to the tragic and life-changing. I cannot think of a more beautifully evoked account of the inner workings of a long intimacy. I was utterly seduced by Edvard and his enormous capacity for love and, initially at least, envious of Anna that she should be the object of something so all-consumingly and devastatingly unbreakable.
The prose is exquisite, the characterisation impeccable and by the time I'd reached 20% of the digital copy I was sent to review, I had already pre-ordered a paper copy. There is such passion for language, so many beguiling phrases and perfect sentences on every page; this is a book I will return to again and again.
At one point, Edvard tries turning on the radio in the lonely waking darkness of his hotel room, hoping the dulcet tones of the World Service reporting on car bombings and assassinations in Lahore will help him drift back off to sleep. Having reached for this same absurd solution myself at times it suddenly hit me that I should get hold of an Audible version of Edvard himself I could turn to instead. I've now bought this as well.
I am sure PEACE TALKS will feature on all the finest prize lists this year. I hope it wins.
With many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me see an advance copy of this title in exchange for an unbiased review.
November 24, 2020
“So che non ci sei. Sto parlando con me stesso. Nella mia “testa. Colloqui di pace. Dove sarei senza i colloqui di pace?”
Edvard Behrens, il narratore, è un diplomatico di alto livello, un mediatore nei negoziati di pace internazionali.
Durante un soggiorno di lavoro in un’elegante località austriaca, riflette sullo schema ripetitivo degli incontri a cui partecipa e tra passeggiate, cene, trattative che avanzano e retrocedono, in lui è in corso un altro tipo di colloquio : quello sottile dei sentimenti inespressi, difficili da definire, affrontare, capire.
Edvard sta facendo i conti con la perdita della moglie Anna
Inizia così un suo monologo, inframezzato solo da alcune brevi obiezioni di Anna (“Ho già il mio libro da leggere, Ed.”), occasionalmente immaginate, e man mano diventa chiaro che Anna è morta in circostanze drammatiche.
“È così che funzionano le probabilità, Anna. Se una cosa capita a uno su un milione, qualcuno è quell’uno. Ed era destino che fossi tu.”
Questo discorso intimo è il mezzo con cui Edvard cerca di venire a patti con il dolore e trovare la pace. La sua pace.
In questa intima ricerca personale cerca le parole che possano riempire il suo silenzio: anche il non avere nulla da dire è un'impresa, e paradossalmente, il silenzio è fondamentale affinché il dialogo sia efficace.
Quando la sua missione termina e l'accordo di pace è ufficiale, Edvard si ferma.
È stanco, sfinito, “come dopo l’ultimo chilometro di una maratona “e nel tedio straziante del suo dolore, magistralmente reso da Finch, si avverte che è più vicino a raggiungere anche la sua di pace.
“Colloqui di pace” è una lettura commovente, piena di verità emotiva e di umorismo inaspettato, un libro meditativo sull'amore, la perdita, la fragilità.
“Sono così felice. E nel contempo, così triste. Una convergenza dei due stati d’animo. E mi manchi tanto, tantissimo.”
May 5, 2020
In an Alpine resort high in the Austrian Tyrol, diplomat Edvard is overseeing a negotiation between two opposing sides in an unnamed conflict. As he wrangles with their disputes there is a monologue within, as he mourns his wife.
This is a sad and contemplative tale, lightened very occasionally by bits of humour, with well-crafted prose and characterisation.
There is a hint of mystery to the story, and a well composed gradual reveal, though the plot remains in the background to Edvard dealing with his grief and his own peace talks.
This is a sad and contemplative tale, lightened very occasionally by bits of humour, with well-crafted prose and characterisation.
There is a hint of mystery to the story, and a well composed gradual reveal, though the plot remains in the background to Edvard dealing with his grief and his own peace talks.
April 10, 2021
I have just re-read this book. It’s the 1st time I’ve re-read a book straightaway. This is an amazing novel. It’s the closest I’ve ever come to experiencing the most intimate inner life of someone else. The writing is poetic, poignant & powerful way beyond my words. A stunning novel. Can’t praise it enough.
April 5, 2020
'This is the life, though. The good life. I have had such a good life, haven't I? I am so lucky. We were so lucky, weren't we? So happy. Life is so short. But at the same time, it goes on so, so long.'
In a mountain-top hotel, diplomat and negotiator Edvard Behrens tries to bring two unnamed sides together to end a civil war and come up with a peace deal. The novel is addressed to a third-person, a 'you', and as it progresses we learn that Behrens is having a 'conversation' with his late wife, Anna Dupont. The circumstances of her death two years before are only revealed at the midpoint of the book, and add a certain poignancy to Edvard's work. As a character, he slowly emerges as a slightly pompous, even ridiculous, figure; half-Norwegian, British privately-schooled, and mixing in high society, with a penchant for quoting Latin phrases and enjoying art galleries, concerts and fine wine (he calls it their 'High European sensibility). But what emerges, also, is a rather lonely figure, one lost in his grief, desperately damaged after what has happened in his life. He meets his brother-in-law Max, an outgoing and exuberant artist, and the contrast could not be more harsh. Here is a man, used to working in the shadows, who is trying to work out who he is and where he belongs.
Through the study of his memories of his time with his wife, the parallel of his role as a mediator and his negotiation with those very memories gives the book a subtle framework:
'So, yes, I have been guilty of painting you, of memorialising you, and - as time has gone on - even remembering you, in softer tones than were true to the lived experience.'
This is a quiet novel, where the reader is drawn into an understated, yet still devastating, meditation on loss and grief, and on politics and violence. We come to, yes, feel sorry for this man, even as we laugh at his idiosyncrasies and his high sensibilities. As the peace talks come to an end, the wider metaphor makes us ask: has Edvard, too, managed to find his own kind of peace?
I really enjoyed this. Edvard really develops into a three-dimensional character and one who will draw the reader into a sympathetic relationship, even whilst we can find his glaring faults. From the get-go there is a reference to Thomas Mann's novel 'The Magic Mountain', and this infuses the book with its images and themes; it doesn't really matter if you haven't read it, but if you have then there are subtle (and not so subtle) parallels. Tim Finch writes really well, and perfectly captures the voice of our narrator, without which this would have been a complete loss. As it is, I found this a subtle and moving piece of writing, and would definitely recommend it. 4 stars.
In a mountain-top hotel, diplomat and negotiator Edvard Behrens tries to bring two unnamed sides together to end a civil war and come up with a peace deal. The novel is addressed to a third-person, a 'you', and as it progresses we learn that Behrens is having a 'conversation' with his late wife, Anna Dupont. The circumstances of her death two years before are only revealed at the midpoint of the book, and add a certain poignancy to Edvard's work. As a character, he slowly emerges as a slightly pompous, even ridiculous, figure; half-Norwegian, British privately-schooled, and mixing in high society, with a penchant for quoting Latin phrases and enjoying art galleries, concerts and fine wine (he calls it their 'High European sensibility). But what emerges, also, is a rather lonely figure, one lost in his grief, desperately damaged after what has happened in his life. He meets his brother-in-law Max, an outgoing and exuberant artist, and the contrast could not be more harsh. Here is a man, used to working in the shadows, who is trying to work out who he is and where he belongs.
Through the study of his memories of his time with his wife, the parallel of his role as a mediator and his negotiation with those very memories gives the book a subtle framework:
'So, yes, I have been guilty of painting you, of memorialising you, and - as time has gone on - even remembering you, in softer tones than were true to the lived experience.'
This is a quiet novel, where the reader is drawn into an understated, yet still devastating, meditation on loss and grief, and on politics and violence. We come to, yes, feel sorry for this man, even as we laugh at his idiosyncrasies and his high sensibilities. As the peace talks come to an end, the wider metaphor makes us ask: has Edvard, too, managed to find his own kind of peace?
I really enjoyed this. Edvard really develops into a three-dimensional character and one who will draw the reader into a sympathetic relationship, even whilst we can find his glaring faults. From the get-go there is a reference to Thomas Mann's novel 'The Magic Mountain', and this infuses the book with its images and themes; it doesn't really matter if you haven't read it, but if you have then there are subtle (and not so subtle) parallels. Tim Finch writes really well, and perfectly captures the voice of our narrator, without which this would have been a complete loss. As it is, I found this a subtle and moving piece of writing, and would definitely recommend it. 4 stars.
February 3, 2022
Tim Finch schreibt in seinem neuen Roman „Friedensgespräche“ von Edvard Behrends, der ein Team von Diplomaten anführt, die versuchen einen zermürbenden Bürgerkrieg durch Gespräche in einem Tiroler Skiresort zu lösen, und der in einer an seine abwesende Partnerin Anna gerichteten Erzählung von seinem Leben schreibt. Doch Anna, so erfahren wir bald, ist tot, und die Brillanz, die Behrends an die Spitze seines Berufs gebracht hat, wird von der Gewaltigkeit des Verlustes fast überwältigt.
Trotzdem spricht er mit ihr, stellt sich ihre Antworten vor, sammelt seinen Mut, um ihr Geständnisse zu machen und erzählt so seine Geschichte. Seine Formulierungen hat er stundenlang geschliffenen und oft sucht er selbst dann noch nach den richtigen Worten, manchmal sind sie roh und direkt, aber immer lebendig, raffiniert und schön. Sie sind ein Geschenk für Anna und seine Art um sie zu trauern.
"Hätten wir gewusst, dass eines unserer Leben verkürzt werden würde, hätten wir uns dann entschieden, mehr Zeit miteinander zu verbringen? Vor dem Hintergrund, dass mir jetzt jede Sekunde, die ich mit dir verbracht habe, so kostbar ist, könnte es den Eindruck machen, als wünschte ich mir das. In Wahrheit aber, nein. Denn das Kostbare liegt auch in der Knappheit, mehr aber noch in der diamantengleichen Präzision: der Exaktheit der Menge der Zeit, die wir gemeinsam hatten."
Obwohl Finch den Verhandlungen einen überzeugenden Realismus verleiht, sind sie nicht die eigentliche Handlung. „Friedensgespräche“ entpuppt sich als eine bewegende und intime Geschichte über Zerbrechlichkeit, Liebe und Zeit, Glück und Trauer, über das, was übrig bleibt, wenn all der Lärm der Öffentlichkeit beseitigt ist. Tim Finch präsentiert ein feinfühliges und elegantes Porträt eines Trauernden und verleiht mit unglaublicher Präzision jedem Gefühl und jeder Reverie eine scheinbar fundamentale Wichtigkeit. So wird das Beobachten von Edvards ganz persönlichen Friedensgesprächen zu einer fantastischen, aber verzehrenden Reise, welche sich unbedingt lohnt.
Trotzdem spricht er mit ihr, stellt sich ihre Antworten vor, sammelt seinen Mut, um ihr Geständnisse zu machen und erzählt so seine Geschichte. Seine Formulierungen hat er stundenlang geschliffenen und oft sucht er selbst dann noch nach den richtigen Worten, manchmal sind sie roh und direkt, aber immer lebendig, raffiniert und schön. Sie sind ein Geschenk für Anna und seine Art um sie zu trauern.
"Hätten wir gewusst, dass eines unserer Leben verkürzt werden würde, hätten wir uns dann entschieden, mehr Zeit miteinander zu verbringen? Vor dem Hintergrund, dass mir jetzt jede Sekunde, die ich mit dir verbracht habe, so kostbar ist, könnte es den Eindruck machen, als wünschte ich mir das. In Wahrheit aber, nein. Denn das Kostbare liegt auch in der Knappheit, mehr aber noch in der diamantengleichen Präzision: der Exaktheit der Menge der Zeit, die wir gemeinsam hatten."
Obwohl Finch den Verhandlungen einen überzeugenden Realismus verleiht, sind sie nicht die eigentliche Handlung. „Friedensgespräche“ entpuppt sich als eine bewegende und intime Geschichte über Zerbrechlichkeit, Liebe und Zeit, Glück und Trauer, über das, was übrig bleibt, wenn all der Lärm der Öffentlichkeit beseitigt ist. Tim Finch präsentiert ein feinfühliges und elegantes Porträt eines Trauernden und verleiht mit unglaublicher Präzision jedem Gefühl und jeder Reverie eine scheinbar fundamentale Wichtigkeit. So wird das Beobachten von Edvards ganz persönlichen Friedensgesprächen zu einer fantastischen, aber verzehrenden Reise, welche sich unbedingt lohnt.
June 14, 2021
This brilliant novel was a complete surprise, not having heard a word about it until a friend's recommendation. Edvard's search for inner peace, presented as a conversation with his beloved and "absent" wife, paralleled his efforts as a senior diplomat in the "peace talks" he chaired between two warring Middle East factions. The thoughts he shared with Anna were reflections on their decades together as a loving couple, sharing snippets that allowed the reader to understand the quirkiness between them.
The characterisation was meticulous, stunning in its creation of the man and, particularly, in the landscape of his deepest emotions. The reader journeyed through Edvard's love, loss, grief, pride, loneliness, sadness, and moments that even made me laugh out loud. In the midst of Edvard's serious contemplation of how to live his life going forward, the author diverged in an hysterical scene in which Edvard is offered condolences in a public bathroom by a man whom Edvard had overheard "enjoying" a huge "shit".
We were privy to Edvard's moving forward into a new stage of his life. Finch's writing was fluid, brilliant, intimate, but never melodramatic, especially where writers of lesser talent would have had trouble avoiding it. I believed in the character, in the range of emotions he expressed, and in his critical self-reflection: "I am talking to myself. Inside my head. Peace talks. Where would I be without peace talks?"
The characterisation was meticulous, stunning in its creation of the man and, particularly, in the landscape of his deepest emotions. The reader journeyed through Edvard's love, loss, grief, pride, loneliness, sadness, and moments that even made me laugh out loud. In the midst of Edvard's serious contemplation of how to live his life going forward, the author diverged in an hysterical scene in which Edvard is offered condolences in a public bathroom by a man whom Edvard had overheard "enjoying" a huge "shit".
We were privy to Edvard's moving forward into a new stage of his life. Finch's writing was fluid, brilliant, intimate, but never melodramatic, especially where writers of lesser talent would have had trouble avoiding it. I believed in the character, in the range of emotions he expressed, and in his critical self-reflection: "I am talking to myself. Inside my head. Peace talks. Where would I be without peace talks?"
June 25, 2020
A beautifully gentle and moving book about grief and hope. Finch's juxtaposition of Edvard's work as a peace negotiator and his private life negotiating his own life in the wake of his wife's brutal murder has a consistent bittersweetness that speaks important truths without ramming them down the reader's throat. A thoughtful, thought-provoking gem.
January 28, 2021
I would have liked it more if talkes about his feelings more
April 16, 2022
I probably wouldn't have read this had I not noticed Europa on the cover, and it proved well worth it. A negotiator at peace talks reflects on his marriage which is often lived separately. "One thing we never were was overly sentimental about our relationship."
""Love you, miss you," "can't wait to see you" are things so much more sincerely said, and truly felt, in the absence of the other, than in their always-somewhat-irksome presence." He is alone and describes himself, "I am a bit lonely, but it is that type of loneliness which reflects rather well on the person so absorbed in it."
The emotions and expressions of moments of grief are well depicted. He describes a situation when someone he barely knows expresses his condolences 2 years after the event (and in the toilets). He can hardly believe the effrontery of this, and shouts FU after they leave. Another acquaintance then asks if he is OK. He responds he's had "the most massive dump". It was hugely liberating, he explains.
4.5
""Love you, miss you," "can't wait to see you" are things so much more sincerely said, and truly felt, in the absence of the other, than in their always-somewhat-irksome presence." He is alone and describes himself, "I am a bit lonely, but it is that type of loneliness which reflects rather well on the person so absorbed in it."
The emotions and expressions of moments of grief are well depicted. He describes a situation when someone he barely knows expresses his condolences 2 years after the event (and in the toilets). He can hardly believe the effrontery of this, and shouts FU after they leave. Another acquaintance then asks if he is OK. He responds he's had "the most massive dump". It was hugely liberating, he explains.
4.5
February 1, 2025
This is a quiet, contemplative novel that is best read without any prior knowledge of the plot - although plot is too strong a word and the gradual reveals aren’t really the point. The overall tone of the book is necessarily melancholic but it’s not sentimental and it doesn’t shy away from saying the unsayable and also from humour (there’s a passage on toilet etiquette that particularly sticks in the mind). Also, despite the peace talks only really forming a backdrop to the narrator’s internal monologue, it is interesting to get an inside track on how these kinds of talks function and evolve and I certainly felt that I gained new perspectives. Again it reminded me of what a limited set of work experiences we see in literary fiction - I would actually love to read more like this.
October 23, 2023
Great book for us sentimental folks. I really liked the narrative style: the whole book was the main character (a diplomat) talking to his dead wife, describing the peace process, what he has been thinking and feeling and how he misses her.
April 1, 2021
I was disappointed in this book that read more as a fictionalized memoir than a novel. I felt the pain the narrator was going through but That was it. Was I to see a parallel with the peace conference or an arc of his recovery? It was a a long slow plod through memory and pain.
February 12, 2021
Review held pending book group discussion.
February 4, 2024
So well-written - clever, poignant, witty & thoughtful. So much is covered in this book of just over 200 pages. Despite having more than 100 books in my to-read pile I am off to buy his other novel.
March 3, 2021
A senior British diplomat chairs talks held in the Alps between two Arab delegations. His personal tragedy is slowly revealed in the course of this fine, literary novel.
December 31, 2021
Colloqui di pace di Tim Finch: romanzo riflessivo, narrativa diplomatica, un piccolo miracolo letterario.
Recensione completa su:
https://paroleombra.com/2021/12/17/co...
Recensione completa su:
https://paroleombra.com/2021/12/17/co...
November 4, 2020
I couldn't get into this book as I was not drawn into the plot and I did not find the characters interesting. I have not managed to finish it and therefore can't recommend it.
March 16, 2021
This is essentially a diplomat's letter to his departed wife. I really liked the feel of this novel, it was sad but serene.
April 20, 2021
I do not know what I was expecting when I picked this up, but I definitely was not right. I do not check up on the blurb before the actual reading once I have added a book to my TBR. This helps keep the experience novel.
It took me a chapter or two to figure out the context of what was happening. The deeper we venture into the book, the author reveals information more openly, and the character's past becomes more evident than with just the hints in the first few chapters. These are a collection of musings, one-sided conversations and the innermost speculation of a man in grief. He continues to work as a diplomat orchestrating talks between warring parties while marvelling at the futility and the charade of it all. There are some places at the beginning that my mind wandered, but later on, I had to know what the actual facts were and read faster. The man in our story is neither a good one nor a bad one by his own admission; he just is. There is a lot to unpack in the revelations that he provides. Especially when he contemplates what other people are thinking.
I almost gave up in the beginning, thinking it wasn't a book for me, but towards the end, I started to feel with Edvard and his sorrow. From start to finish, the entire book is only 200 pages, but it is a heavy volume where sometimes the slimmest of chapters can draw you out and start a discussion. Human and society's foibles are discussed at length here in a sort of futile exercise where no one can really do anything. It is not a very action-oriented book, and if a man directing his talks to someone who isn't there does not sound appealing, I do not recommend trying it. If someone is on the lookout for something different, a little darker and realistic, I would recommend giving this a shot.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.
It took me a chapter or two to figure out the context of what was happening. The deeper we venture into the book, the author reveals information more openly, and the character's past becomes more evident than with just the hints in the first few chapters. These are a collection of musings, one-sided conversations and the innermost speculation of a man in grief. He continues to work as a diplomat orchestrating talks between warring parties while marvelling at the futility and the charade of it all. There are some places at the beginning that my mind wandered, but later on, I had to know what the actual facts were and read faster. The man in our story is neither a good one nor a bad one by his own admission; he just is. There is a lot to unpack in the revelations that he provides. Especially when he contemplates what other people are thinking.
I almost gave up in the beginning, thinking it wasn't a book for me, but towards the end, I started to feel with Edvard and his sorrow. From start to finish, the entire book is only 200 pages, but it is a heavy volume where sometimes the slimmest of chapters can draw you out and start a discussion. Human and society's foibles are discussed at length here in a sort of futile exercise where no one can really do anything. It is not a very action-oriented book, and if a man directing his talks to someone who isn't there does not sound appealing, I do not recommend trying it. If someone is on the lookout for something different, a little darker and realistic, I would recommend giving this a shot.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.
April 28, 2020
Isolated in a resort high in the Austrian Tyrol, diplomat Edvard is overseeing a negotiation between two opposing sides in an unnamed conflict. As their petty disputes unfold, Edvard reflects in an inner monologue to his wife Anna. Anna is the true love of his life and anecdotes of their life together pepper the memories. However, something is wrong, Anna is no longer with Edvard and he mourns her loss greatly. She is a victim of the ongoing war between fundamental factions, the war that never seems to move forward and a war Edvard cannot help.
This is such a sad book. Firstly as Edvard muses on the nature of his work and how there are always conflicts. Then, as the book progresses, the reader learns the truth about Edvard’s life and his curtailed marriage. Finally the sad nature of Edvard’s life in the here and now, belonging nowhere and borderline alcoholic. Yet all the way through the reader is delighted by the empathetic writing and the lyrical way with description. A really fabulous book.
This is such a sad book. Firstly as Edvard muses on the nature of his work and how there are always conflicts. Then, as the book progresses, the reader learns the truth about Edvard’s life and his curtailed marriage. Finally the sad nature of Edvard’s life in the here and now, belonging nowhere and borderline alcoholic. Yet all the way through the reader is delighted by the empathetic writing and the lyrical way with description. A really fabulous book.
March 14, 2021
A narrative tour de force. A portrait of an urbane diplomat whose profession is mediation between nations or groups in conflict. The story is told in the form of his thought-conversation with his departed wife. The story, which runs simultaneously with a major peacemaking mediation between two Islamic states, is more exciting than it sounds, but I won't give away the surprises. Short, elegant and captivating.
March 29, 2021
Bravo Tim Finch for this beautifully written, beautifully conceived gem of a short novel about a diplomat chairing international peace talks as he grieves for his dead wife.
Read everything you can by this author journalist, I will.
Read everything you can by this author journalist, I will.
May 30, 2021
Thoroughly enjoyed this.
Felt that I understand and appreciated much of the mood and detailed commentary that he gave on both his professional and personal life.
Not sure the author concluded it perfectly, but that is too minor a flaw to deduct a star for.
Felt that I understand and appreciated much of the mood and detailed commentary that he gave on both his professional and personal life.
Not sure the author concluded it perfectly, but that is too minor a flaw to deduct a star for.
September 3, 2020
I was given a free copy of Peace Talks by Tim Finch -- Author, Europa Press – Publisher, and Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
Peace Talks is the first book I have by Tim Finch. I would characterize this novel as literary fiction is told in the first-person and appears to be a stream-of-conscious.
This review will not contain any spoilers.
My reading preferences slant towards genre fiction, and not literary fiction. This literary novel is the first of this type of fiction that I have read in several years.
When I started reading this novel, I thought the story would be a dramatization or a fictional account of peace negotiation process. The main character was the head of a group of facilitators who were trying to broker peace between two unidentified countries located in the Middle East. The story, then, shifted away from the negotiations and into the personal life of the main character.
The shifting seemed to be very organic and Mr. Finch does a commendable job of showcasing what the main character does as a facilitator for peace negotiations and how he has a very difficult time in his personal life due to loneliness and heavily drinking.
As I continued to read this novel, I grieved for the main character and the reason why he was lonely and may have caused the drinking. This story was a solid combination of story about the peace negotiation process and gut punch due to the main character’s personal story.
Mr. Finch wrote a compelling, emotional, and thought-provoking novel.
Peace Talks is a very solid work of fiction.
I will rate Peace Talks by Tim Finch 4.5 stars.
I would like to thank Tim Finch, Europa Press, and Net Galley for the free ARC.
Peace Talks is the first book I have by Tim Finch. I would characterize this novel as literary fiction is told in the first-person and appears to be a stream-of-conscious.
This review will not contain any spoilers.
My reading preferences slant towards genre fiction, and not literary fiction. This literary novel is the first of this type of fiction that I have read in several years.
When I started reading this novel, I thought the story would be a dramatization or a fictional account of peace negotiation process. The main character was the head of a group of facilitators who were trying to broker peace between two unidentified countries located in the Middle East. The story, then, shifted away from the negotiations and into the personal life of the main character.
The shifting seemed to be very organic and Mr. Finch does a commendable job of showcasing what the main character does as a facilitator for peace negotiations and how he has a very difficult time in his personal life due to loneliness and heavily drinking.
As I continued to read this novel, I grieved for the main character and the reason why he was lonely and may have caused the drinking. This story was a solid combination of story about the peace negotiation process and gut punch due to the main character’s personal story.
Mr. Finch wrote a compelling, emotional, and thought-provoking novel.
Peace Talks is a very solid work of fiction.
I will rate Peace Talks by Tim Finch 4.5 stars.
I would like to thank Tim Finch, Europa Press, and Net Galley for the free ARC.
May 22, 2021
An inside view of delicate diplomatic negotiations sounded like an interesting subject but this novel barely goes beyond providing an indication of the tense atmosphere. It is related by the Chairman of the talks and the Chief broker between the two sides, Edvard Behrends, but one obtains little insight into the personalities of the parties to the talks or even of Behrends’ own team. Some interest is stirred by a casual encounter with Dr Noor, the number three of one of the delegations, but this peters away as Noor is suddenly recalled and Behrends is left wondering if their encounter is the reason for this.
Although it covers a limited period, this book reads more like a memoir than a novel. Looming over Behrends is the atrocious death of his wife, actually beheaded, not by an Islamist, although of “Middle Eastern appearance”, but by “a member of a far-right British nationalist party. Not a convert to Islam, but a convert from it.” Most of the time, even when on an arranged date, Behrends is remembering his wife and their time together.
The negotiations eventually succeed and peace terms are agreed, but the reader doesn’t really understand how that comes about. Perhaps the arbitrariness of the eventual agreement, set alongside the seemingly random killing of Behrends’ psychiatrist wife, is part of the point that the author wants to make, underlining the limitations of agency.
Although it covers a limited period, this book reads more like a memoir than a novel. Looming over Behrends is the atrocious death of his wife, actually beheaded, not by an Islamist, although of “Middle Eastern appearance”, but by “a member of a far-right British nationalist party. Not a convert to Islam, but a convert from it.” Most of the time, even when on an arranged date, Behrends is remembering his wife and their time together.
The negotiations eventually succeed and peace terms are agreed, but the reader doesn’t really understand how that comes about. Perhaps the arbitrariness of the eventual agreement, set alongside the seemingly random killing of Behrends’ psychiatrist wife, is part of the point that the author wants to make, underlining the limitations of agency.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 9, 2020
This was a beautiful, heart-wrenching but warm story about coping with tragic loss and learning to live with loneliness. The narrative is a long inner monologue in the first-person, from a peace negotiator who is talking to his wife.
He tells her of his day-to-day routine of inching towards a resolution - "like a traffic jam, sitting for ages and then moving a bit in the right direction" - in an unspecified negotiation between two warring factions in a Muslim country. As the petty squabbles over blinds being up or down, orange or apple juice and Turkish Delight being shared are related, he gradually reveals the terrible tragedy in his life and the story begins to become more about his personal struggle.
There are intelligent discussions on blame and finding a reason for the tragedy. It is easy for everyone to put forward a scenario that fits their world view and interpretation. Just as it is with large scale civil wars, invasions and acts of terror.
The inner monologue - his own peace talks - help the narrator overcome his grief and anger, but not without some downsides. You are left with the feeling that he is just going to stoically endure the rest of his life on his own but is feeling at home in that skin.
He tells her of his day-to-day routine of inching towards a resolution - "like a traffic jam, sitting for ages and then moving a bit in the right direction" - in an unspecified negotiation between two warring factions in a Muslim country. As the petty squabbles over blinds being up or down, orange or apple juice and Turkish Delight being shared are related, he gradually reveals the terrible tragedy in his life and the story begins to become more about his personal struggle.
There are intelligent discussions on blame and finding a reason for the tragedy. It is easy for everyone to put forward a scenario that fits their world view and interpretation. Just as it is with large scale civil wars, invasions and acts of terror.
The inner monologue - his own peace talks - help the narrator overcome his grief and anger, but not without some downsides. You are left with the feeling that he is just going to stoically endure the rest of his life on his own but is feeling at home in that skin.
October 6, 2021
This was a beautiful read. The protagonist is a renowned peace negotiator, and we meet him when he is mediating a peace deal between two warring countries. He is also mediating his grief, having lost his wife (tragically, as we learn later). The ‘story’ is an ongoing conversation with an absent spouse. He walks her through the triumphs and disasters of the talks, what he’s having for lunch, his intricate social interactions and his hotel-room. Nothing is too minute or too complex to be shared with her and he speculates what her reactions would be, allowing us to also get to know her. He also tries hard not to sentimentalize her in death, as most tend to do, but to keep her and their marriage ‘real’. “So yes, I have been guilty of painting you, of memorializing you, and – as time has gone on – even remembering you, in softer tones than were true to the lived experience. With its more barbed edges. With you in the room. Who did nag and irritate. Who at times I couldn’t stand…. It may seem strange, but it is the memory of such exchanges that tears most keenly at my heart…You could be a bloody difficult woman…but it is that woman – you – I miss the most.”
Started reading for the peace talks, stayed for the love story. #yearofreadingdangerously
Started reading for the peace talks, stayed for the love story. #yearofreadingdangerously
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 8, 2021
Peace Talks is set up like a set of letters or communication to the narrator's wife. Our narrator, Edvard, serves as a mediator in peace negotiations between two unnamed Middle-Eastern countries. He reflects on how they work towards peace - small steps, back and forward, getting past hurts both intentional and unintentional, trying to find common ground - often all with an end goal of just getting back to where you were at before a particular conflict or incident. In these letters to his wife, you get elements of his work as a mediator mixed with what is essentially the story of his marriage and the tragedy that you find out has impacted it. As this part of the story unfolds, you also get a sense that Edvard is navigating through his own peace talks - trying to find a way to make sense of something, to embrace what is good and wonderful, to work through old slights or conflicts, reflecting on differences. By the end, the themes of grief, forgiveness, and finding a way forward weave together.
There is much about this that is beautiful - at times, though, the writing feels like it could have been simplified some for greater impact.
There is much about this that is beautiful - at times, though, the writing feels like it could have been simplified some for greater impact.
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