A Maxim Jakubowski selected title.
An epic, ambitious novel by the prominent Cuban thriller writer Leonardo Padura which brings back his eponymous hero Mario Conde but also delivers so much more to the table. Beginning with the arrival on a fated boat of a Jewish family, fleeing the coming cloud of WW2, in Havana in the 1930s only to be turned back until an illegal deal is struck involving a rare Rembrandt painting of the head of Christ, the tale conflagrates in a variety of directions. The child of the family ends growing up in Cuba and many decades later engages Conde to investigate the fate of the painting. A sweeping tale of the Jewish diaspora and customs, the history of art and Amsterdam in the 17th century as well as an impeccable thriller, this is writing at top notch level combining a wealth of fascinating information and details that blend in seamlessly with the narrative where the whole ends up more striking than the individual elements. Long but eminently rewarding. ~ Maxim Jakubowski
| Primary Genre | Crime and Mystery |
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