Joined in 2023 
82 
63 About this deal
This fatal (blame everything on the Russians!) flaw really started to twist my melons, as I think the author is egregiously trying to make a point about Putin and the Russia of today! There’s money in there. The same as last time. You’ll recognise my uncle’s handwriting. His memory failed him when it came to Lithuanians who joined the SS, but he was good on other nationalities. I want you to confirm all the names he wrote down and add as many others as you can…every name you add helps keep yours off the list.”
If I were to have any slight criticisms against this book they would be that sometimes the chapters jump around time periods and locations slightly too frequently (and that some may find it hard to keep up) however it does not detract from the main story. Additionally, I wish that Michael and Yulia were given slightly more time toDe partizaan suist in een jachtig tempo, springt doordacht tussen tijdperken en oorlogsgebieden. Om meteen te herlezen. True, there were some good female characters who played pivotal roles without taking over everything as sometimes happens when people misinterpret what a 'strong' female character is, but a lot of the rest wasn't fantastic. In the Soviet Union, if you get tired of reality, a new one will come along and replace it. Every new leader ushers in a glorious new past.’ The author also adds to the near confusion by starting a chapter with a previously unmentioned event and then proceeds to explain said event as the chapter moves on, so it eventually does become relatively clear as to what's going on!
This book was a completely unexpected find at the bookstore window shelf in Durham. The last copy in that store.There is an interesting sub-story in which one of the USSR official recalls his time fighting in the Spanish Civil War, helping to set the scene for the book's climax. Once Greta took the girls, Vita and Riva, foraging for mushrooms in the deep woods. Just to show them which were poisonous and which were good to eat. She knew what to look out for: a blue stain in the flesh, pink gills, or a white ‘skirt’ halfway down the stalk. Two young prodigies from either side of the Iron Curtain, Yulia and Michael, meet at a chess tournament in London. They don't know it, but they are about to compete in the deadliest game ever played. Shadowing them is Greta, a ruthless resistance fighter who grew up the hard way in the forests of Lithuania, but who is now hunting down some of the most dangerous men in the world. Men who are also on the radar Of Vassily, perhaps the Soviet Unions greatest spymaster, A man of cunning and influence. A dazzlingly confident debut...marks the advent of a real talent' ( Sunday Times). Compelling, intricate and epic in scope, The Partisan is a virtuoso WW2/Cold War thriller with a difference.
Zelf ben ik absoluut géén fan van oorlogsverhalen, maar De Partizaan heeft me van mijn sokken geblazen. Wat een indrukwekkende plot. Uiteraard heb ik de kern van het verhaal opgezocht met bibberende benen. Stel je voor dat dit écht een plan was… The story starts with the meeting of two young people. Yulia Forsheva, daughter of Sergei, a scientist and technologist and Anna, a powerful member of the Politburo first meets Michael, son of Sir Stephen Fitzgerald, British Director of Naval Intelligence at a chess competition in 1961. They fall in love and plan to meet again at the Chess Finals to be held in East Germany. There Michael meets Vassily, a clever and powerful Soviet spy, who is there to protect Yulia. However, he turns a blind eye so that Yulia can sneak out with Michael for an evening together. Thus, Michael has become an important pawn in a complex game of chess orchestrated by Vassily, designed to thwart Karpov’s plans for Europe. With the chess board populated with Karpov, Greta, Yulia’s parents, Michael’s father, a Cambridge academic and a cast of thugs and spies, the endgame will be played out in a stunning final showdown in Valencia. I got this book right when Waterstones had it for sale, a bit earlier than elsewhere. It had sounded quite promising with strong female characters, espionage, chess and international politics set during the WWII and Cold War eras.If I were to have any slight criticisms against this book they would be that sometimes the chapters jump around time periods and locations slightly too frequently (and that some may find it hard to keep up) however it does not detract from the main story. Additionally, I wish that Michael and Yulia were given slightly more time to develop as characters however this is not a major criticism as they still worked well in the way that they were written. If Sergei had something big and he’s taken it to one of the capitalist countries, we’ve got a problem. Like suddenly the machine isn’t playing with chess pieces, it’s playing with Germany and Poland. Figuring out all the moves. What chance would our senile generals have against that?’” Lingering notes: I read this during the first few days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine with the obvious undertones of USSR reunification. As The Partisan is somewhat centred on the issue of the Soviets' 'mistreatment' of Lithuanians and also one person's mission to right the wrong of war crimes, I couldn't help thinking that these two plot lines would've been better told in separate books. Each story would've made an excellent read on its own. Combining them seemed contrived and unnecessarily complicated this one story. I still highly recommend it though. Chapters move between the years and places and people. I could have used a good cast of characters to refer to and some maps. These were complicated times with Soviets on the side of the Allies, fighting Nazis, but just as viciously dangerous, with the secrecy and prison camps and gulags for which they were known. The Cold War as a game of chess. You don’t need to know anything about how chess is played or how players sacrifice pieces to gain an advantage. That’s because you will see in real time how the Cold War players sacrifice their real players when necessary. The powers-that-be may even say Sorry, but you know why you have to go. You play the game, you take your chances.
It is the summer of 1961 and the brutal Cold War between East and West is becoming ever more perilous. Maar door de spanning in het verhaal bleef het me wel steeds prikkelen om terug verder te willen lezen. Tijd zal ook wel tegen gewerkt hebben, zodat ik het verhaal niet snel genoeg kon verwerken. Daarom maakte ik de keuze om hem verder te beluisteren, in plaats van het boek verder te lezen. Hierdoor kon ik andere huishoudelijke taken wat aangenamer maken en kon ik gelijktijdig wat binnenkwam ook beter opnemen. Immersive, intriguing, and intelligent - incredibly impressive, up there with the best in the genre' Lee Child In his current position, Karpov has plans for Europe. Vassily has plans to thwart him, while Greta plans to destroy him. Yulia’s parents will also be caught up in this plot, as will Michael’s father. Although the plot is extremely complicated and requires some patience initially, Worrall skillfully and methodically weaves his different threads into an engaging whole brought together in a succession of breathtaking finales in Sweden, London, and Spain. As the parallel narratives in 1961 and 1944 come to violent ends and Worrall gives some unexpected final twists, the novel’s second half is very gripping. Like Tom Bradby’s novel Yesterday’s Spy, The Partisan is intriguing and accurately depicts several historical events. It’s also a true portrayal of the horrors and brutality of war and the Soviet Union during the cold war.
Retailers:
But unfortunately, this style, added to the constant chopping and changing time line and geography, does lend itself to discomfiture and leaves one feeling a little perplexed. There is tenderness and youthfulness romance in the chess parts of the story. An English boy named Michael meets a Russian damsel named Yulia during a tournament in London. Yulia is the daughter of Sergei, a person important to the government with military secrets. Her mother, Anna, was among the first women to join Politburo, so Yulia is keenly guided throughout. If she needs to attend a chess tournament, she is often escorted by two masculine men who also sleep in her suite at the hotel. In 2004, ‘Greta’ is relating aspects of her life during World War II to Indrė Žukauskienė. Now elderly, Greta had been a resistance fighter. She, and two Jewish girls Riva and Vita, had hidden in the Lithuanian forests. Greta sought to avenge their deaths at the hands of German Nazis and has pursued and eliminated Nazis ever since. But Greta is also hunting an influential, elusive Russian she failed to kill during the war. Maxim Karpov, now holding a senior position in the Kremlin, was responsible for killing an entire village of Lithuanians whom he suspected of aiding the partisans. It takes a while for Worrall to get all of his pieces onto the board but once he does the plot plays out like a game of chess. There are moves and counter moves, sacrifices and long term plays. While young lovers Michael and Yulia are in the middle of the action they are more pawns in the hands of much more powerful players. Worrall weaves the pasts of all of the main characters into the narrative, leading to some clever last minute reveals.
Great Deal 
New Comment