Customer Reviews

Garcia's Heart: A Novel (Thomas Dunne Books)

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My wife picked this up for me in a dollar store. She leafed through it and thought I would like it. Like it? I loved it. What a wonderful book. You'll be drawn in to it like iron filings to a magnet. What a talented writer and what a fascinating story! I don't think my wife ever got a better bargain. I'm so happy she bought it for me. "Keep on keeping on" Liam Durcan!

The first thing I was stunned by when I started reading this first work by Liam Durcan was the precision in the style of writing and the structure of the novel. His character development is compelling and his use of symbolism is not overapplied (although some are a little obvious). I imagine this novel would be categorized as a thriller, but the most fascinating aspect is the psychological impact of the events on the main character.

Duncan is clearly making parallels to the treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib. The refreshing part is that his treatment is not heavyhanded. There is moralizing, but it is of the self-examining type.

This is a very strong effort by a new writer. I highly recommend.

Liam Durcan takes the reader into the head of Patrick Lazerenko, the graffiti artist teen, the young doctor and the neuroscientist working to help Globomart (the world's largest retailer) read the minds of its customers. With extensive references to Montreal's NDG area, Den Haag and loaded with medical facts, this book continually peaked my interest, keeping me online looking at maps and information to fill in the voids in my knowledge. What a treat to be entertained and motivated to learn at the same time.

The character development is captivating. Masterfully crafted, the twists in the book could be anticipated in retrospect, but the magic of the author is that they never are. A good solid read, "Garcia's Heart" will have me eagerly searching for more work from this author.

In Montreal teenage Patrick Lazerenko was just another aimless street punk until he was caught vandalizing the Bodega owned by immigrant, Hernan García. However, Patrick got off soft as he is allowed to work off the damage he caused. He becomes part of the Garcia family and considers Hernan as a father figure. In fact it is Hernan's illegal practice helping Central American immigrants with health issues that inspires Patrick to attend medical school and become a doctor.

Decades later, Hernan is exposed as the Angel of Lepaterique, who was part of a CIA sponsored group that tortured Hondurans during the Reagan era. Hernan is brought to The Hague to stand trial as a war criminal accused of abetting detainee torture. Unable to ignore his mentor in trouble and needing to know the truth, Patrick travels to Europe unable to reconcile the man who saved him and gave so much to immigrants in Montreal with the person who could be part of a group torturing dissidents.

Patrick holds together this superb contemporary character study as readers observe his myriad of emotions as his hero whom he placed on a pedestal crumbles to the ground. On the one hand he wants Hernan to be exonerated, but also begins to believe his mentor did the nasty deeds. Complicating his feelings towards his father figure is seeing his former lover Hernan's daughter Celia with in your face references that imply war crime trials for those in charge and participating at Abu Ghraib and Guantomino is appropriate.

Harriet Klausner

This book has all the great elements - political backdrop, foreign settings, courtroom drama, mystery and very well developed characters. I was caught up in the dilemma that Lazarenko faced and found myself re-reading portions of the book to make sure I had savored every detail. A smart read and compelling in its humanity. The contrast between perception and reality closely examined, yet never quite resolved.