A thriller about the last major crisis of the Cold War finds American and British intelligence officers involved in romance and murder as U.S., British, German, and Russian diplomats secretly meet to contend for the fate of Europe.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
This Cold War thriller strives for a lean, elliptical effect but, unfortunately, bleeds into dullness and occasional incomprehensibility. Buchan (A Parish of Rich Women) tells the history of a diplomatic initiative?called The Golden Plough after the remote inn where it's hatched?begun in 1983, and he relies on the reader having extensive knowledge of German politics in that period. Narrator Richard Fisher is a paunchy, middle-aged British spy who often finds himself aiding leftist German politician Sebastian Ritter, who appears to have an inside track for cobbling together a ruling coalition in the upcoming Bundestag elections. A deployment of midrange nuclear missiles in Europe by the Soviet Union sends the NATO nations into a tizzy, and venerable American Cold Warrior Jack Polk flies to Geneva to straighten things out. In the course of arranging a meeting between Polk and Ritter, Fisher falls for American operative Polina Mertz, who accompanies Polk. Polina?a typical "dangerous" woman, who is more intelligent and manipulative than our hero?has somehow figured out that the Soviet Union will collapse unless it's given a graceful way to exit the arms race, and that the subsequent unification of Germany would be much more destabilizing to world peace. If you follow her logic, it appears that the Americans and the British must, paradoxically, help the Russians at all costs. But, because Buchan plays with the chronology to the point where occasional footnotes (and scorecards) are necessary to keep everything straight, little is as it appears to be; and no plot line is allowed to roll unimpeded long enough to gather momentum or tension.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
This provocative thriller, an uncompromisingly literate spy novel, is centered in Bonn--around 1983, prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union--and features sharply rendered characters, including Richard Fisher, an agent for the British government passing himself off as a writer and historian, and former Wall Street banker Polina Mertz, the undercover U.S. operative who captivates him. Both are players in a complex web of political intrigue that turns upon the drive to push through an arms control agreement dubbed the "golden plough." Twisting along its startling course, Buchan's riveting tale should prove as mesmerizing to fans of the genre as Polina's destructive and formidable powers prove, in the end, to be for Richard. Alice Joyce
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Reader, get to work!,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Golden Plough: A Novel (Hardcover)
James Buchan is a master at depicting the fractured nature of life and consciousness. Bits and pieces are brought together but never seem to illustrate a complete picture. This book is ostensibly about some back channel negotiations surrounding an Arms control conference. Buchan uses this story to examine one man's mind (an intelligence operative) as he tries to get his mind around European history, his personal history, and his heart. The reason I titled this essay "Get to work" is because the reader must pay attention. A great writer is showing you something so don't take your eyes off the text. Not just a story but a taste from the river that is history and one man's consciousness. A book for grown ups. Thank you.
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