Customer Reviews

Savarona

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The CIA justifiably provides most of the heroes (and villains!) for the international thriller genre, but who says America's diplomats can't join in the fun? In this lively, engaging, and highly plausible novel, Mr. Hart shows that life is not just one endless cocktail party for the men and women who staff U.S. embassies around the world. Protagonist George McCall already has more than enough personal and professional problems to deal with when he is unwillingly drawn into a web of intrigue involving Kurdish terrorists, the CIA (yes, they're here, too!), powerful U.S. congressmen, and his all-too-human Turkish and American colleagues from the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. Like any good Hitchcock hero, McCall is utterly overwhelmed at first, but slowly discovers hidden reserves of courage and cunning to rise to the challenge. Mr. Hart employs several unusual narrative perspectives to spin a story that could have been plucked from yesterday's (or tomorrow's) headlines. Finally, Hart draws on his own experiences as a U.S. Foreign Service Officer to paint a vivid, "warts and all" portrait of America's diplomats at work overseas, one instantly recognizable to anyone who has ever worked in an embassy or consulate.

In a negative review of one Foreign Service-themed novel a few years back, I wrote that the search for the great Foreign Service novel goes on. Well, I agree with Morris - if SAVARONA isn't the great Foreign Service novel, it comes very close.

J. Patrick Hart is a fellow FSO and a compelling writer -- and his novel gets things right. His character Winston Craine is the classic dead-end loser, passed from one unlucky post to another. At the other end of the spectrum, the Consul General and the Ambassador -- like the best senior career FSOs and the best political appointees -- are capable, tough, and not ones to suffer fools gladly. In the middle: our man George, his peers, and his non-uncommon angst - unsure why he has chosen this life, but unable to give it up. The visa process (described accurately, at least for the 1990s), the troubles American travelers get into overseas, the relationship between transient FSOs and permanent local employees (FSNs), the situation of being dropped into an alien culture, saddled with responsibility and having to work with peers one knows only superficially - it's all true. I recognized a lot in these pages from my years with the State Department.

This is also a great story about Turkey, without clichés - indeed, on the first page, Hart sets up a pseudo-profound cliché, then mocks it. Whether it's Ataturk, Turkey's public image, the multiple levels in Turkish society, the grandeur of Aya Sofia, the good, the nasty, or the burden of "too much history," Hart creates a deep and complex portrait of the country. He captures the rhythm of Istanbul, that greatest of cities, and gives it to the reader bit by bit, integrated into the story. I did find the multiple narratives a little confusing, initially, but soon got used to them.

I actually know "J. Patrick Hart" slightly. SAVARONA is fiction, but he's real. He deserves our thanks not just for this compelling novel but for the work he does every day for America.

There has been a lot of talk about this book -- mostly its perspective on mental illness and vivid portrayal of exotic Istanbul. But what interested me most was the way "Savarona" casually peeled back the skin of the U.S. Foreign Service for an unflinching, inside look. This is as much an expose' as it is a literary thriller. Although J. Patrick Hart (the pseudonym of a real diplomat who obviously wants to stay anonymous) insists it's all fiction, somehow I have my doubts -- every word and mannerism just rings too true. I would have given "Savarona" the full five stars if not for the somewhat confusing first few chapters. Hart's use of multiple narrative perspectives is a challenge at first, but once you figure it out the book really hums. I realize this novel has already found a wider audience, but for those searching specifically for the Great Foreign Service Novel, search no more.

The enthusiastic reviews have got it right about "Savarona". But there is this to be said for the lone dissenter. "Savarona" may not be every reader's cup of chi. Devotees of, in particular, drugstore thrillers and Harlequin Romances may well find the prose style, characterizations and plotline of this novel "mediocre" in comparison with their customary fare.

On the other hand, readers whose comfort level embraces Graham Green and John le Carré as readily as Tom Clancy and Nora Roberts are quite likely to find "Savarona" a stylistically enjoyable -and profitable - experience.

The author's cold-eyed, insider's depiction of diplomatic life, Turkey's turbulence, and the non-glamorous conduct of foreign affairs in the age of terrorism is the genuine picture rarely available to non- practitioners. But though the richness of unsentimental knowledge he shares is undistorted by his obvious affection for the country, its people and language, there is clearly a wealth of tenderness beneath his honesty. He has obviously made it his business to get to know all three very well indeed.

Well-drawn characters and the decidedly un-Hollywood plausibility of its exploration of domestic terrorism drive the story. So the reader painlessly absorbs rich insights into the contemporary turmoil swirling around Kurdish separatism and radical Islamism, against the conflicted backdrop of the bloody legacy of the Ottoman Empire and the secularist legacy of modern Turkey's foundation.

That said, however, its emphasis on the inner self differentiates the novel from the typical international thriller and inclines the author toward the orbit of the genre's heavy-hitters. For "Savarona" deftly surveys the interior landscapes familiar to fans of Green and le Carré characters similarly engaged in the vagaries of overseas government service. Meanwhile, the author's disturbingly vivid depiction of psychotic episodes evokes such younger established writers as Bret Easton Ellis and Alex Garland, as well as - unexpectedly -Martin Scorcese's account of his taxi driver's descent into madness, especially the film's ironic denouement.

Altogether a mighty impressive piece of work - the more so for a first time at bat!

PS: A final heads-up. Readers who have a tough time following "Savarona's" time and perspective shifts will most assuredly find, say, le Carré's "A Perfect Spy" a merry little hell to navigate. But no less well worth the effort.

Working at the State Department, I'd heard about "Savarona" and decided to give it a read, wondering if the policy wonks I work with everyday could actually come up with a book I'd find entertaining. I was pleasantly surprised to find out they could. Vividly written, "Savarona" makes you feel like you're racing around Istanbul with its cast of off-kilter characters. It is intricately structured, witty and creative and had me on the edge of my seat multiple times, anxious to know what would happen next. Entertaining plot and characters aside, it educates with frank, sometimes critical, commentary on the Foreign Service and gives the reader a glimpse into the challenges these men and women face overseas every day. I'd recommend it to any one, and particularly to those interested in pursuing the Foreign Service. Let's hope Mr. Hart's future assignments allow him some time to write again!

Reading the other reviews, one would think this was one of the greatest novels ever written. It was based on these reviews, along with an interest in the the Foreign Service, that I chose to purchase and read this book. The writing is mediocre at best, and could have used a good editor to point out some of the problem areas, one of which is the annoying switch from third-person to first-person occasionally within the story which is difficult for a seasoned author to pull off and which this author is unable to make these transitions successfully.

I believe the concept is good, international thrillers can be fun when well thought out, but it takes over half the book just to introduce the numerous characters. Bear in mind that the book is not that long to begin with! I'll grant that there are some interesting character descriptions, and Istanbul does come alive in this book which is why it gets 3 instead of 2 stars. However, the long build up to any kind of interesting plot developments and the 3rd to 1st person transitions (within the same chapter) makes it a chore to complete.

If you are interested in the inner workings of consular offices of the Foreign Service, this might interest you. If you are looking for a good international thriller, pass on this one or you will regret the $19.99 spent on this very mediocre paperback.

Foreign service. Profound mental illness. Political extremism. In "Savarona", J. Patrick Hart weaves experiences of unique, complex, yet very human, individuals into a rich and lovely Turkish tapestry, knotting each strand of the tale so we do not have to contend with frayed or dangling threads at the end. Particularly compelling is Hart's treatment of the psychotic mind as it careens on a runaway roller coaster from lucidity to delusion, blurring what we can only wish were comfortable and distinct lines between sanity and insanity in the process. Often, as I read the increasingly ranting insights of the character Bill, I had to put the book down and remind myself this is a work of fiction.

"Savarona" gave me a genuine appreciation of the sticky issues confronted by dedicated consular officers around the world as they determine who may and may not legally enter the United States. Under intense pressure, these men and women make decisions that strike a careful balance between our nation's desire to welcome visitors into our borders and our need to protect our national interests. If I ever thought I could do their job, this book taught me that I do not have the constitution for the occupation. This page-turner will be a treat for adventurers; current or prospective Foreign Service officers; and travelers wishing a glimpse of Turkey's geography, history, culture and the thorny political issues that remain in this country on the Europe-Asia fault line.

Okay, this book has a few flaws, but on balance I think it's a great novel. The setting of Istanbul is incredible -- so vivid that the city itself becomes the main character. Where the novel falls short, just a little, is in its structure -- the changing narratives are initially confusing, but work themselves out after a while. If you're looking for fast-paced pulp, you may want to keep looking. This isn't Tom Clancy (thank God). It's more like Graham Greene, with spies and diplomats that come from the real world. Also, it's got a subtle black humor that won't let go. Very unusual, worth reading.

I agree with this guys ex-wife. He can't do anything right.
Hope he wasn't as bad a diplomat as he is an author. Maybe he should go back to bartending. The old adage that "If you don't know a subject teach a course about, if you still don't know write a book about it" totally failed here! It was a total waste of time and money.