Customer Reviews

Tamar: A Novel of Espionage, Passion, and Betrayal

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Tamar and Dart are spies who parachute into Nazi-occupied Netherlands during the "Hunger Winter" of 1944. Tamar's mission is to convince Dutch resistance groups to unify under the authority of the British government. Dart is his wireless operator, at a time when a WO's life expectancy in the field is just a few months. Tamar is undercover as a farm laborer sent home from Nazi work camps due to broken health. Dart is disguised as a doctor in residence at a sanatorium. They communicate only with the help of local resistance members, any of whom could be Nazi spies.

Very little information is given about the characters beyond their duties as spies. Both are Dutch, but it is never revealed how they came to be recruited by the British or what their lives were like before they were spies. It is almost as though their choice to become spies has erased all other sense of identity. They have no past and no future beyond their present mission, even as personal feelings begin to color their relationships to one another and the organization they serve.

Approximately 50 years later, a teen girl, also named Tamar, inherits a mysterious box from her grandfather. She and her cousin Yoyo take a trip into the British countryside seeking the origins of the Tamar river and the answer to a family secret that has remained hidden for generations. The two stories dovetail in a compelling novel about the legacy of a world at war, binding people across borders and generations.

World War II happened so long ago that it is beginning to pass from memory into history. The world of TAMAR's spies is so different from our own that it might as well be an imaginary world. The secret hiding places, archaic communications like Morse code, and extreme precautions like cyanide pills add to a sense of a vanished and exotic world. It is also a period that has been fetishized over the years by many fictional portrayals. Instead of making history seem more immediate, the many movies and novels about the period can serve to make it seem less real, more a Hollywood invention than actual events impacting the lives of millions. Nazis have become stock characters, as recognizable in their uniforms with stiff marching and salutes as the villain in swirling cape and twirling mustache was in melodramas long ago. It would be easy to write another novel about the atrocities of the war without adding anything new to the literature.

Mal Peet avoids cliche through his vividly detailed recreation of The Netherlands in the winter of 1944. He writes about a population being starved into submission by their Nazi occupiers, forcing "hunger trippers" to walk miles into the country in search of food. He writes about silken code sheets that can be packed into a tiny capsule and swallowed in case of capture, and about wireless operators on amphetamines trying to stay alert through stifling boredom and constant fear.

Best of all, the author refuses to oversimplify the conflict into good vs. evil. Most of the trouble in the novel relates to the competing agendas between different factions of the resistance, and misunderstandings between individuals who are supposed to be fighting on the same side. Nazis aren't the only enemy. The novel's protagonists also battle against fear, boredom, isolation, starvation, mistrust, substance abuse and nerves stretched to a breaking point.

The level of detail in the book, invoking a specific time and place, as well as the moral complexity required of its characters in a world where the self-interest of survival is stronger than any code of honor, distinguish TAMAR in a sea of novels about World War II. Mal Peet finds the perfect balance between thrilling adventure and serious history without relying on stock characters or sentimentality. TAMAR is not the first novel to be written about spies during WWII, but it is one of the few written for a young adult audience and is one of the best novels on the subject for readers of any age.

--- Reviewed by Sarah A. Wood

This novel tells the moving and often sad story of two generations of people impacted by the horrors of WWII. I loved the dual storyline and getting to know characters during two different time periods. (Young Tamar is a great narrator during the 1990's--she captures both the innoncence and hopfulness of youth.) The book is complex and simple at the same time, much like human nature. It makes you think about how difficult it is to live in the presence of enemies, both internal and external. The story had interesting detail about Dutch life during the War. Life for the WWII characters is so very hard- I realize I have never faced such difficult circumstances. Don't let this deter you from reading- I found myself comforted by the small joys and happiness that Dart, Tamar, and the Maartens manage to create.

I quickly grew attached to most of the primary characters, especially both Tamars. Dart was more difficult to like, but I appreciated the risky job he had and the toll it took on his personality and reasoning. The plot took a few unexpected turns as I read it, reminding me that first impressions and assumptions aren't always correct. The novel presented a few suprises along the way.

I suggest anyone with interest in history-based fiction read this book. Most of the WWII stories I have read focus on the Jewish experience in Holland. I felt like I learned a great deal about the Resistance and the Winter of Starvation.

I was sucked in by the first line:

"In the end, it was her grandfather, William Hyde, who gave the unborn child her name. He was serious about names; he'd had several himself."

One day, out of the blue, William Hyde asks his son to name his daughter Tamar. He explains that when he was a Dutch resistance fighter working for the British during WWII, their code names were taken from rivers in England. His son assumes it was his father's code name and agrees to name her Tamar.

After this brief introduction, the story jumps back in time to follow two young Dutch secret agents, code names Dart and Tamar. The two friends parachute into the occupied Netherlands in the dead of night. Tamar is charged with organizing the fragmented resistance efforts. Dart is his wireless operator. When they arrive, Tamar finds he is based out of the farm where a young woman named Marijke lives. It turns out the two met and fell in love a year ago but never thought they'd see each other again after Tamar was sent back to England. As they rekindle their romance amid the terror and starvation gripping the country, Dart is not so lucky. Based out of an insane asylum, he poses as a doctor, making trip after treacherous trip into town to relay encrypted messages and receive directions from headquarters in England. The events that overtake these two friends combine to create a web of deception and anger that reaches out to cover three generations.

This story is bleak. The focus is on the horrors of war and what they do to the men and women involved, the indelible mark left on their lives long after the guns are silenced and the violence is over. In the WWII chapters, the writing is coolly objective. It is impossible not to sympathize with Dart and Tamar and Marijke, though it is difficult to really feel like you know them. The war obscures everything. However, their story is broken up periodically by excerpts from the future. A future in which William Hyde dies suddenly, leaving a box of strange items to his granddaughter Tamar. Tamar's father disappeared years ago, her grandmother is in a home for the elderly, and her mother knows next to nothing about the family history. With the help of her quirky "cousin" (but not really) Yoyo, Tamar sets out on a journey to the river that shares her name to discover why and what her grandfather left her. These chapters are told in first person and come across a bit warmer than the rest of the tale. They show up more frequently as the novel comes closer to its conclusion and, I admit, I would have liked a few more of these present-day chapters throughout the book. Nevertheless, it is a harrowing and fascinating read. I wanted to understand the characters and their motives. I wanted Tamar to understand. In the end, Mal Peet leaves it up to the reader to determine which of them deserves forgiveness and which of them achieve peace.

I realized my review is coming years after this wonderful book's release, but I wanted to say how much I enjoyed it. Enough to use it in a book group I conduct. My heart was pounding from the start as I anticipated the men parachuting into Holland during World War II. The love story, the competition between underground factions as well as the competition between the two young men were well handled and riveting.

The details about the horrors the Dutch endured under the Nazi occupation educated me about something I never knew.

I believe Peet's handling of the material is well-suited for both adults and young people.

Well done!

Gold Star Award Winner!

In 1944, two spies are sent deep within Nazi-occupied Holland. Their mission - to help those involved with the Dutch resistance movement. Both men are trained to send, receive, and translate coded messages. These messages contain valuable information concerning the movements of the Nazi army. Even though these men face death at every turn, they are committed to stopping the evil that is associated with the Nazi regime.

In 1995, Tamar is dealing with the suicide of her grandfather. He has left Tamar a box full of clues that she cannot decipher. She decides that it is one of his elaborate puzzles; one that Tamar may not be able to solve. After enlisting the help of her cousin, Yoyo, Tamar sets off on a journey to discover why her grandfather left her these treasures, and what they mean to her family.

Mal Peet has created a novel that intertwines the story of a young girl's journey of self-discovery and a young soldier's fight to stay alive. It is a beautifully written novel that contains secrets within secrets. Peet leads the reader on an adventure that is both intriguing and frightening. Readers may be left speechless once the truth unfolds.

A definite must-read for those who love historical fiction.

Reviewed by: LadyJay

Even though Tamar is considered YA, it really is for adults, too. I couldn't put it down.

The main character Tamar is a Dutch spy during WWII. We don't know too much about him, but details slowly unfold in this beautifully crafted story. The details of the plot make you feel what it must have been like during those freezing winters, where starvation was sometimes more likely than survival.

Time shifts to 1995 London, where we meet another Tamar. Her grandfather fought in WWII, and he gave her the name Tamar. Young Tamar discovers who her grandfather was and what his connection to the spy Tamar was. All if this unfolds in the story-- no spoilers from me.

This is one of my all-time favorite books. The plot, dialogue, setting, characters, and history combine into a fabulous book. Definitely worth your time.

The book takes your interest almost from the very first page. The descriptions are very portraying. When reading the book, the author gives you the feeling as if you are taking part in the whole story. The way that Mal Peet lets you enter the mind and the feelings of Tamar is really impressive.

The book is also very well structured. Being a very mathematically oriented person, of course I like structure. But that is not what I mean. Mal Peet has taken structure one step further. He uses chapters to jump between present, recent past and far past. He also uses those chapters to unfold gradually the plot of the story. Fortunately, he's doing it in such a way that the tension grows to the very end of the book. So, it's only at the very end that, as a reader, you finally see how all the bits and pieces fit together.

Finally, when I first read the title I thought: "well designed title, so that the book will sell better". After reading the book, I have to say that the title covers the content of the book very well. So, it's not just a title to sell.

I inhaled this. It was very difficult to put down, and it is 424 pages.
In 1995, 15 year old Tamar's grandfather's suicide bewilders her, as does the bewildering collection of things that he has left her in his apartment. There is a mystery, she knows, and her grandfather loved puzzles, as does she. Her father, his son, has disappeared, and she talks a distant relative into helping her solve the mystery--which is related to the other part of the story, that of two undercover operatives who parachute into the Nazi-occupied Netherlands late in 1944 and encounter both the starving winter and an array of plots, relationships and dangers. A compelling story, this sticks with you.

Interesting spy story of life during World War II behind enemy lines. A unique premise...the book is told in flash backs...buy a young woman who is the granddaughter of the characters in the war. An odd twist of an ending explains much of the behaviors throughout the story.

Tamar is a well written story, well paced and rich with detail. The characters are clearly drawn and realistic. The reason for 4 stars and not five is that, toward the end of the novel, one of the characters seems to have knowledge which she should not have. She was not an eye-witness to the incident, coming upon the scene after it was finished. She should have no knowledge of this crucial occurance. Other than this, a fabulous story.