Review: Four decades in one book
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 16, 2014
This is a brave, broad brush-stroke novel, encompassing four decades over several continents. The story starts in India, where a young governess makes a spur of the moment decision to abduct a child. Thereby, little Leo Kazan is robbed of his heritage and his parents, and through a number of events ends up in a British run orphanage in Bombay.Leo is the protagonist of the novel, and we watch him grow from a young child to an adept young man, with an impressive ear for languages and an equally impressive sleuth of hand. Little Leo is a magpie, stealing anything bright and shiny. As he grows, this habit of his persists, and Leo amazes a fortune in stolen jewels, his prize catch being the Empress Emerald, a jewel that vaguely resembles the defunct Queen Victoria.Leo has been trained as a spy by his British protectors, and, rather ironically given that his birth father is Russian, is sent to spy in Russia just as the Bolsheviks take power. But prior to that, Leo has lived for some time in London, where he meets Davina, the first person he spends time with because he wants to, not because he hopes to get something out of it.Happy young love is not the theme of this novel, so Davina and Leo are separated, he to do his spy thing, she to face the disgrace of being pregnant (by Leo). From England, Davina is sent as a reluctant bride to Spain. Leo on the other hand, marries a sweet woman but does not really love her – not until she is murdered and he realises what he has lost.How this story ends, I will leave for the readers to discover for themselves. I personally liked it.Ms Harlond paints very vivid pictures for her readers. Grass swishes, dew glitters, ducks natter and leopards stalk. On top of that, she definitely has her facts straight, guiding a newbie like myself through the maze of political instability in India at the beginning of the 20th century, including a generous amount of details that definitely make me feel I am there, in India. Spain in the initial throes of Civil War is also well-described, as are Leo’s adventures in Russia.Given the span of the novel, time-leaps are at times very long and rather abrupt, and while I understand why the author has to do this (otherwise the novel would have been a behemoth) it does detract from my reading experience – as do the frequent POV slips. Likewise, I remain confused as to why the young governess chose to abduct Leo, even more as to why her father didn’t insist the child be returned to his parents.All in all, though, this is a great read. Leo Kazan is a character that will remain alive in my head for a long time, and I can’t but hope that he finds plenty of happiness down the line. Silly, right? After all, Leo doesn’t even exist!