Zeeland, Or, Elective Concurrences: A Novel
Some 150 years ago, Dickens taught us the fictional  possibilities of coincidence; here, Koning gives us a potent  refresher. This is the dual story of World War II soldier  Michael Beauchamp, an American serving the British, and his  grandfather, Michel Beauchamp, a publisher of Communard tracts  in the 1870s. Synchronicity is everywhere, with Michael's  imprisonment, escape from a Nazi camp, edgy, furtive treks  across Europe, and attempts to find and refind the love of his  life neatly paralleling Michel's flight from Paris, edgy,  furtive treks across Europe, imprisonment, escape from the  Foreign Legion, and efforts to find his lost wife. At one point,  the elder Beauchamp saves the life of the younger. Sometimes  harrowing, sometimes sweet (the ending is a coup of coincidence,  but the reader doesn't know whether to expect it or not), this  is both an elegantly written experiment and a page-turner from a  noted journalist and author of such books as America Made Me.  Highly recommended for literary collections and larger  libraries. Robert E. Brown, Onondaga Cty. P.L., Syracuse, NYCopyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.