Changes

This might make the story seem as though it's rather dry but it's not. Nikitas was dead when the story began but his personality infuses the book. His early years were spent in prison with his mother and he's worn the fact as a badge of honour ever since. Maud was his third wife and even then 'faithful' wasn't one of the adjectives which would have sprung to anyone's mind - least of all Maud's. Maud puts me in mind of Zinovieff - English by birth but living in Greece - and there's a real sense of not being part of either culture, of a loss of identity echoed by the sense of loss which pervades the book.

If this book appeals then we think that you might also enjoy [[The Thread by Victoria Hislop]]. For more on the Spanish Civil War and its aftermath we can recommend [[The Foreign Correspondent by Alan Furst]].