The Partisan: The explosive debut thriller for fans of Robert Harris and Charles Cumming

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Meedogenloze Greta is gedwongen opgegroeid in de bossen van Lithouwen tijdens de tweede wereldoorlog. Daar leerde ze hardwegs om te doden en te overleven. Haar missie bestaat uit het jagen op de ergste oorlogsmisdadigers en verraders. Ik had het niet zo gemakkelijk om in het verhaal te komen. Reden hiervoor was dat ik van in het begin overstelpt werd door verschillende namen en hun achtergrond, plaatsen, settings waardoor ik precies mijn plaats in het boek niet kon vinden. The Cold War as a game of chess. You don’t need to know anything about how chess is played or how players sacrifice pieces to gain an advantage. That’s because you will see in real time how the Cold War players sacrifice their real players when necessary. The powers-that-be may even say Sorry, but you know why you have to go. You play the game, you take your chances.

I got this book right when Waterstones had it for sale, a bit earlier than elsewhere. It had sounded quite promising with strong female characters, espionage, chess and international politics set during the WWII and Cold War eras. I don't know how the author was able to pull it off, but I'm glad he wrote this book and kindled the imagination with a fictional Lithuanian post-war freedom fight on an international arena. Of course I'm buzzing about Lithuania, but there's everything else you'd expect from a cold war story: Moscow, London, Austria, Spain; KGB, MGB, MI6, Mossad, etc. First thing that caught my attention was the name. Partisans were the freedom fighters of Lithuania, during German and Soviet occupation.

There’s money in there. The same as last time. You’ll recognise my uncle’s handwriting. His memory failed him when it came to Lithuanians who joined the SS, but he was good on other nationalities. I want you to confirm all the names he wrote down and add as many others as you can…every name you add helps keep yours off the list.” Ook het gevoel van het beloofde spannende spionagespel blijft enigszins achterwege. Dat is mede te wijten aan het vele gespring tussen personages en tijden. Dit -en het verhaal uit de voorgaande alinea- geeft het verhaal een chaotisch tintje. Het roept de vraag op waar het plot heen gaat. Is er wel een richting? En waarom vertelt Greta haar verhaal in 2004 maar is de epiloog gesitueerd in 1966? Verwarring alom. De flaptekst ( die ik normaal nooit lees) deed me uitkijken naar een spannend verhaal. Het liefdesverhaal van Yulia en Michael, twee tieners elk aan een andere zijde van het IJzeren Gordijn, die elkaar leren kennen via een schaaktornooi in Londen. Vasili, de grootste spion van de Sovjet-Unie blijkt één van hun trouwe bondgenoten, maar dat blijkt Greta een verzetstrijdster, die jaagt op heel wat gevaarlijke mannen, ook te zijn. Je wordt met deze historische spionagethriller meegesleept van Cambridge tot Moskou. Van het oostfront in de Tweede Wereldoorlog tot de Koude Oorlog. Wordt dit het dodelijkste potje schaken ooit?

True, there were some good female characters who played pivotal roles without taking over everything as sometimes happens when people misinterpret what a 'strong' female character is, but a lot of the rest wasn't fantastic. The style of writing is strange in parts For example, “her eyes were a dramatic shade of green, with a hint of the Central Asian steppes in them”. And there’s more: “Michael leaned in so close to the girl that he could hear her eyelashes when she blinked”. Sure, spies may have supernatural powers but …Shadowing them is Greta, a ruthless resistance fighter who grew up the hard way in the forests of Lithuania, but who is now hunting down some of the most dangerous men in the world.

It is at times a difficult read in that there are scenes of torture and violence. I admit to skim reading some of these sections, just to get past them. Although obviously written before the war in Ukraine, it does reflect some of the atrocities we’re seeing in the news now. Once Greta took the girls, Vita and Riva, foraging for mushrooms in the deep woods. Just to show them which were poisonous and which were good to eat. She knew what to look out for: a blue stain in the flesh, pink gills, or a white ‘skirt’ halfway down the stalk. The Russians sadly lost over twenty million people during The Great Patriotic War, so justly cannot in reality be considered anything other than victims! The author highlights Russian atrocity after Russian atrocity, like the British and Yanks never committed any atrocities?! Gies peace!!I have hesitated to speak specifically of plot points because the novel conveys these much better than I ever could. I will simply conclude by saying that this is an extremely well written novel and is a must read. I recommend this book to those well acquainted with the spy/thriller/historical fiction genres and also for those who are looking to read a genuinely good book that might be out of their usual reading lists! In the Soviet Union, if you get tired of reality, a new one will come along and replace it. Every new leader ushers in a glorious new past. Na zdrovye!’” Lastly, for this criticism, it's fair enough that it was Russia that the West was fighting during the Cold War, but the West weren't exactly blameless in that particular shite sandwich, were they?!

Set in the summer of 1961, around the time of the Cold War. The story revolves around the four main characters, Yulia, Michael, Greta and Vassily. The timeframes continually moving and the various characters make this book a little confusing until you get in to it. The plotline is complex, so it needs all your attention to keep you focused. It can be hard to read as there's some scenes of torture and violence. It covers the years: 1940s, 1960s and 2004. This is a really good debut novel. Ook trekt de schrijver een lijntje tussen de internationale verhoudingen in de 20ste eeuw en de schaaktoernooien die toen plaatsvonden. Immers, het strijdtoneel van de Koude Oorlog speelde zich niet alleen af op nucleair en spionagegebied maar ook in de wereld van de schaaktoernooien. De schaakpartijen tussen Amerikaan Bobby Fisher en de Rus Boris Spasski zijn legendarisch. Het geheim van dit spel is dat je in andermans schoenen moet staan. Je overweegt altijd wat je tegenstander wil’ The author also adds to the near confusion by starting a chapter with a previously unmentioned event and then proceeds to explain said event as the chapter moves on, so it eventually does become relatively clear as to what's going on!

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Meanwhile, there is also tenderness and youthful romance in the chess sections of the story where English boy Michael meets Russian girl Yulia at a tournament in London. She is the daughter of Sergei (mentioned in the opening quotation), whom she knows to be somebody important, something to do with military secrets. He writes about chess in the newspapers. She and her father pretty much communicate through chess.