Helpful Score: 1
This is another winner by Robert Harris - actually I think one of his best books.
The book is about the Dreyfus affair - and don't let that put you off. When I picked up the book, the only thing I knew about the Dreyfus affair was that there was one, and it was a big deal. But not why, or any of the details about it.
This book is a fictionalised account of the whole thing, from start to finish, told from the point of view of Colonel Picquart, an army officer who begins to realise that a miscarriage of justice has occurred and decides to investigate the circumstances. Dreyfus is only a minor character in the book (given that he is imprisoned on Devil's Island throughout much of the story) and the action on uncovering the truth is carried by Picquart - as indeed it was in real life.
Although it sounds dry and historical, the book is anything but. The book draws you in, unfolds the clues in front of you, and past a certain point becomes just un-put-down-able. You will stay up late to finish this one!
This a real David and Goliath story. Picquart is a lone voice crying in the wilderness, and he's up against the full weight of the French establishment. If you don't know the details of the story, you will be amazed - amazed - at the lengths to which they try to go to suppress the truth. Colonel Picquart is now one of my heros. One person can change the world. Colonel Picquart did.
The book is about the Dreyfus affair - and don't let that put you off. When I picked up the book, the only thing I knew about the Dreyfus affair was that there was one, and it was a big deal. But not why, or any of the details about it.
This book is a fictionalised account of the whole thing, from start to finish, told from the point of view of Colonel Picquart, an army officer who begins to realise that a miscarriage of justice has occurred and decides to investigate the circumstances. Dreyfus is only a minor character in the book (given that he is imprisoned on Devil's Island throughout much of the story) and the action on uncovering the truth is carried by Picquart - as indeed it was in real life.
Although it sounds dry and historical, the book is anything but. The book draws you in, unfolds the clues in front of you, and past a certain point becomes just un-put-down-able. You will stay up late to finish this one!
This a real David and Goliath story. Picquart is a lone voice crying in the wilderness, and he's up against the full weight of the French establishment. If you don't know the details of the story, you will be amazed - amazed - at the lengths to which they try to go to suppress the truth. Colonel Picquart is now one of my heros. One person can change the world. Colonel Picquart did.
