The Diplomat

by James Aldridge

See on lugu kolme Briti diplomaadi missioonist Moskvas, Iraani Aserbaidžaanis ja Iraani Kurdistanis pärast Teist maailmasõda.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Roman, Fiction, Classics

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1949

About the author

From Wikipedia: Harold Edward James Aldridge is a multi-award winning Australian author and journalist whose World War II despatches were published worldwide and formed the basis of several of his novels, including the prize-winning The Sea Eagle about Australian troops in Crete.

Aldridge was born in White Hills, a suburb of Bendigo, Victoria. By the mid 1920s the Aldridge family had moved to Swan Hill, and many of his Australian stories are based on his life growing up there. Aldridge moved to London in 1938; he currently lives in Battersea, South West London.

The stories that are based on the real living conditions of his hometown of Swan Hill include his 1995 Children's Book Council of Australia book of the year "The True Story of Lilli Stubeck", one of his St Helen series of children's books. He lived in Cairo for many years, writing several books about the Middle East, including "Cairo - Biography of a City" and the novels "The Diplomat" and "Heroes of the Empty View". His 1973 children's novel "A Sporting Proposition" was adapted for the 1975 Disney film "Ride a Wild Pony".

Reviews

[Saski · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have had this book for over fifteen years now and read over a decade ago. It made such an impact on me that every time I pass by the the A's, I pause and stroke the 60 odd-year-old red hardback spine. It has been so long since I read it that I couldn't remember much in the way of details, just that it was a British diplomat or three traveling through Iran, Azerbaijan, and maybe even Afghanistan, and that the people and situations our hero met there moved him profoundly.

These days I am recording the passages I marked so long ago and it turns out that means rereading large chunks again. Wow! Not that all the passages I bracketed have the same meaning for me. I couldn't even figure out why I had marked some of them. But many still held power. I am especially struck by the adage 'the more things change, the more they stay the same'. Granted, this is a novel and not to be held to historical accuracy. Yet the author was a journalist and I have no reason to doubt that the opinions expressed were popular with at least some of the population of the day, that day being fifty-five or so years ago. Yes, the borders have changed. Azerbaijan and Iran are separate countries now, but Kurds still have no nation to call their own. In the latter half of the book a great deal of space is devoted to whether 'we, Brits' are becoming simply American lackeys. Shades of Tony Blair depicted as panting at the heels of George W. Bush during Gulf War II, or the War on Terror, or whatever it is being called now. Much of the ranting about the US becoming an imperialist state with no regard to what peoples she treads on to get there has come true, though not all the ranters would have chosen to see her rise to power that way.

The section on the Yazidi is still moves me the most. I wish GR allowed space for the sections I would like to quote here but at least thus far it is not possible. Suffice it to say that that in a weird contradiction their religious beliefs (or lack thereof) makes an incredible amount of sense. See chapter 31 to assuage your curiosity.

Of course there are problems with the book. I can't stand Essex (probably because our protagonist can't) but the author gives him no redeeming characteristics whatsoever. He is simply a blundering and bombastic, stereotypical upper-class Englishman, without a drop of understanding of other cultures and beliefs, and no desire to remedy the problem. His solutions to all difficulties is to shout in English, demanding to be understood, whether in a crowd of British ministers or a group of Kurdish tribesmen. Sigh! But then the author is originally Australian and has probably faced his share of such bumbling idiots.

I don't care much for Katherine either, but then I don't have much sympathy for women who are more concerned with their own physical appearance than the world around them, but then I suppose that was par for the course in the 1940s, though I can't believe that with a bit of looking Aldridge couldn't have found a less stereotypical model for his token female.

There are pages and pages of rants. The whole last section is made up mostly of speeches in the British parliament, which I find fascinating, but I would agree with those who might say enough already after 30 pages (chapter 62). If you are curious, you can find these sections under my quotes or quotes by James Aldridge in GR.

A little thing I have to add: I loved see how the language, particularly spelling has changed since this book was written, for example, 'to-day'.

[Kamilla Khamukova · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Diplomat is the story of a diplomatic mission to Moscow and Iran in 1946. Lord Essex, ace British negotiator who works over the heads of embassies, is trying to talk the -Russians out of supporting a revolution in the province of Azerbaijan. His objectives: to safeguard British oil in Iran, check Russian expansion, keep a friendly government in power in Teheran. Cagey operator though he is, Essex has been careless enough to select as his assistant a man he has never seen before, Geologist Ivre MacGregor, an uncommunicative Scot who grew up in Iran. It is a choice that plagues and defeats him. Mac not only sympathizes with the revolution and gives the Russians a bill of health; he also cops sophisticated Kathy Clive from under the very nose of Essex, who had her all earmarked for himself. At the end, Mac's hope for civil war in Iran is somewhat dashed, but he has just to fight and Kathy is his.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/art...

[Steve R]

I read this 1949 novel in the early 1970s, and it really impressed me with both its complexity of situation and characters, and its broad sympathy for the peoples of the region. This locale is Azerbaijan, bordering on Iran, and thus susceptible to Russian, i.e., Soviet, influence. As an Australian, Aldridge still seems to have a deep understanding of the Iranians and the Kurds, and the vulnerability of their situation sitting on vast oil reserves and caught between the declining British imperial power in the Middle East and the threat of Soviet revolutionary activity. The characters of Lord Essex and his geologist assistant Ivre MacGregor are developed against this backdrop of conflicting visions of the future of the territory: should it stay a British dependency in fact if not in name? Should it become a Soviet satellite through a revolution? Or should the Iranians and Kurds be able to create their own country(s) independent of these foreign influences? Tensions arising over these geopolitical issues are very well developed and highlighted.

I do remember that the impression left on me by this reading was such a strong one that on my next trip to the library I borrowed two non-fiction works on the history and of Iran and Azerbaijan.

Highly recommended.

[Vefa]

The Diplomat

[Ülle Hilep · Rating 4 out of 5]

Põhimõtteliselt käib valge mees võõra õue peal kaklemas. Ressursid ei ole maailmas ühtlaselt jaotunud ja nii kaitsevad oma huve Iraani aladel nii Briti, Vene kui Ameerika esindajad, kohalikud laveerivad nende vahel.
Meeldisid tegelased ja kirjaviis. Annab võimaluse piiluda saatkondade ellu, aitab ette kujutada, kuidas võiks diplomaadina maailma näha.
Minu jaoks tekkis tugev seos M.M.Kaye looga "Kauged telgid", milles osa tegevust toimub 1870-ndatel Afganistani aladel, kus samamoodi britid ja venelased omavahel võõraid maid jagasid ja kohalikega erinevaid kokkuleppeid üritasid sõlmida. No ja nii käib see siiani, kui diplomaatia ei õnnestu, peetakse samades piirkondades jälle sõdu ja kõik kaotavad.

[Nurlan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book simply consists of two people whose task was to solve the issues regarding the Iranian Azerbaijan and to pacify the revolt which was caused by Azerbaijanian civils. Essex holds the view that the UK has to safeguard its principles, loyalty, and rights so Iranian oil should be in safe hands while Mc-Gregor supports the freedom and self-determination of Azerbaijanians and call this attempt as "expansionist" and called it as a devil target that has been decided. In a nutshell, Mc-Gregor came to the idea that he has to leave England and return to Iran in order to take advantage of Qocali's proposal regarding his archelogy skills have to be applied in non-revealed Azerbaijan mountain chains

[Veiko Aasa]

Hea raamat see ei olnud, segasevõitu, kehvapoolne, kehv kirjatöö, vilets raamat, kehv kirjanduslik tase. Et valitsejate jaoks ebamugav tõde laialt levima ei hakkaks, kasutab tollane välispoliitilise kuukirja Diplomaatia peatoimetaja Kadri Liik ühe teda enam mõjutanud raamatu kirjeldamisel just neid kõigile üheselt mõistetavaid väljendeid.
Vaata veel: Kadri Liik "Apoloogia halvale raamatule"