Estoril. Part 3. Read to end " Have you ever tried to sell a stone ?". spoilers ok

[Hester]

spoilers ok .

[Whitney]

Not quite through this section, but finding myself a little bored. This feels like a book that should have been written in the 50's. I just can't find myself getting particularly interested in the lives of dethroned royalty, or in the exploits of Duško Popov.

And I'm not really seeing much more than superficial characterizations. Everyone is basically just describing their lives to each other, without much deeper insight.

[Greg]

I started this section earlier today, and I'm starting to feel a little bit bored as well. There are several different facets to the story, and I'm not sure they all fit together perfectly. In portions of the book I do feel fully engaged. I liked the earlier parts with the boy, and every time Antione showed up, I was riveted. But I find myself following the spy parts mostly for the interesting historical details. I do like the parts that touch on what happened with the war refugees of that era - I don't know too much about the historical details.

The focus on Tricycle's conquests in the bedroom is one of the least interesting parts for me. Sometimes, as with the description of the "pert breasts" of the drunk young lady he brings to King Carol's, it feels a bit off-putting. Tiago-Stankovic is reflecting the casual sexism of the era I suppose, but I don't really enjoy wallowing in that aesthetic.

I'm curious, has anyone read the poet Miloš Crnjanski before? I had never heard of him before. His character plays a very small part in the book so far.

[Hester]

I'm not very well at the moment , poleaxed by a nasty virus , and picked up the book as something my foggy brain could easily digest ....which it can . Bearing this in mind I'm still enjoying it although I agree the playboy nature of Ivan / Tricycle is such a cliche it has to be a has to be a pastiche , right ? I did enjoy the way Ian Fleming was introduced and the scene in the jewellers at the end . it's

not great literature but I am enjoying reading about this small corner of Europe in WW2 , a part of history I knew little about.

I had heard of the poet Milos Crnjanski but had no idea about his biography and especially his struggles in post war London . Learning about his life has been one of the small pleasures prompted by this novel

[Greg]

Hester wrote: "I'm not very well at the moment , poleaxed by a nasty virus , and picked up the book as something my foggy brain could easily digest ....which it can . Bearing this in mind I'm still enjoying it al..."

Hope you feel better soon Hester!

Despite what I see as flaws in the book, I'm glad to be reading it and there were things I found to enjoy in it. I was fairly ignorant about several of the historical details in this book; so I'm enjoying learning a bit as well.

Ian Fleming's characterization as a sort-of dilettante spy was interesting. I wonder if that's true, that he was inept as a spy and that the spy services had to clean up his messes?

[Whitney]

Greg wrote: " Sometimes, as with the description of the "pert breasts" of the drunk young lady he brings to King Carol's, it feels a bit off-putting. Tiago-Stankovic is reflecting the casual sexism of the era I suppose, but I don't really enjoy wallowing in that aesthetic."

I found that scene a LOT off-putting. And this is a case where an author may justify it by saying how sexist the era was, but the presentation in a book written in 2015 is just as sexist. This was one of my reasons for commenting that the book belongs in the 50's.

Hester wrote: "I did enjoy the way Ian Fleming was introduced and the scene in the jewellers at the end "

As much as I was rooting for Gaby, the incredible wealth his parents brought out of the country and his seemingly congenital skills of trading and making money are blatant Jewish stereotypes.

[Greg]

Finished part 3 yesterday.

"She's beautiful, sings like an angel but it not overly intelligent. Just how I like them."

Ugh. I am really not fond of Tricycle. And it's pretty sleazy how he tries to wheedle money out of the boy as well.

The boy had disappeared for the majority of this part of the book. He hadn't been included in the narrative for several chapters, but now in the jewelers' section, he finally comes back. He has always been portrayed as a boy who behaves much older than his age, but before, he behaved like a very precocious boy. Here at 12 years old, he's like an adult. There's no trace of fancy or naivete. His level of bargaining competence at the jeweler and his presence of mind in putting firm limits on borrowing with Tricycle as well as his certainty and firmness in putting those limits feels peculiar. As you say Whitney, his bargaining skills seem almost congenital. I am not at all surprised that he has knowledge that other boys wouldn't have as a result of his father's business. But it feels a bit strange that in his dealings with the jeweler and with Tricycle that there's not even a trace of hesitation or uncertainty.

I found some of the historical details interesting throughout this part, such as the kidnappings by the Gestapo. And the naiveness of the anti-fascists in Portugal (MUNAF) is a little sad in retrospect, believing as they do that England will support them after the war and get them free elections. With the benefit of hindsight, there's some poignancy in the secret meeting between MUNAF's representative and Captain Jarvis in the Portuguese church confessional.