A review by middle_name_joy
City of Secrets by Stewart O'Nan
2.0
After the fabulous [b:Last Night at the Lobster|673915|Last Night at the Lobster|Stewart O'Nan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1442939054s/673915.jpg|2248501], I was eager for another Stewart O'Nan novel. I chose City of Secrets for the post-WWII Jerusalem setting and the element of Jewish spies. Sounded like a book written especially for me. Alas, CoS fell short of my expectations, retaining O'Nan's sparse, emotions-driven narrative style, but leaving too much context unspoken.
While I know a fair amount on the Zionist movement following WWII, I was not as up to speed on the rebel groups who fought for the Holy Land and raised hell against the British in that time period. Unfortunately, CoS did little to explain the why of action sequences and turncoat suspense. I was often confused, not to what was happening, but what it meant in the bigger picture.
All in all, this was an atmospheric historical fiction novel that could have had a stronger impact if more of the backstory had been fleshed out.
While I know a fair amount on the Zionist movement following WWII, I was not as up to speed on the rebel groups who fought for the Holy Land and raised hell against the British in that time period. Unfortunately, CoS did little to explain the why of action sequences and turncoat suspense. I was often confused, not to what was happening, but what it meant in the bigger picture.
All in all, this was an atmospheric historical fiction novel that could have had a stronger impact if more of the backstory had been fleshed out.