An elderly man returns to the scene of
his childhood and remembers the games he played with a friend during
the World War II. This book follows HEADLONG by
Frayn, a brilliant novel about art forgery and the delicious play
COPENHAGEN. I have a weakness for books where children get it all
wrong, perhaps because I always did. And this book concerns two boys,
overly caught up in the war, and inventing a role for one's mother
during wartime England-spying on her and coming to the wrong
conclusions. One boy convinces the other that his mother is a German
spy and they are both to ready to accept this, following her, taking
notes, making this pursuit their preoccupation. The plot eventually turns everything they believe on its ear.
Frayn perfectly captures the voice of children of that time: their ability to focus on behavior that is perhaps lost to modern kids. I wonder if kids today would bother to put down their cellphones and Ipods. I also wonder if adults have lost their allure. It did remind me of THE GO-BETWEEN, another wonderful British book by L.P. Hartley. You can't go wrong with either of these choices.
2 comments:
You frequently misunderstood, or almost always? Most of the adults in my lffe as a child were all too ready to explain exactly how they wanted me to understand their actions. Frayn is a relaiably interesting writer for me, so far, but I've only read a couple/few over the decades. Looks like this is a good next option.
Drumpf snippet on the radio as I typed--trying to pretend that the "Save America" act will only Not Appeal to those who "want to cheat"--since in his "cosmology" cheating is anything that doesn't demonstrate his wonderfulness to all voters. Both a criminal and one who probably actually believes he's a moral and ethical hero.
I can't even bear to read about his address.
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