As a fiercely haunting and paradoxically beautiful tale of love, neglect, betrayal, and justice within and among families, Mudbound introduces readers to some of the most remarkable characters to have appeared recently in American literature:

In one family you have Henry McAllan (the successful engineer and wounded veteran of the Great War whose ties to southern traditions and his Mississippi farm dominate his and his family’s life); his much younger brother Jamie (an emotionally scarred veteran of World War II whose devotion to his family and friends will be sorely tested); Pappy McAllan (the ‘sour, bossy, and vain‘ family patriarch whose attitudes towards others in his family and his virulent bigotry threaten to destroy the entire family); and Laura Chappell (the Memphis-born English teacher, lover of Dickens and the Brontë sisters, and wife of Henry McAllan whose life becomes overturned by her husband’s decisions, her brother-in-law’s passion, her father-in-law’s spiteful disposition, and her adjustment to a very different way of life).

In another family you have Florence and Hap Jackson (African-American tenant farmers whose reluctant relationship with and dependence upon the McAllan family will lead to strained friendships and unspeakable tragedy); and Ronsel Jackson (the World War II tank battalion veteran whose return to his family and whose friendship with Jamie McAllan will lead to consequences no one could have possibly imagined).

With the Mississippi Delta dirt of the McAllan farm as the novel’s dominant symbol – an iconic allusion to the Hebrew adamah of the Old Testament Genesis – and with the author employing each of the main characters as the novel’s alternating narrators, Mudbound, one of the best novels about the American south and American families to have appeared in the last quarter century, is an extraordinarily effective examination of the terrifying collision of values and attitudes in Mississippi in the late 1940s.

So, readers of quality literature, here is the bottom line: Mudbound is intense, beautiful, and unforgettable

As a fiercely haunting and paradoxically beautiful tale of love, neglect, betrayal, and justice within and among families, Mudbound introduces readers to some of the most remarkable characters to have appeared recently in American literature:

In one family you have Henry McAllan (the successful engineer and wounded veteran of the Great War whose ties to southern traditions and his Mississippi farm dominate his and his family’s life); his much younger brother Jamie (an emotionally scarred veteran of World War II whose devotion to his family and friends will be sorely tested); Pappy McAllan (the ‘sour, bossy, and vain‘ family patriarch whose attitudes towards others in his family and his virulent bigotry threaten to destroy the entire family); and Laura Chappell (the Memphis-born English teacher, lover of Dickens and the Brontë sisters, and wife of Henry McAllan whose life becomes overturned by her husband’s decisions, her brother-in-law’s passion, her father-in-law’s spiteful disposition, and her adjustment to a very different way of life).

In another family you have Florence and Hap Jackson (African-American tenant farmers whose reluctant relationship with and dependence upon the McAllan family will lead to strained friendships and unspeakable tragedy); and Ronsel Jackson (the World War II tank battalion veteran whose return to his family and whose friendship with Jamie McAllan will lead to consequences no one could have possibly imagined).

With the Mississippi Delta dirt of the McAllan farm as the novel’s dominant symbol – an iconic allusion to the Hebrew adamah of the Old Testament Genesis – and with the author employing each of the main characters as the novel’s alternating narrators, Mudbound, one of the best novels about the American south and American families to have appeared in the last quarter century, is an extraordinarily effective examination of the terrifying collision of values and attitudes in Mississippi in the late 1940s.

So, readers of quality literature, here is the bottom line: Mudbound is intense, beautiful, and unforgettable.

As the French military attaché in Warsaw, Mercier must make sense out of a complicated espionage environment in which dozens of spies from different countries share one tactical maxim: ‘Know your enemies, know your friends, {and} avoid surprises at all costs.‘ As for himself, Mercier will find himself assigned to a death-defying mission with an important goal: find out as much as possible about Germany’s probable plans for an invasion of France.

In parallel storylines – affecting Mercier’s goals – a German industrialist who has been entrapped by a beautiful woman into selling secrets to the French runs afoul of Hitler’s intelligence agents, and a Russian couple with a duplicitous past must find a way to escape from an increasingly dangerous Warsaw.

Meanwhile, a German intelligence officer approaches Mercier and attempts to recruit him as a spy against his own country. The stakes in the dangerous world of espionage are suddenly raised, and Mercier – if he is to succeed in his difficult goal – must tread very carefully on the tightrope of apparently conflicting allegiances.

In the end, Mercier – while never losing sight of the spy’s tactical precept – will discover a shocking and ironic truth about his sacrificial commitment to his goal and his government’s surprising reaction to his sacrifices.

Filled to overflowing with fascinating historical details, The Spies of Warsaw is a highly recommended, top-notch espionage thriller in which the standard ingredients – patriotism, danger, greed, murder, surprises, deception, and passion (between Mercier and a beautiful woman) – all serve to complicate Mercier’s purpose-driven adventure.

On his way back to Germany, Russell learns that his movie-actress girlfriend Effi has been arrested by the Gestapo, and to secure her release, Russell makes a complicated bargain with Nazi authorities, agreeing to act as a covert double-agent even as he continues his affiliations with the Soviets.

At the same time, having made certain other commitments to family and friends, Russell involves himself in finding out what may have happened to two young women: one, seventeen-year-old Miriam Rosenfeld, has disappeared after traveling by train from Silesia to Berlin; the second, Freya Hahnemann, according to her wealthy German parents who emigrated to America, remained against their wishes in Berlin because of her Jewish fiancé Wilhelm Isendahl.

As Russell moves uneasily though effectively in his reluctant role within the world of espionage – a duplicitous role that is further complicated by his more important agreement to act as an agent for the Americans – and as he follows up on slender clues about what may have happened to Miriam and Freya, Russell runs into plenty of surprises and challenges.

As a fiercely haunting and paradoxically beautiful tale of love, neglect, betrayal, and justice within and among families, Mudbound introduces readers to some of the most remarkable characters to have appeared recently in American literature:

In one family you have Henry McAllan (the successful engineer and wounded veteran of the Great War whose ties to southern traditions and his Mississippi farm dominate his and his family’s life); his much younger brother Jamie (an emotionally scarred veteran of World War II whose devotion to his family and friends will be sorely tested); Pappy McAllan (the ‘sour, bossy, and vain‘ family patriarch whose attitudes towards others in his family and his virulent bigotry threaten to destroy the entire family); and Laura Chappell (the Memphis-born English teacher, lover of Dickens and the Brontë sisters, and wife of Henry McAllan whose life becomes overturned by her husband’s decisions, her brother-in-law’s passion, her father-in-law’s spiteful disposition, and her adjustment to a very different way of life).

In another family you have Florence and Hap Jackson (African-American tenant farmers whose reluctant relationship with and dependence upon the McAllan family will lead to strained friendships and unspeakable tragedy); and Ronsel Jackson (the World War II tank battalion veteran whose return to his family and whose friendship with Jamie McAllan will lead to consequences no one could have possibly imagined).

With the Mississippi Delta dirt of the McAllan farm as the novel’s dominant symbol – an iconic allusion to the Hebrew adamah of the Old Testament Genesis – and with the author employing each of the main characters as the novel’s alternating narrators,Mudbound, one of the best novels about the American south and American families to have appeared in the last quarter century, is an extraordinarily effective examination of the terrifying collision of values and attitudes in Mississippi in the late 1940s.

So, readers of quality literature, here is the bottom line: Mudbound is intense, beautiful, and unforgettable. Don’t miss it!