Tightrope

By: Simon Mawer

Narrated by: Kate Reading

Length: 14 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's Summary

This captivating historical thriller brings back Marian Sutro, ex-special operations agent, and traces her romantic and political exploits in post-World War II London, where the Cold War is about to reshape old loyalties.

As Allied forces close in on Berlin in spring 1945, a solitary figure emerges from the wreckage that is Germany. It is Marian Sutro, whose existence was last known to her British controllers in autumn 1943 in Paris. One of a handful of surviving agents of the Special Operations Executive, she has withstood arrest, interrogation, incarceration, and the horrors of Ravensbruck concentration camp, but at what cost? Returned to an England she barely knows and a postwar world she doesn't understand, Marian searches for something on which to ground the rest of her life. Family and friends surround her, but she is haunted by her experiences and by the guilt of knowing that her contribution to the war effort helped lead to the monstrosities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. When the mysterious Major Fawley, the man who hijacked her wartime mission to Paris, emerges from the shadows to draw her into the ambiguities and uncertainties of the Cold War, she sees a way to make amends for the past and at the same time to find the identity that has never been hers.

A novel of divided loyalties and mixed motives, Tightrope is the complex and enigmatic story of a woman whose search for personal identity and fulfillment leads her to shocking choices.

©2015 Simon Mawer (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Interesting. but disjointed

Would you listen to Tightrope again? Why?

No. It's an interesting book about interesting times but a little too long and disjointed into 3 overlapping stories

Would you recommend Tightrope to your friends? Why or why not?

I would only if they are interested (as I am) in the consequences and outwash of WW II.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No

Any additional comments?

This book is actually 3 separate stories: the first is about espionage and punishment behind the lines in WW II; the second is about recovery from the horrors of war and the post traumatic stress disorder that a recovery must confront; the third part then shifts to espionage in the Cold War, an entirely different setting. These are all interesting topics and handled persuasively by Wawer but because of the separate trajectories, the book seemed disjointed to me and too long.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Marvelous!

A perfect marriage of plot, character and prose. Kate Redding's vocalisation is suitably sensational. Bravo!

Not as compelling as Trapeze

The story is very bland. Marian is navigating post-war and post-traumatic stress by walking a tightrope between middle class-marriage, espionage and counter espionage. But her independence and expertise are blurred by her sex drive and affairs that seem to ward off the post war traumas and lackluster civilian life. In the end, the author walks a tightrope between writing a spy novel and/or a sex-driven psychodrama. Disappointed.

Repetitive - A sequel that should stand alone.

This novel is #2 (Trapeze introduces us to Marian and her exciting lifestyle)

It was ok - even though I wasn't exactly thrilled by Tightrope, it was still an ok novel that explorers some pretty deep and dark themes. my problem - I guess - was that I was expecting a novel similar in theme to the first. A little action, a little intrigue, suspense and fun spy knowledge and terminology. instead of all of that, I listened to a story that was wholly character driven with a slow plot lacking true suspense.
Passages in this novel were quite repetitive - on more than one ocassion, I think the author used "copy + paste" because characters would describe an event or person word for word from just a few chapters prior. it doesn't seem like a big deal, but trust me, it happens enough to make you almost want to roll your eyes.
I had a hard time liking (or connecting) or even admiring any character in this one - which is different from the first. Marian went from a somewhat aloof but still passionate patriot that was willing to do whatever it takes (admirable courage/dedication) to a actual unlikable/acidic with somewhat unbelievable lifestyle choices. I never worried for her - I didn't care what was happening to her as she turned into a self serving disenchanted has been. She was bitter about who she was and who she becomes.

Not my favorite and it wasn't the type of novel I was looking for or expecting considering it was a sequel.

Intrigue

Interesting flawed heroine. A story with lots of questions wrapped up in the end but not too neatly.