The Polish Week - Couverture souple

Mac Donald, Marcus

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0957372000 ISBN 13 : 9780957372009

Editeur : Portia Publishing, 2012

Synopsis

Marcus MacDonald has a long pedigree as a writer of thoughtful, perceptive fiction. In 1993 he was shortlisted for a Tribune Hennessy Award. More recently he was long-listed for the 2012 Powers Short Story competition. Now comes the veteran writer's 282-page debut novel, which is taut with tension, in a similar fashion to Frederick Forsyth's 1971 novel The Day of The Jackal. That celebrated novel concerned a professional assassin who is contracted by a French dissident paramilitary organization, to kill Charles de Gaulle, the President of France. Macdonald's compelling and thoughtful story is set over the course of a year between February 1981 and January 1982, in a variety of locations. Much of the narrative is set in Warsaw, but action also takes place in MI5 HQ in Croydon and other London locations. During the time period of the novel, General Jaruzelski was elected premier on February 1981. He became first secretary of the party the following October, while retaining his post as minister of defense. In an effort to crush the Solidarity movement and restore economic stability, he declared martial law in Poland on December 13, 1981, a move which was accompanied by mass arrests of Solidarity leaders and political dissidents. As the novel begins, Solidarnosc, the Solidarity movement under the charismatic Lech Walesa is putting General Jaruzelski's inept leadership under significant pressure. Root and branch reform of the Polish Communist party is being vociferously sought. The world is beginning to sit up and take notice of this curious marriage of workers and intellectuals and Poland is in a dilemma. Massing at the borders with Russia, as the author writes in the prologue, is 'the churning might of Soviet armour . . waiting to impose direct rule from Moscow'. MacDonald's skillfully-executed thriller describes the plan to kill a Polish government minister while on a visit to Thatcher's Britain to attend a classical concert.

A propos du livre

Biographie de l'auteur

Marcus Mac Donald was born in Dublin in 1932. He brings all his professional expertise to this political thriller. A retired music producer with RTÉ Radio, he worked in close collaboration with the National Symphony Orchestra. He supervised the sound production of RTÉ's landmark 36-hour recording of James Joyce's Ulysses. He also worked as sound supervisor on the radio production Piano in the River which won the Prix Italia in 1965. He was shortlisted for the 1993 Tribune Hennessy Award and longlisted for the 2012 Powers Short Story Competition. His stories have appeared in various Irish publications.

Présentation de l'éditeur

February 1981. Jaruzelski's Cold War Poland: a stand off between Solidarity and Russian tanks amassing on its borders. Thatcher's Britain, struggling with cutbacks and creeping discontent. East meets West on the neutral terrain of music. A groundbreaking concert is organised at the Albert Hall. But David Brenton, undercover MI5 agent, discovers a plot to assassinate the visiting Polish government minister. In a race against time, he must find out who is behind this and stave off humiliation for Her Majesty's government...

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Portia Publishing
• Date d'édition: 2012
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0957372000
• ISBN 13: 9780957372009
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 392
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible