Aubrey Flegg

'This powerful story is set in a fictional African state resembling Angola and takes a strong anti-war stance. The story starts dramatically when a young 13 - 14 year old girl, Yola Abonda loses her leg in a landmine explosion. her cousin Gabbin (younger than her) is tending the cow herd when the prize bull wanders off to shade himself under the large Cinnamon Tree. Gabbin, fearful of the consequences that he'll receive from his father, if the bull is lost or blown up, runs to Yola for assistance. Yola, being older, takes control and carefully walks through the minefield to retreive Managu the bull. As she nears Managu, a landmine explodes and all Yola can remember is the sickly smell of cinnamon as she is raced to medical care. As the story proceeds characters and readers alike are forced to examine the attitude of supposedly peaceful nations and individuals to the arms trade. You will read about innocent youth, warring tribes, corrupt Western businessmen and frustrated aid agencies and how they are all intertwined. 'A thought-provoking book which addresses the issue of illegal arms trading with the West.… (más)

I recommend it to anyone interested in the paintings of the old masters in the mid 1600's. Set in Delft, this novel contains a wealth of information about painting techniques, mixing of materials and a snapshot of history.

The small Dutch town of Delft once held the honor of excellent brewing. Later, they turned to pottery, tile and china manufacturing. Rich with artistry and beauty, this predominately protestant industrious community, is one I personally long to visit.

The well developed characters provide a framework of a time abundant in craft and art in both Holland and Delft. When the father of Louise Eeden, the heir to one of the richest pottery establishments, commissions a portrait of Louise, her view of life is forever transformed.

While the artist who paints Louise is fictional, the author uses actual characters such as Vermeer, Rembrandt, Carel Fabrituius and the great philosopher Benedict Spinoza as references.

In addition, when reading this book, I learned of the explosion known as the Delft Thunderclap wherein over 200 houses were leveled and the great artist Carel Fabritius and his family were killed.

Today Fabritius' painting The Gold Finch is located in the Mauritshaus Museum in the Hague. It hangs by Vermeer's View of Delft:… (más)

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Synopsis: The final book in the Louise Trilogy, following Wings Over Delft and The Rainbow Bridge.

Review: Louise has been asleep since Napoleonic times, but awakes once more when mischevious young Izaac Abrahams begins to perform and speak to her portrait. When at the age of six, Izaac begins to play the violin, Louise finds herself deeply involved in his development as a musician. Izaac thrives in cultured, music-loving Vienna in the 1920s and 30s, but across the border, darker forces are on the move. In the Claws of the Eagle looks at both sides of the holocaust. Not only does Louise see through the eyes of Jewish Izaac, she also becomes involved with Austrian Erich, mountain climber and SS member, who is drawn into the Nazi cause by circumstances and by his committed Nazi friend Klaus. Louise shares the thoughts of all three, and of French resistance fighter Elaine as well. Gradually a picture of the secret "Endlösung" or final solution is formed for Louise. As Izaac is taken first to Teresienstadt and then to Ausschwitz, she catches glimpses of the horrors he is witness to, the images she first saw in the mind of Klaus and took to be the ravings of insanity. Appalled, Louise appears to Erich and tries to persuade him to rescue Izaac before it is too late.

This is a carefully researched and thoughtful novel based on real accounts of musicians in Teresianstadt. As in the previous novel, the jumps in time and between characters make it a little disjointed at times. However they also allow the book to explore the whole Nazi period from different viewpoints. This novel would be useful in a study of WW2 and the holocaust, providing a wealth of accurate detail, some of it unusual. The suffering of the millions who died in the camps is told truthfully but without graphic details that may be distressing to the intended young audience.… (más)