The Prisoner of Guantanamo: Summary and book reviews of The Prisoner of Guantanamo by Dan Fesperman, plus links to an excerpt from The Prisoner of Guantanamo and a biography of Dan Fesperman.
The Prisoner of Guantanamo
by Dan Fesperman
Hardcover: Jul 2006,
336 pages.
Paperback: Jul 2007,
336 pages.
Dan Fesperman’s award-winning novels have transported readers to the heart
of some of the world’s most volatile places: Yugoslavia during the Balkan Wars
in Lie in the Dark and The Small Boat of Great Sorrows (“A new
standard for war-based thrillers”—Los Angeles Times), and Afghanistan
during the last days of the Taliban in The Warlord’s Son (“A first-rate
geopolitical yarn”—Entertainment Weekly). Now he turns his sights closer
to home—to the secretive, overheated world of Guantánamo—to give us a
galvanizing new thriller.
Revere Falk—FBI veteran, Arabic speaker—is an interrogator at “Gitmo,” assigned
to a “hold-out,” a Yemeni prisoner who may have valuable information about
al-Qaeda. But these duties are temporarily suspended when the body of an
American soldier is found washed ashore in Cuban territory. No American has ever
turned up dead on the wrong side of the fence before. Suddenly, Cold War tension
is back, and Falk finds himself at the heart of it when he’s put in charge of
the investigation into the death. Almost immediately he senses an unusual level
of interest in the proceedings: from his commander, from the Cubans, and from
the various factions of the military. And when the Defense Intelligence Agency
unexpectedly sends its own team to “reinforce” the investigation, Falk
understands that there is much more at play than anybody is willing to admit. He
is drawn into a game of evasion and pursuit, a game whose stakes spike
dangerously when a figure from his past reappears—someone who knows secrets
about him that he had hoped were buried forever.
An intricately layered, blistering tale of subterfuge and deception at the
highest, most hidden levels of the government, and in the most intimate, and
vulnerable, moments of individual lives, The Prisoner of Guantánamo is as
timely and razor sharp in its depiction of life—and death—atGitmo as it
is unstoppably suspenseful.
What comes across loud and viscerally clear is the all encompassing presence of the US military, controlling every aspect of the base, and the people's lives therein, irrespective of which side of the bars they happen to be. (Reviewed by BookBrowse Review Team).
Washington Post's Book World
You should enjoy reading Falk's quick-witted escapades on the island as he eludes the Washington team and others who would derail his investigation, but, like me, you may find yourself asking why Fesperman could not have taken on some of the darker issues of that infamous place.
Publishers Weekly
Despite an occasionally confusing plot and a finale with little punch, Fesperman ... does a superb job of explaining the inner workings at Guantanamo, as well as the context for the public outcry about the base.
Kirkus Reviews
The sharply drawn scenery, fascinating setting and a couple of exceptionally interesting central characters compensate for a plot that threatens occasionally to drown in detail.
Booklist
Although the insider's view of the Gitmo prison base is engaging, the stock characters ... along with a confusing, lackluster plot do not contribute too much of an exciting read.
Library Journal
Fesperman deftly builds suspense....a topnotch topical thriller, this is enthusiastically recommended for all popular fiction collections.
Recent Reader Reviews
Rated of 5
by Marshall Cohen Great Premise The premise of this book, which is slowly revealed, is eerie and topical in my view. It's a fast moving story, laying out the next great conspiracy theory waiting to come public. I think it's Fesperman's best to date.
Cuba is the largest country in
the Caribbean (780 miles long, 140 miles
at its widest point) with a population
of about 11 million; and infant
mortality, life expectancy and literacy
rates on a par with the USA (6.45 deaths
per 1,000 live births, 77 years life
expectancy, 97% literacy). It suffered a
severe economic recession in the 1990s
following the withdrawal of subsidies
from the former Soviet Union and has not
yet recovered to its pre '90s strength.
About 1.5 million tourists visited Cuba in
2004, including about 100,000 Americans
(despite the travel restrictions). It is
the #1 Caribbean tourist destination for
Canadians. In 2003 the U.S. Senate voted
(59 to 36) in favor of lifting the ban
on travel to Cuba. The result was
similar to a vote at the House of
Representatives the previous month.
According...
Charts a fascinating course through the sprawling land of Indonesia, where the home-bred Jemaah Islamiyah, Asia's answer to Al Qaeda, pursues its deadly ambition to create a Southeast Asia Islamic super-state.
A succession struggle ignited by the impending death of Fidel Castro is
the catalyst for Stephen Coonts' latest suspense thriller.
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(1070 words).
of 5
by Marshall Cohen
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