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Critics' Opinion:
Readers' Opinion:
First Published:
Jul 2006, 336 pages
Paperback:
Jul 2007, 336 pages
Book Reviewed by:
BookBrowse Review Team
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Previously Fesperman, a reporter for the
Baltimore Sun, has taken us to Yugoslavia (Small Boat of
Great Sorrows and Lie In The Dark) and to Afghanistan
(The
Warlord's Son). Now he takes us into another place
most of us would rather avoid - the US military base at
Guantánamo Bay where Cuban-American politics and the "War on
Terror" come head to head. The line between what is a thriller
and what is not is a little fuzzy, but I do know that some
readers of this ezine tend to skim over books billed as
thrillers, so let me classify this as a very good novel with
some exciting bits! This is not being disingenuous, it
really is the best description - although there are
pulse-pounding moments, a lot of the intervening action moves
slowly and with a level of detail that would likely frustrate
thriller purists.
Fesperman does a superb job of explaining the inner workings at
Guantánamo, as well as the context for the public outcry about
the base. However, one critic was frustrated that The
Prisoner of Guantánamo "stops short at the doors to the
cells", leaving it unclear whether (in the realms of what we
must remember is a work of fiction) deliberate and systemic
physical abuse of prisoners is going on or not. If Falk,
Fesperman's protagonist, was asked this question directly, his
answer would likely be yes in some cases, but not across the
board.
Fesperman positions Falk as being uncomfortable with the
treatment of some prisoners but not to the point where he's
sticking his neck out to do something about it - in other words,
Falk is a surprisingly believable character and not a front to
preach a particular point of view.
What does come 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.
"I visited Guantánamo and Camp Delta .... and the setting just knocked me over with all its exotic and bizarre touches, as well as with its overwhelming sense of claustrophobia and besiegement." - Dan Fesperman.
This review was originally published in The BookBrowse Review in August 2006, and has been updated for the
July 2007 edition.
Click here to go to this issue.
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