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The Company of Strangers (Hardcover)

by Robert Wilson (Author) "She was running, running as she had done before in her dreams, except this wasn't a dream, even though with the flares dropping, as slowly..." (more)

4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)

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Product Details

Hardcover: 480 pages
Publisher: Harcourt (October 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0151007454
ISBN-13: 978-0151007455

Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)

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Product Description

From Publishers Weekly

This tense thriller from the author of A Small Death in Lisbon (2000) mixes mathematics with wartime intrigue to fine effect. British intelligence hires Andrea Aspinall, a mathematical wunderkind, to make use of her extraordinary gift in hunting atomic secrets. But Andrea disappears in Lisbon, where she adopts a new identity and meets Karl Voss, an attach‚ at the German legation, who's plotting against the Nazis. The action shifts to Portugal and cold-war Berlin, where intrigue and counter-intrigue are routine, until a bleak ending brings the reader up short. The narrative spans the years from WWII to glasnost and the collapse of the Berlin Wall, yet for all the inevitable social commentary the novel remains at heart a conventional sociopolitical thriller with strong echoes of le Carr‚, Ambler, Deighton and others not to mention Gravity's Rainbow. As the story lengthens and the calendar pages fall away, suspense inevitably slackens, though for the most part the novel remains supremely readable. Wilson's spare prose style never becomes skeletal, and the characters, while lightly sketched, remain believable. The author portrays Andrea in particular with sympathy and insight, and adumbrates her remarkable ability early on when she describes what might be called the joys of mathematics: "The number six... has three divisors one, two and three which if added together come to... six. Isn't that perfect?" The verdict: an evocative and compelling thriller. 5-city author tour; 75,000 first printing. (Oct. 19)Forecast: After the success of A Small Death in Lisbon, winner of Britain's CWA Gold Dagger Award, a lot is riding on this follow-up; expect sales to exceed those of the previous novel.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

This uneven but ultimately satisfying novel follows the life of Andrea Aspinalt, recruited by British intelligence to gather secrets in Lisbon near the end of World War II. Following a disastrous affair with Karl Voss, the German military attachE, a relationship that apparently results in his execution, Andrea marries a Portuguese major. When her husband and son both die fighting in the colonial wars in Africa in 1968, Andrea returns to London. She becomes involved with Communists, returns to work for the SIS, and is sent on a risky mission to East Berlin, where traitors abound and long-held secrets hold their own risks. Wilson, award-winning author of A Small Death in Lisbon returns to the same atmospheric settings in Portugal (where he is at his best) and Germany, but the Byzantine plot and half-century time span detract from the penetrating analysis of the human heart that makes this novel worth reading. Recommended for larger public libraries.
-Ronnie H. Terpening, Univ. of Arizona, Tucson
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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First Sentence
She was running, running as she had done before in her dreams, except this wasn't a dream, even though with the flares dropping, as slowly as petals, and the yellow light, and the dark streets with the orange glow on the skyline it could easily be a dream, a horror dream. Read the first page

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Customer Reviews

12 Reviews

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.3 out of 5 stars (12 customer reviews)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rich, Chilling and Engrossing, Aug 9 2008

By	Toni Osborne "The Way I See It" (Montreal, Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Company Of Strangers Mm (Paperback)

This book is the life of Karl Voss and Andrea Aspinall from the time of WW11

In 1943, Captain Karl Voss a young officer in the Abwehr (the German military intelligence organization) is recruited by disillusioned Army officers to become a double agent- posing as an enemy of the Nazi state, but remain loyal to Germany. His job is to go to Lisbon as the German Legations military attach� and security officer; once there, trade Intelligence with the British and the Russians.

Twenty year old Andrea Aspinall an educated mathematician with a facility for languages is recruited and trained by the British Secret Service and send to Lisbon. Her cover job is a secretary for a Shell Oil executive (a British agent) translating German documents into English. While there, she lives with a wealthy Irish business man who happens to be doing all in his power to help the Nazis. Her mission is to obtain as much pertinent information as possible.

In 1944, Lisbon is a city of spies and Portugal was extremely important to all sides. Germany was heavily into the industrial diamonds trade in order to finance the Third Reich secret weapons.

During this terrible time of convoluted careers and volatile distrustful dealings, Andrea and Karl meet and fall in love.

This novel is rich in imagination, written with a seamless blend of historical events and fiction. The narrative is chilling and engrossing. It is a meaty novel of love and deceit with a plot that twists and turns leading to a realistic and believable conclusion. First the story covers wartime Lisbon, moving to London and East Berlin during the height of the Cold War and ending during the collapse of the Berlin Wall. The author has skilfully created mesmerizing characters in his cast of villains in different agencies and has painted his protagonists with subtlety and intelligence. Mr Wilson is obviously an ace in his genre. This gripping espionage thriller kept me guessing and highly entertained. Bravo.

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3.0 out of 5 stars I wish I could have liked this book, Nov 17 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Company of Strangers (Hardcover)

but the story was so plodding, and improbable, and the characters so thin . . .
The opening chapters are terrific, showing the inner workings of the Abwehr in WW II-- but the other chapters are anti climactic and do not build on one another--

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2.0 out of 5 stars Boring spy thriller, Jun 8 2002

By	"thrillerreader" (Southern California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Company of Strangers (Hardcover)

This novel probably wins my prize as the most boring "thriller" I've ever read. I waded through the whole thing just to see if it would ever improve. It didn't, but I persevered right through to the disappointing ending. The main problem is that I didn't care about any of the characters. The female lead, a math genius turned spy, just drifts through life letting others manipulate her. The book had great potential but never grabbed me. Robert Wilson may be a fine writer, but he doesn't keep the pages turning for me the way Jack Higgins and the late Robert Ludlum do.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Literary Espionage
At last there is an espionage writer to rival LeCarre, Greene and Maugham. Smith, like the trinity of fine writers he rivals, does not rely solely on plot to win his readers. Read more

Published on Mar 24 2002 by ruthalice

4.0 out of 5 stars Mathematicians Need Not Get Too Excited
The WWII heroine of this story is a young mathematician who is recruited to spy on the Germans. This is, however, not a story about number nerds. Read more

Published on Mar 21 2002 by Robert Derenthal

4.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing, both in plot and in structure.
Wilson's unusual ability to create fascinating and fully drawn characters within the confines of a plot-driven espionage novel make this novel particularly enjoyable. Read more

Published on Feb 7 2002 by Mary Whipple

5.0 out of 5 stars Company of Strangers
A superb follow-up to Small Death in Lisbon. Deserves a far wider audience. A story of sweep, action and poignancy, at times there is such exquisite writing and characterization... Read more

Published on Feb 3 2002 by Andrew Gross