by David Coward (Translator), David Coward (Translator), Hedi Kaddour (Author)
The hotel Waldhaus in the Swiss mountain village of Waltenberg is central to the action of this epic novel which takes in Europe from the First World War to the collapse of the Soviet Union. Waltenberg tells the story of the love between Hans Kappler, a German novelist, and Lena Hotspur, an American singer; and, of the friendship between Hans and Max Goffard, a French journalist. It is also a spy story. Michael Lilstein, a leader of the underground German communist party before World War II and an Auschwitz survivor, becomes responsible for the East German spy network. In 1956, in Waltenberg, Lilstein recruits as his mole a young Frenchman whose identity remains mysterious. At the height of the Cold War the CIA observe Lilstein and Max at Hans' funeral, determined to flush out the mole. "Waltenberg" is a riveting novel of espionage and a major work of literature.
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 672
Publisher: Harvill Secker
Published: 03 Apr 2008
ISBN 10: 184655022X
ISBN 13: 9781846550225
Book Overview: A compelling novel of espionage taking in the whole of the 20th century.