Friday, 21 January 2011

The Budapest Protocol

Wow.  A gripping and just downright fantastic book, The Budapest Protocol revolves around a conspiracy at the heart of the EU--the continuation of the Nazi regime through peace, rather than war.  A fascinating historical background (the Nazis did try and create a united Europe, and the document at the heart of the book is based off a real document included in the appendix) mingles with a gripping character-orientated narrative to create a book I struggled to put down for dinner (and subsequently read until about 11 in order to finish it off...).

Budapest is created convincingly--I confess I haven't been there so I can't say for certain how accurate it was but it felt good--and the characters were equally well crafted.  I love the mingling snapshots of the past--both of the grandfather through the diary, and the main character's flashbacks to episodes in his career as war reporter. 

In short, I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I don't know, to be quite honest, what else there is to say.  The concepts behind it, including the Gypsy holocaust, were plausible, the political struggles felt real, it's a great book.

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