The Tiger Claw

This novel brings up so many new aspects of the WW2 experience. The perspective of Indians and ethnic Brits, the issue of interracial relationships during the war, the political implications of the use and sacrifice of agents. I felt that Baldwin's descriptions made me feel I was right there on the scene. The structure of the book kept my emotions at high pitch. Not an easy novel to read, I had to at times, put it down for several days to get away from the incidents described. The scenes of Noor in jail were heart breaking. And I'm so pleased that the author resisted the Hollywood ending to the story. I read this book a year ago and it's still with me. Fabulous read.

Often reading authors unknown to me, I'll go through several books before one this good comes along. It kept me up late for several days. History seamlessly blends with fiction as Noor Inayat Khan, an Indian Muslim woman who grew up in France, finds herself back in German-occupied France, spying for Britain. If that's not complicated enough, she's in love with Armand, a Jewish native of France who's been imprisoned by the Nazis. As Noor precariously sends her radio messages to London and meets a network of other British agents, she desparately tries to get closer to Armand. The book offers page after page of breath-holding tension as the Nazi tentacles slowly close around the British network - is there a traitor feeding their names to the Gestapo? Apart from the excitement, other themes emerge. Noor reflects upon the relationship between occupiers and the occupied, as between the British and her parent's India. The characters are richly developed and on many occasions the reader shares their pain - and their hope- deeply. On one level the book is a very entertaining thriller; on another it is extremely insightful, posing very profound questions about human and societal relationships. Despite the at times gut-wrenching pathos, this books is a fabulous and very satisfying read and I highly recommend it to lovers of history, thrillers, espionage and fiction in general.