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A review by richardrbecker
Tamar: A Novel of Espionage, Passion, and Betrayal by Mal Peet
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
Tamar had some promise as a World War II Dutch resistance story but never took off. The plot and pace remained flat from the first page to the last, which is surprisingly tricky to do with a book about espionage. Or maybe that is part of the problem.
Tamar bills itself as something different than it is while being neither thing it could be. It's a story about a girl who inherits a box containing a series of clues and coded messages. But her story only takes off one-quarter of the way through the book. And as far as heritage mysteries go, there isn't much to it. Her grandfather wanted her to find someone. You can decide if it's climatic or not.
I suspect Peet didn't think it was, which would explain why the girl's story accounts for less than 25 percent of the book. But her grandfather, despite being one of a couple of spies in Holland, doesn't give us much of a conflict either. Mostly, he and his fellow spy Dart fly under the radar—so much so that they try to shut down actual Dutch resistance because they are more afraid of the Germans' retaliation than the Dutch themselves.
Tamar is especially concerned for the safety of all Dutch, but particularly one—the same one who will eventually become the girl's grandmother. (And this isn't even a spoiler, given you can see the relationship developing a mile away in the book's opening pages.) So there you have it. Of the two plot lines, the mystery is a non-mystery with no real stakes, and the espionage story never evokes any sense of real danger (despite the body count). As far as Nazis go, these are relatively tame in their indifference.
The book's most redeeming quality is some authenticity in its portrayal of spies who mainly send and receive messages from England (but with no definitive purpose). Unfortunately, even this ends with such a whimper that not even Peets talent as a writer can pull it off.
Tamar bills itself as something different than it is while being neither thing it could be. It's a story about a girl who inherits a box containing a series of clues and coded messages. But her story only takes off one-quarter of the way through the book. And as far as heritage mysteries go, there isn't much to it. Her grandfather wanted her to find someone. You can decide if it's climatic or not.
I suspect Peet didn't think it was, which would explain why the girl's story accounts for less than 25 percent of the book. But her grandfather, despite being one of a couple of spies in Holland, doesn't give us much of a conflict either. Mostly, he and his fellow spy Dart fly under the radar—so much so that they try to shut down actual Dutch resistance because they are more afraid of the Germans' retaliation than the Dutch themselves.
Tamar is especially concerned for the safety of all Dutch, but particularly one—the same one who will eventually become the girl's grandmother. (And this isn't even a spoiler, given you can see the relationship developing a mile away in the book's opening pages.) So there you have it. Of the two plot lines, the mystery is a non-mystery with no real stakes, and the espionage story never evokes any sense of real danger (despite the body count). As far as Nazis go, these are relatively tame in their indifference.
The book's most redeeming quality is some authenticity in its portrayal of spies who mainly send and receive messages from England (but with no definitive purpose). Unfortunately, even this ends with such a whimper that not even Peets talent as a writer can pull it off.