Great subject matter, tedious narration

I have read more recent Finder novels, and loved them, but I didn't realize before I purchased this one that it was one of his first. Consequently, the verbage is a bit off; as it was written 20 years ago. At first I thought it was another of those "American" thrillers written by a Brit or Aussie, given the stilted terminology and strange phraseology; but I did a bit of research on Finder, only to discover that this novel was nearly autobiographical. Finder was born in the US, went to Yale, then the spy business; but somehow the dialogue did not seem realistic. Things were said to be "terribly" funny (or some such, instead of "very"), and "rather" was used the same way.

Maybe I found myself concentrating on this because the narration was so mind-numbingly monotonous; the narrator could have been literally reading it for the first time, aloud; and was rarely expressive. Scott Brick would have done this book justice, and made it as interesting to hear as it must have been to read.

10 people found this helpful

Chock-full of US-USSR history. Way too chock full.

Joseph Finder can really write, and Edoardo Ballerini is now my favorite living narrator. Nonetheless, this is not the finest work by either of them. The book is forbiddingly long, and it is really so stuffed with information, names, plots and sub-plots and sub-sub-sub plots (you get the idea) that Mr. Finder seems to be deliberately trying to confuse the reader. Perhaps this is accurate history and only thinly disguised fiction. Still, you can't help but get lost. This is not good. Further, and to the book's perhaps fatal detriment, the editors or producers have responded to this volume of material by forcing Mr. Ballerini to read the book as if he were on speed. Seriously. I have now listened to at least a dozen Ballerini books (Beautiful Ruins is still my favorite) and the pressure here to talk as fast as is humanly possible effectively wastes the narrator's considerable talents. Mr. Ballerini has studied the Russian language carefully, and his pronunciations of numerous Russian names and words is brilliant. How this man can sound so fluent and fluid in so many languages is a wonder. Italian I get, but Russian? And he can do many more. His ear for language and its subtleties is just profound. But you just can't force him to do what is done to him here. It is a waste.
The major plot involves a man named Charlie Stone, a governmental operative in several secret CIA activities (are there any not-secret CIA activities?). The narration switches between Moscow and several cities along the East Coast of the US. I won't even try to tell you about the plot twists, as I would get confused myself. There is a love interest, between Charlie and his estranged wife Charlotte, which I would have liked to hear more about, but Mr. Finder is determined to stuff so much historical fact/fiction into the book that the romance, which is a pleasant distraction, is given short shrift. I have read a lot of books about Russia, as my family goes back to Minsk and Pinsk. However, if you want to understand Russia, Martin Cruz Smith is the absolute master of Russian fiction. His character Arkady Renko is without doubt the most human character in all of Russian fiction. I would recommend that you start there, particularly with Polar Star, Gorky Park, Red Square or Havana Bay. Wolves Eat Dogs is a bit hard for some folks to take, situated as it is in Chernobyl. However, Mr. Smith writes circles around Mr. Finder, with books that are half the length of this book, and they pack way more punch. Sorry, Charlie: your tale is a shaggy dog story.

14 people found this helpful

A plot that keeps going

This is a fairly lengthy book for a spy novel but it's got enough plot for the entire length. There's a lot going on with several plot lines that come together at the end. Job well done by the narrator who maintains a high level of excitement and emotion.

This is the first Joseph Finder book I've heard and I'll be checking out more.

5 people found this helpful

Did not like this title

I did not care for this book.It is first time with this author struggled to finish.

1 person found this helpful

Horrible narrator mars entertaining story -

This was an engaging read and the plot held my interest. Protagonist made a few too many miraculous escapes but I won't quarrel with that. My quarrel is with the narrator. First, his mispronunciations of some English words, such as "detritus," were distracting. If people are going to pay to hear you read it is worth checking pronunciation of unfamiliar words. At one point he referred to Kingsport, TN as "Klingsport" and that was irritating. Second, his mispronunciation of Russian words was distracting and unnecessary. One does not need to be a speaker of Russian to know how to pronounce "dacha" (common word for a holiday home) or "Isvestia" (one of the two Soviet newspapers.) Other Russian mispronunciations were irritating but perhaps less avoidable. Third, and more irritating than the mispronunciations, the narrator favored clownish imitations of French and Russian accents that detracted from the story. The same was true of his efforts to render the voices of elderly characters. It was painful to listen. Some narrators are better than others at "doing voices," and this narrator should not do it at all. It is not his gift. I gave him two stars, rather than the one he probably merits, because this was a long book and I'm sure a lot of work. So I gave him one star for sheer volume. I disliked this narrator enough that I will avoid any other books that he narrates. One more thing - not related to the narrator - the Epilogue began with a gratuitous sex scene that I would have preferred to skip. I wish this author, or his editors, had not felt the need to insert that or other sex scenes. This book would have been better without them.

Uninspiring

I like a fast paced clever thriller. The Moscow Club is none of these. Keep searching.

It never ended. We are again here today.

Very well done. Narrator was exceptional. The story kept moving forward and never stalled. Joseph Finder has great command of his facts and uses the well.

1 person found this helpful

Disappointing and Pedistrian; Not a Usual Finder

Would you try another book from Joseph Finder and/or Edoardo Ballerini?

Yes I would. Finder is much better an author than this book would suggest.

Which scene was your favorite?

really isn't one

Any additional comments?

For a 17 hour plus book, there is very little to recommend it.

The book tried very hard to explain why it was set against the backdrop of the Gorbachev regime, but I was alive during that time and nothing about it seemed to be the story left untold.

The characters themselves, despite Finder's attempts, never seem to come alive. They are often wooden, and Finder as their puppetmaster drags them from one scene to another solely because his storyline demands it. I completed the book, but the payoff for all those hours of listening was hardly worth the credit I wasted on it.

In fact, it doesn't seem much like a Finder at all. It's more like a first novel written by a middle-level bureaucrat in the first years following his retirement, all the promise of grandeur of these supposed golden recollections tarnished and pitted long before it's completed.

To steal an analogy Michael Connelly once used, this novel is an ancient minivan that pulls to the curb in front of the reader, it's engine missing, its door creaking open uninvitingly. Once underway, it reluctantly proceeds down the highway in fits and starts, only far too late reaching its disappointing destination.

1 person found this helpful

Finder's least competant

I must say this is the least liked of all the Finder's books. It is about an antiquated plot - "the KGB". With the way it was played out, it highlighted how insufferably childish the whole idea was in retrospect, and with an ethos of the "boys' club" interwoven with the secret police in America. Boring, Boring, Boring. Also the dialogue was badly executed and was like a bad B-C grade paper-back. I am truly surprised as I have enjoyed nearly all of Finder's books too!

2 people found this helpful

Finder scores a winner!!!

Best Joseph Finder book to date! Good plot, even unique in spots, great character development, good reading by Edoardo Ballerini . . .wunder why I haven't listened to him before.

Don't miss out on a good one. Buy this one and prepare to enjoy.

1 person found this helpful