When and how did the Tsaplin case begin?
With the 1942 murder of a British intelligence officer in Alexandria? In the chaotic days of the 1968 Prague Spring? At the 1973 interrogation in the Leningrad KGB office? And how was Tsaplins life altered by the novel he had translated? Forces of history and contingencies of fate drive Tsaplin across three continents to Melbourne, where some very old grievances and betrayals come to a head ... This is a novel of remarkable richness, swaying evocatively between fictive characters, modern European history and something that feels very close to autobiography. The threads of Middle Europe are woven into a new, haunting pattern, framed at last by the soothing richness of an Australian landscape. And Gelbachs interacting characters are emotionally larger than civil life.
Chris Wallace-Crabbe
'an evocative journey into the hidden places of 20th century history that haunts and entertains' - Sydney Morning Herald
