Thursday, February 5, 2015

A bookish crush...

Art restorer.  Israeli spy.  Assassin.  Gabriel Allon has a unique gift for languages, a remarkable talent with a paintbrush, and an unmatched ability to raise a gun and fire in the blink of an eye. Others in the intelligence community call him 'legendary'. The son of a holocaust survivor with the soul of an artist ... a soul haunted by the memory of those he's killed ... Gabriel is complicated, honorable, and relentless. If it sounds like I'm gushing, I am. Gabriel Allon is one of my most favorite characters ever written. In fact, I have a bit of a bookish crush on him. And not just because of his green eyes.
"Gabriel had been cursed with an exaggerated sense of right and wrong. His greatest professional triumphs as an intelligence officer had not come by way of the gun but through his unyielding will to expose past wrongs and make them right. He was a restorer in the truest sense of the word."
Daniel Silva has written 14 Gabriel Allon novels. While it's best to read them in order, know that the first one in the series, The Kill Artist, isn't quite as good as the three novels that follow it. My personal favorites are The Confessor, Death in Vienna, The Secret Servant, and The Rembrandt Affair. Such amazing reads about an amazing character!

"...no quest for a stolen masterpiece had ever begun
in quite the same way."
 Who do you have a bookish crush on?

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14 comments:

  1. AmyFebruary 5, 2015 at 9:58 AM

    I agree, The Kill Artist isn't as good as the later books. Love this series. The Rembrandt Affair is on my TBR list (and my shelf!) for this year. Hmmm...bookish crushes...I think my earliest and longest lasting is probably Almanzo Wilder!

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    1. Lark February 5, 2015 at 2:23 PM

      I can totally agree on that; Almanzo Wilder is one of the good ones. :)

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  2. LisaFebruary 5, 2015 at 11:04 AM

    There is nothing so fun as a book crush! I think my first was Lord Peter Wimsey, and I'm still a little bit in love with him, even though he left me for Harriet. You do make these books sound enticing!

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    1. Lark February 5, 2015 at 2:24 PM

      I didn't think I would like reading about an assassin, but Gabriel Allon is one of those characters you quickly get attached to, and Silva's novels are exciting and fun.

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  3. jenclairFebruary 6, 2015 at 5:59 AM

    If there is anything really appealing in a first novel, even if I find the book less than stellar, I like to give the next book a chance. Authors often seem to become more comfortable and more involved as a series continues. I'll look for The Kill Artist when I get back to the library!

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    1. Lark February 6, 2015 at 4:40 PM

      That's so true. I thought Silva's second Allon novel was much better than the first. But all of them have been good. If you ever get a chance to read one, let me know what you think. :)

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  4. UnknownFebruary 6, 2015 at 1:40 PM

    The Rembrandt Affair was a great read. Is it ok, for a guy to have a man crush on Gabriel? As an artist myself, the restorer aspect was fascinating, but the overall character is just so nuanced and well written that I found myself wishing I could be as cool as Allon.

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    1. Lark February 6, 2015 at 4:39 PM

      I totally get that...Gabriel is very cool. Too bad he's also fictional. :)

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  5. Lark @ The Bookwyrm's HoardFebruary 8, 2015 at 3:38 PM

    These sound fascinating, although the assassin part gives me pause. Is he on the side of the angels, so to speak? Or at least the good guys (there are no angels in politics...)?

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    1. Lark February 9, 2015 at 12:27 PM

      The assassin part is what made me hesitate to read these books at first, but Gabriel Allon is definitely one of the good guys. And he does not relish killing people; he only does it as a last resort...to protect his country and the people he loves. That's what makes him such a complex character. And such a memorable one.

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    2. Lark @ The Bookwyrm's HoardFebruary 9, 2015 at 12:48 PM

      In that case, I'm sure I will appreciate him too! My towering TBR list may not forgive you, though.

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    3. Lark February 10, 2015 at 4:27 PM

      Ha ha! I know what you mean; I have one of those towering TBR lists, too. :)

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  6. Unruly ReaderFebruary 13, 2015 at 9:03 PM

    This series is near the top of my TBR list. It just inched even higher.

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    1. Lark February 14, 2015 at 1:27 PM

      I'm so glad. I hope you like this character (and these books) as much as I do. :)

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