Andreas Norman

For anyone who seeks a good tale of espionage this new Swedish work is superb. It asks what happens when a 30-something foreign service officer receives a document that is both secret and provocative. Does the mere act of accepting the information make her unworthy in the eyes of the intelligence community? She feels she's done nothing wrong, but suddenly her whole life's work is at stake, all because a stranger decided to include her in his idealistic protest over certain unethical activities carried out by the U.S. and Great Britain in the name of the "war on terrorism." Are any actions justified to stop jihadists? How does a government worker who disagrees with a foreign policy register his/her beliefs? Yesterday, the U.S. mounted a hostage rescue operation on Yemini territory; does counterterrorism have the right to conduct such missions anywhere? Even in "friendly nations"--like those of the European Community? These questions are not easy to answer but Norman provides a framework for their examination. And his experience working in the Swedish Foreign Office and his talent ensures that everything reads like a government dossier. Once you've picked this book up, you cannot put it down. It is intelligent and well-written, and it's characters face moral questions that must be answered, whether they want to or not.… (meer)

Carina Dymek is a promising diplomat at UD, the Swedish office for foreign affairs. Her everyday consists of popping to Brussels for two hour meetings, working fifteen hour days, writing clever analyses of incredibly complex matters – and keeping her desk chair from getting stolen away by greedy colleagues. Dymek is considered a bit too rough around the edges for a diplomat, perhaps, and her office is a holy mess. But she is going places, both she and her boss knows it.

But after saying just a little too much in just a little too irritated a tone at an EU meeting regarding “the threat of immigration”, she gets approached by a man who gives her a secret report. “Because she has a conscience”, as he says. Carina does what she’s supposed to. She passes the report on to her bosses and the Justice Department. Next thing she knows she’s suspended from work. And the security police seems very interested in her new boyfriend, and his relatives in Egypt.

Andreas Norman (who is a good friend of mine) left writing after his debut as a poet many years ago. He has since worked as a diplomat for many years, before going back to writing. You can really see both of these factors. Andreas knows what he’s talking about, and the book gives a knowledgeable, often witty glimpse into the corridors of UD and Brussels. But even more importantly, he knows how to write.

The result is a clever political thriller, with an edge aimed towards western islamophobia and monitoring it’s own citizens. It’s only fitting that now, merely months after the book is published, the media is reporting on how tightly our security police is feeding the US with intelligence on our own citizens. This is not my genre, really, but a good read cuts through those barriers. I gulp down five hundred pages in under four days, and am left wanting more.… (meer)