3 out of 4 stars
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Jean-Pierre le Pan’s Traitors is a historical fiction novel that has it all: espionage, political corruption, intrigue and a high-stakes game played on the international stage. The story largely takes place in South Africa, known as Azania, and follows the lives of many complex characters such as Minister of Justice Mike Blanco, Azanian President Minto Manto, Russian Ambassador Leonid Olkov and Chinese Ambassador Hsu Li. Majority of the book takes place in what is presumably modern day, or else in recent years, though le Pan certainly references many historical events and incorporates the past into his novel.
While the story is comprised of micro-events which le Pan says you can read in any order, the overarching story hinges on Mike Blanco who has been part of one of Russia’s sleeper cells since childhood. Unbeknownst to him, the Russians have a massive plan which involves not only Blanco but also President Manto and which remains top-secret despite Blanco’s efforts to uncover it. The scheme, in part a reaction against the Chinese’s own plans in Africa, is led by Leonid Olkov, a former KGB agent and Russia’s most respected — and feared — representative in Azania. Russia’s plans unfold amidst a backdrop of racial unrest, warring political convictions and huge financial investments in Africa’s mineral resources.
One of the book’s strong suits is le Pan’s thorough research and knowledge concerning European and Asian involvement in Africa from the 1930s to today. As someone who didn’t formerly know much in this historical area, I learned quite a bit and was thankful for the many explanations provided in the book and in particular, the preface, which helped me sort fact from fiction. I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars, withholding a perfect score only because the story can be slightly confusing at times. Aside from the historical difficulties such as the many organizations’ abbreviations and the hard-to-remember character names which can’t be helped due to the book’s subject matter, the writing style added to my confusion at times. Specifically, it was the rapid changing of time (when heavily referencing past events), the occasional excess of details and the frequent changing of perspective between characters which rendered it difficult for me. Suffice it to say that I took more notes than usual throughout the book.
That being said, I did thoroughly enjoy the story, learned a lot and was able to make sense of everything that happened albeit through extra slow and careful reading. Positive aspects of the book include le Pan’s interesting parallels between current events and historical ones, his captivating way of presenting facts through strong and beautiful metaphors and the overall non-bias attitude of his writing. No country, political party or character is safe from critique and all are left heavily exposed in the end.
While there are some emotionally difficult scenes to process, Traitors unveils bureaucratic corruption at its worst while still giving a behind-the-scenes look at each perpetrator’s thoughts and reasoning, revealing the human side — not necessarily the good human side — of these larger-than-life villains. The book tackles tough subjects like greed, racism, narcissism and power while nodding to many social and political climates of today. For anyone interested in learning about South Africa’s history and its ongoing struggles, it is well worth the read.
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Traitors
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