“Tamar” depicts life in World War II’s grim shadow

Set in England and Holland, and shifting between the close of World War II and the present day, Tamar: A Novel of Espionage, Passion, and Betrayal is a careful, restrained, young-adult novel of the resistance and Nazi occupation, framed by a connected subplot of discovery in modern England. Mal Peet’s writing is crisp and distinctive; he paints vivid word-portraits of the countries and those who populate them, bringing all to life and vibrating with quiet intensity. The tale is densely woven, bittersweet, melancholy, and ultimately very satisfying.

The book takes its name from a river in western England, and Tamar is also the code name given to a highly intelligent and sensitive resistance fighter. He and a colleague are sent to Holland to maintain communication with the British military, and they become embroiled as observers and participants in the lives of the villagers.

These two young men, their compatriots, and the villagers, are tense, close-mouthed, and frightened with too much at stake; they are highly visible despite all efforts to maintain low profiles. From the foreshadowing in copious hints and detail, the conclusion is obvious, but the work is so gently tuned and executed, it is impossible not to be drawn into the telling and the lives of the people who exist only on paper.

The tone and author are British, ever so British, with the unique British tone of circumspection, but the message and themes have greater impact and a greater circle. Mal Peet has created a memorable statement with his thoughtful book, and I look forward to his future writings.