As I read Stewart O’Nan’s City of Secrets I kept looking at the cover thinking, “Did they put the wrong cover on this book? Is this really Stewart O’Nan?” City of Secrets is NOT Last Night at the Lobster and is 180-degrees from The Odds. City of Secrets, set in 1945, follows a Jewish refugee named Brand as he reaches Palestine. Brand drives a cab provided by the underground determined to set up Israel. Little by little, Brand becomes involved in missions with other refugees. There’s a train robbery. But, after reading one chapter, I knew how this novel was going to end. City of Secrets was more of an Alan Furst book. O’Nan’s approach produced a story that didn’t create any suspense. I figured the secrets in this book out very quickly. You will too. GRADE: C
Sorry to see such a poor rating. Guess I’ll pass on this. His A Prayer For the Dying is one of my favorite books. Also liked The Speed Queen.
Steve, I had trouble believing this was a Stewart O’Nan novel. it’s completely different from the rest of his work. CITY OF SECRETS did not work for me.
O’Nan’s WEST OF SUNSET, a fictionalization of the last years of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s life, was one of the best books I read last year. I also enjoyed THE GOOD WIFE, following the life of a woman whose husband is incarcerated for 25 years. It’s a shame this one is not up to his usual high standards, but–as I said in this week’s FFB about a lesser du Maurier work–even the best writer doesn’t hit it out of the park every time they’re up to bat.
Deb, CITY OF SECRETS doesn’t have the aspects of WEST OF SUNSET or THE ODDS. I know writers like to “stretch” and try to write books on different topics. But CITY OF SECRETS is something completely different from any of O’Nan’s other books.
I guess I’m in a minority because, while no LAST NIGHT AT THE LOBSTER, I did enjoy this. Granted, it was mostly because I found the whole setting and the time and place to be extremely interesting. You’re right that it is more Furst than usual, but O’Nan writes a lot of different kinds of books and why should he have to write the same thing over and over. No, the ending was not a surprise to anyone who has seen or read EXODUS or knows the history, but that didn’t make it less interesting.
Jeff, O’Nan channeled Furst in CITY OF SECRETS. I remember–just a few pages into the book–thinking, “Oh, oh. I know how this is going to end.” And it did.
Phil liked it too. We’ve heard O’Nan speak and he tries to do something different with each book. My favorites are LAST NIGH and A PRAYER FOR THE DYING. But every one is good. Although I didn’t like the last one all that much.
Patti, I’m all for writers attempting to write different novels each time. But CITY OF SECRETS didn’t have that many secrets to me.
No one has mentioned it, but I also liked his early THE NAMES OF THE DEAD. I’ll get A PRAYER FOR THE DYING next, since everyone seems to agree on that.
Jeff, I found it hard to believe CITY OF SECRETS was written by the same guy that wrote THE NAMES OF THE DEAD. Stewart O’Nan is a chameleon author!
Reading your comments, George, I wondered if this might be one of those famous name uses ghost writers things, but reading the comments, I guess not.
Rick, it was as if Stewart O’Nan, who wrote like Heinlein, suddenly started writing like Philip K. Dick. Reading CITY OF SECRETS was a jarring experience for me.