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Daniel Silva never disappoints
Book Review
By Derryll White
Silva, Daniel (2020). The Order.
Daniel Silva never disappoints. If you desire a fresh view of the state of Europe without the economic and political web of the polished newscaster, Silva is your man. And while he describes and comments on sometimes shocking cultural and ecclesiastical issues, the primary character Gabriel Allon has very intelligent and real exchanges with his wife Chiara, keeping the whole story fixed in a believable reality.
Israel and the Vatican are both subjects charged with as much mystery and negative reality as anyone might choose in todays’ world – right up there with Trump and Putin. Silva walks a fine line in ‘The Order.’ He recognizes the ongoing trouble the Church has in trying to mediate between the extreme right wing clergy and the radical Jesuit workers of the many Third World dioceses. He sees the line that must be walked between the deniers of the holocaust and the militant supporters of the policies of Benjamin Netanyahu. And he walks it with excitement and candor.
Daniel Silva attempts to bring a reasoned dialogue into a world rife with hate and recriminations. Daniel Silva is not Carol Off but he shares her desire “of reclaiming the words that give life and meaning to our pursuit of a better world.” On so many levels this is a book worth reading.
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Excerpts from the novel:
EUROPE – Everywhere it seemed, the extreme right was ascendant.
Its rise in Western Europe had been fueled by globalization, economic uncertainty, and the continent’s rapidly changing demographics. Muslims now accounted for five percent of Europe’s population. A growing number of native Europeans regarded Islam as an existential threat to their religious and cultural identity. Their anger and resentment, once restrained or hidden from public view, now coursed through the veins of the Internet like a virus. Attacks on Muslims had risen sharply. So, too, had physical assaults and acts of vandalism directed against Jews. Indeed, anti-Semitism in Europe had reached a level not seen since World War II.
ITALY – “Our people have lost faith with fanciful notions like liberal democracy, the European Union, and the Eastern alliance. And why not? Between globalization and automation, most young Italians can’t start a proper career. If they want a well-paying job, they have to go to Britain. And if they stay here … “The general glanced at the young man behind the bar. “They serve coffee to tourists.”
THE DIGITAL AGE – “My colleagues at Unit 8200 are now searching the system’s backup.”
“Will they find anything?”
“Computer files are a bit like sin, Excellency.”
“How so?”
“They can be absolved, but they never really go away.”
PRIVACY – “Once we’re inside a phone, we can listen to the owner’s calls, read his e-mail and text messages, and monitor his browsing on the Internet. We can even take photographs and videos with the camera and use the microphone as a listening device.”
– Derryll White once wrote books but now chooses to read and write about them. When not reading he writes history for the web at www.basininstitute.org.
