Ian "Marvin" Graye's Reviews > Partisans

CRITIQUE:

1938

This novel of political espionage is set in France in the years 1938 and 1953.

In pre-war 1938, the chief protagonist, Barney Sand, is the 14 year old son of the American ambassador to Spain. While fleeing to France, they meet a partisan called Jacobi, an American who had fought in the Spanish Civil War as a member of the Jefferson Battalion, one of the International Brigades set up by the Comintern.

Jacobi appraises Barney in these terms:

"You live in a different world...Your family has money, sailboats, the whole business. They don't want anything to change except taxation. Neither will you. You'll accept the status quo, adapt yourself to it, even exploit it. But you won't want to change anything. That's the difference between your world and the real world, where everything needs changing.

"I'm not talking about you, I'm talking about your situation. It's just different, that's all. It's small and selfish, and it's dying, but you don't know that, and it's not your fault. It's the way you were brought up. You were trained not to know, not to see."

However, it soon becomes apparent to readers that Jacobi has misjudged Barney as an individual, if not his privileged situation.

1953

In post-war 1953, Barney still lives in Paris, but works as a journalist for an English language newspaper. Unbeknown to his peer group, his politics have become more left-wing liberal. His editor assigns him the task of interviewing the same Jacobi, who in the intervening period has been the leader of the Communist Party (presumably the PCF), but has recently been expelled from the Party. Jacobi was regarded as an idealistic political theorist and not adequately pragmatic for the times.

The Party believes that the editor will pass the record of interview with Jacobi on to the CIA, although Barney isn't aware of this.

Most of the novel (14 out of 16 chapters) describes the clandestine arrangements by which Barney is introduced to Jacobi, in the safe home where he is being held.

Readers have to wait a long time to meet 1953-era Jacobi. Even when we do (in the penultimate chapter), we don't learn much/ enough about him, except that he has grown sceptical about the role of the Communist Party:

"We wanted to believe that human beings would rise to the high principles of a cause, and they do, as long as the cause is not in power. But once in power, principles soon become political weapons, and they are abused."

Barney gets only a limited opportunity to speak to Jacobi, who tries to discourage him from getting involved with the Communist Party:

"You're trying to do your own thinking, just as I did, Barney. The Party is not for you, do you hear?"

In Jacobi's opinion, Barney is too individualistic (and selfish) for the Party. They already suspect him of being an American intelligence agent. His employment as a journalist is supposedly just a front for his espionage activities.


The author in his writing studio (Source: Jill Krementz)

"Paris Review"

While the novel is an interesting and competent work of fiction, it bears some resemblance to Peter Matthiessen's own youthful experience in Paris, where he co-founded or "invented" the "Paris Review" as a cover for his two year role as a CIA agent spying on left-wing American expatriates. (1)


FOOTNOTES:

(1) See the Charlie Rose interview in the soundtrack below. Matthiessen's politics became more left-wing liberal over time.


SOUNDTRACK"
(view spoiler)[
Choeur de l'Armée Française - "Le Chant des Partisans"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gczvc...

Leonard Cohen - "The Partisan"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs5hO...

Cream - "Politician"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOPDz...

Charlie Rose Interviews Peter Matthiessen

https://charlierose.com/videos/15312

See 15:13 to 17:20 for the discussion of (the youthful folly of) his CIA activities. (The whole interview is fascinating.)


(hide spoiler)]