The Charm School by Nelson Demille

Finally finished reading Nelson DeMille's The Charm School, a Cold War novel set in Russia during the 80's. Its a few months now that I have been putting off finishing it, not because its dull and uninteresting but because I kept buying new books and then want to read them all. As I said, a bad habit since I learned too late that The Charm School is an entertaining book that will have me on the edge of my seat when I reach the last 100 pages.

I like Mr. Demille's style of writing, he is very meticulous in providing details on what is happening around the characters and on how things are to be done properly. Like on the last few pages, he discussed how to fly an helicopter that will soon be out of fuel on an unforgiving environment. He also provided very involving description on the Russian rural area that you can empathize with how the poor suffers.

He was also able to effectively convey the fear that is being perpetrated by the KGB, how they had instilled a great fear in the heart of the Russian folks so that they can control them. When I was reading the book, I can feel the fear that the characters are undergoing when they talk about the KGB and why it is important not be captured by them.

But what I like most about the book are the witty comments of Colonel Sam Hollis, especially when he is talking to Lisa Rhodes, both the main characters of the novel. They have funny comments about what they see while they are traveling on a Russian rural area but I felt some comments are out of place. There were times that their situation is already life-or-death but they are still cracking jokes.

All in all a very good and satisfying read, highlyrecommend.

Here's a synopsis of the book:

On a dark road deep inside Russia, a young American tourist picks up a most unusual passenger with an incredible secret. Poised against the very heartland of America is a vast and astounding KGB enterprise known as "The Charm School." Arrayed against the all-encompassing grip of the Soviet state are three Americans: Sam Hollis, an Air Force officer, who will fly one last covert mission into the center of a mad experiment; Lisa Rhodes, an embassy liaison, who will see her political hopes and ideals brutally tested; and Seth Alevy, the chief of the CIA's Moscow station, who will find his intricate dance of destiny and death reaching its devastating conclusion. Welcome to The Charm School, one of the most chilling Cold War novels ever written.