Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Siege:
Proof that fiction can’t touch great non-fiction. I said what I said.
Quick synopsis:
The story of the 1980 hostage crisis of the Iranian embassy in London.
Fact for Non-History People:
British police did not carry guns except for Diplomatic Protection officers. That becomes very important.
Fact for History Nerds:
The island of Fiji actually requested British colonization. Totally irrelevant to the story but still super interesting!
My Take on The Siege:
Oh, sure, the book jacket may tell you that Ben Macintyre’s The Siege is about the 1980 hostage crisis at the Iranian embassy in London. However, this is selling it short. You see, I have read many of Macintyre’s books, and I can say without hesitation that his books are always about people. Events just happen to occur near those people. The Siege is no different.
For those who don’t remember, terrorists took over the Iranian embassy in London which included 26 hostages. I won’t get too detailed about the terrorists as their point of view is rather surprising. Macintyre takes his time as he slowly peels back the layers of the story around the hostages, terrorists, and the people trying to bring this crisis to a peaceful end. I can’t stress enough how masterfully each person is revealed as a flesh and blood person regardless of which side they are on. Some people would prove themselves heroes and others villains.
Something else I have found in all of Macintyre’s books is humor. I don’t know how, but the author continues to find sly humor in the darkest of places. His last book, Prisoners of the Castle, was closer to Hogan’s Heroes than anyone would have expected even though it is the true story of captured Allied POWs. The Siege isn’t laugh-out-loud funny, but Macintyre lightens the mood whenever possible without cheapening the drama around the story.
It would not be a spoiler to say that the final act of this story is heavy on action. Most chapters are about the same size except for the last one which covers everything that happens during the (to quote the subtitle) “special-forces operation that shocked the world.” Instead of breaking up the story with needless cliffhangers, the narrative just takes off until everything goes quiet.
The book is simply fantastic, and you should read it.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Crown Publishing.)
Verdict:
One of the best of 2024 without a doubt. Buy it here!
If You Liked This Try:
Ben Macintyre, Prisoners of the Castle and Agent Zigzag
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.