The author Daniel Silva is well renowned for creating international spy thrillers and with The Rembrandt Affair he again shows us why. Here he comes up with a plot which merges the worlds of intelligence and art together. It also has the elements of Bernie Madoff like villain, looted art, Iran nuclear scene and Holocaust (mostly in terms of this generation).
Gabriel Leads a Quiet Life
Gabriel Allon, the hero of The Rembrandt Affair works as an art restorer and is an Israeli spy as well. The villain of the book is Martin Landesmann, inspired by Bernie Madoff. The book starts with a painting theft, and the readers come to know about the behind the scenes activities of the art world with a clarity never witnessed before. Gabriel Allon has been asked for help in investigating the theft which he accepts and in the process of investigation he finds out there are international factors behind the painting theft.
Systematically Robbed
The author Daniel Silva also tries to understand the plight of the Holocaust victims at the time when they were being taken to the gas chambers. Right through the way to these gas chambers, the Jews were systematically robbed by the Nazis. The basic theme behind the creation of The Rembrandt Affair is greed, in all its vicious forms. The villain of the book, Martin Landesmann, is based on Bernie Madoff and the author Daniel Silva is just fascinated by him. The reason is despite his criminal reality, his exterior presents him to the society as an eminent personality who was trusted by the entire community.
The Inside Story of Holocaust
Daniel Silva also describes Switzerland as a myth, since the country is believed to be a multi-cultural and tolerant society. He further clarifies that the Swiss actually worked with the Nazis to profit from the gold which was looted from the Jews. Even in 1990s, they tried to make sure the stolen goods of Jews were not given back to them. The Tinner family is used as a backdrop in The Rembrandt Affair during that part when Martin Landesmann is selling nuclear technology to Iran. This family really existed though it was used by CIA operatives to gather information about the nuclear project.
Go Slowly but Surely
Daniel Silva wants to make sure the authorities act quickly and break the Iranian nuclear program brick by brick which may be unattractive but is much more effective compared to any dramatic action. This method will also work well for the policy makers since it’s more practical and will give much needed time to them. Overall, the author manages to create fascinating characters which are actively liked and disliked (you cannot ignore them) by the readers.
