To those to whom names like Oppenheimer, Fermi, Teller, and Lawrence ring a bell, as well as those for whom Trinity tolls, Los Alamos is a terrific “period piece.” Naturally, it is set in the latter years of WWII in the midst of those working on the Manhattan Project. Karon’s feel for the period is outstanding. The unnamed effort at the Daily Worker, the funeral of Roosevelt along with its attendant uneasiness about Truman’s unknown quantity, and the reality that the European expatriates at the “site” were more concerned about the Nazis than the Imperial Japanese are perfectly nuanced, as is the rare air-conditioned locale and the slothful performance of rural law enforcement officers (local speed trap and all). It was also news to me that all of the scientists and families had local identification printed up with no names—just numbers.The set-up features a former reporter who is brought in by the commander of “the site” to investigate the murder of one of the agents in security. Circumstances point to a homosexual hate crime and a man confesses to the murder, but things don’t seem to fit right for former reporter Michael Connelly. He keeps investigating until he uncovers his patron’s worst fears. The murder is not what it seems.The mystery doesn’t offer a lot of “red herrings.” The clues are all set-up very nicely. The beauty of this book is found in its characterization. The protagonist is a reporter who has to know the truth, but isn’t as concerned with “doing the truth.” The commanding officer seems borderline schizophrenic, but induces a certain amount of sympathy in the end. Enlisted men try to bear their burdens and long for the time when their tour of duty is over. Yet, several have moral dilemmas (whether of their own making as in the homosexual or of another’s as in Mills trying to do his duty). Karon’s style is straight-forward, but is slightly more ornate than one’s standard mystery novel. A lot of the book takes place inside Connelly’s head, but much of the exposition takes place in very realistic conversation. The all-too-human betrayals, lies, and fears are worth considering and the book was solid enough that I’m looking forward to reading Karon’s novel of the “Red scare” in the ‘50s. If you don’t like the “period,” you won’t enjoy the mystery, but if you’re fascinated by the mid-20th century (like me, considering I was born at the halfway mark), you’re sure to find this a page-turner.
While some authors follow a character over time, involving them in one story after another, Joseph Kanon chooses to write about a given time period in modern history, namely 1945. After enjoying his 2001 novel The Good German, set in recently occupied Berlin in 1945, I took out Los Alamos, his 1997 debut novel that is set in, naturally, Los Alamos NM in the final weeks of the Manhattan Project in the summer of 1945. In addition to the time period, the books have many elements in common. Both take place in the context of overarching historical events (the development of the atomic bomb and the Nuremburg war crimes trials), both feature an outsider, a journalist, who investigates a murder in a quasi-military setting peopled by Americans and German. In both novels, the actual murder becomes secondary to other elements. Both feature real historical figures (Robert Jackson and Robert Oppenheimer)as well as fictional characters, both include an adulterous love affair with the wife of a socially unskilled scientist, and in both we see the beginnings of the Cold War between the USSR and the US while they are still ostensibly WW II allies. And in both the author introduces moral issues, in this case over the actual use of the atomic bomb against Japan once Germany has been defeated. In both novels, the setting is an important component. Los Alamos is a much smaller and more isolated community than post-war Berlin so there are fewer characters, less complexity, and, until the climax, less action. It takes a while for the story to gain traction and, in my opinion, the writing in Los Alamos is, not surprisingly, not as polished as in the later Good German. Joseph Kanon has written several other novels set in this time period. I will be interested in seeing how much they share with these two.
What do You think about Los Alamos (2005)?
I had read that Kanon's writing is similar to that of Alan Furst (a favorite author), so I thought I'd give Kanon a try. He's not anywhere near Furst. Once I got past my disappointment, I continued with the book and found it wordy with a pretty simple plot. The dialogue between the main character and his new girlfriend is the most stilted I've read in quite some time. Then the main character, just a minor security agent for some US agency, is going to "protect" Oppenheimer (sorry, Oppie) from the commie hunters out to get him. Not a very good book. Furst has a new book out - that should put Kanon out of my mind.
—David
First-rate thriller, though the focus of the novel is more on the cloak than the dagger. Perhaps some readers dislike Kanon's deliberate pacing but I find it compelling and more psychologically revealing. The character interactions and the interior monologues are handled quite deftly here, just as they are in 'Istanbul Passage' and 'The Good German'. Points off, though, for the versatile love interest, Emma, who's rich romantic history and steely reserve in the spy game are not entirely credible. I googled up 'Los Alamos' and the Manhattan Project to determine if the principal scientists named in the story, other than 'Oppie', are fictional or were actual members of the Los Alamos team helping to make "the gadget". The traitor, who Connolly finally identifies, appears to me to be created from whole cloth. Anyone disagree?
—FrankH
It's the height of the Manhattan Project and one of the security officers at Los Alamos is murdered in circumstances which suggest a gay quarrel. But the project's military head wants to cover all possibilities and seconds intelligence officer Mike Connolly, an NYC investigative journalist in peacetime, to check that everything is as the cops think it is and there has been no security breach. Connolly does indeed find the waters are far murkier than anyone had thought possible; and in the process of his investigation enters into a very physical adulterous liaison with Emma, the English wife of one of the German scientists engaged in the project. While the historical details seem extremely authentic, including the portrayals of Oppenheimer (a major supporting player in the story) and some of the other physicists, and while the detection part of it all is absorbingly handled, I could have done with a little less of the love story; while that obsessive mutual infatuation is extremely convincingly depicted, I could have done with a bit less wordage devoted to it -- on grounds analogous to the truism that lovers' conversations and banter are a lot more interesting to the lovers themselves than they are to anyone else. One theme extremely pertinent to us today that came through loud and clear concerned the deadening effect of paranoid, over-eager security: historically, as we know, it hindered work on the project (and later Teller, shown in this book as an egocentric shit, was able to use it to destroy Oppie's career in a foretaste of Swiftboatery); here we see it having the effect of psychological handcuffs on Connolly as he attempts to solve the case, forcing him much of the time to be working against the efforts of the official security hierarchy. I've made a note to go looking for further novels by Kanon, because I did enjoy this, despite the qualification mentioned above.
—John
