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A Crime Reads Best Book of the Year 2018
“Prague Spring…plunges into the heady days of 1968: the pleasures of new freedoms, the hopes that were brutally crushed, and the politics, both behind the scenes and in the streets. All that you would want from a novel.” —Australian Book Review, Best Books of the Year
“Playing a neat cat-and-mouse game with the reader, [Mawer] gradually turns up the temperature of the novel, shaking us out of our comfort zones…a strong return to the Eastern European setting of his acclaimed novel The Glass Room…affecting and ultimately chilling.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Mawer brilliantly captures the differing shades of naïveté and world weariness that characterize the Czech response to the possibility of greater freedom…[a] smart and touching look at the folly and sweetness of the young.” —Booklist
“Mawer is a superb chronicler of past events in foreign countries, and Prague Springis a wonderfully atmospheric portrait of the city, as well as a political and historical thriller with dashes of espionage. It is as brilliant as anything he has written, which is saying a great deal.” —The Times (UK)
“Mawer’s novels are always rich in intelligence and insight…and Prague Spring is no exception.” —Sunday Times
“Masterly and chilling…as good as anything Simon Mawer has written; which means it is very good indeed.” —The Scotsman
“Engaging…Mawer’s prose is crisp, electrified by a sense of menace.” —Daily Mail
“The tumultuous events of 1968 make a fascinating backdrop to this intelligent drama that follows the fortunes of four people caught up in the Russian invasion. Superbly written, poignant and polished, this story will haunt you.” —Sunday Mirror
“A cracking fictional tale set in a beautifully researched (and very well-chosen) slice of history…the reader is always aware that the political and social excitement Mawer captures so well was tragically misplaced. Yet, knowing more than the characters do only serves to crank up the tension—and to make their optimism all the more heart-rending—as the climactic invasion approaches.” —Reader’s Digest