The Spanish Doctor by Matt Cohen, L&OD, 344 pages, softcover, $19.19

The book, The Spanish Doctor, is the story of Sephardic Jews as a whole, and of one individual in specific. It begins in Toledo in 1391 and ends in Kiev in 1445. So, why should we be interested in something that happened hundreds of years ago? The answer is simple. It helps us to understand the present. It offers some insight into why we are now faced with a horrific situation in the Middle East. It is not an excuse for the excesses of the actions of the State of Israel, but it helps to understand the psychology of those who feel justified in their actions to reclaim or take territory that once was the home to ancient Jews.

I am sure that author Matt Cohen would not have foreseen the events that are now unfurling in the Palestinian territories at the hand of the invading Israelis. He died of cancer in 1999, when there was still hope that the Middle East would soon find peace. The Spanish Doctor was . . . .

A truly chilling Spy Tale

Spy stories about the Cold War still  fascinate, even if this strange period in our history has come to a close — sort of. Anyone who believes that the East is not spying on the West today, and vise versa, is surely dreaming.

It seems appropriate at this time to reissue a novel about the early years of the Cold War  while we are in the midst of a much hotter conflict. The Innocent by Ian McEwan takes us to 1955 Berlin. He depicts a world that some readers will find almost unbelievable, but it actually existed and still influences our actions today. He wrote it in 1990.

McEwan, a 1998 Booker Prize winner, has taken a real event and build around it a kind of psychological thriller, for want of a better description. For there is nothing thrilling about this tale, although it is intriguing, suspenseful and holds the reader's attention.

He paints a stark background  of  bombed-out Berlin for his tale. At the same time, he gives readers an insight into the minds of people who are caught in the spidery web of espionage without ever having wanted to get involved.

The Innocent is the story of Leonard Marnham, an employee of the British Post Office, who suddenly finds himself assigned to a job in Berlin. When the job transfer comes, he is 25 years old and still lives with his parents in Tottenham. To suddenly  . . .

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