New in Paperback: Lion Eyes by Claire Berlinski

What one feels, throughout the pages of Lion Eyes (Ballantine Books) is a sort of disconnect, almost disassociation. For the most part, the feeling is delicious. It’s a sensation of wondering, throughout much of the book, “Is this real?” or “Is this part fabrication?” We know that both things are a possibility and therein lies that pleasurable confusion.

Like author Claire Berlinski, the main character is called Claire and she is an American living in Paris. Also like the author, Claire has written novel called Loose Lips. You see where all of this is going, right? Claire gets e-mail from a Persian archeologist who says he’s read her book. They begin a torrid electronic affair and when he proposes coming to visit her in Paris, Claire looks forward to finally meeting the man who by now embodies all of her fantasies.

When he arrives, however, Claire finds herself lifted from her romantic fantasy into a world of intrigue and espionage. Berlinski’s prose is charming. Sometimes wildly funny, sometimes oddly innovative, sometimes marvelously insightful. Lion Eyes is quite wonderful and should not be missed.