{"product_id":"9780676976212","title":"The Tiger Claw","description":"Shauna Singh Baldwin first heard of the mysterious story of Noor Inayat Khan (codename  \u003ci\u003eMadeleine\u003c\/i\u003e) at The Safe House, an espionage-themed restaurant in Milwaukee. A former  Dutch spy told her of the brave and beautiful Indo-American woman who left her family  in London, England to become a spy in Nazi-occupied France during the Second World  War.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The story immediately intrigued Baldwin, inspiring her to travel to Europe,  seek out the places where Noor lived, interview the people who knew her and discover  more about the enigmatic woman. The Giller Prize finalist \u003ci\u003eThe Tiger Claw —\u003c\/i\u003e Baldwin’ s follow-up novel to her award-winning \u003ci\u003eWhat The Body Remembers\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003e— \u003c\/i\u003ewas born\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003efrom the  silences, conflicting stories and significant gaps she discovered along the way.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e As the novel begins, we’re thrown into a bleak German prison cell with Noor, where  she is shackled hand and foot and freezing from the winter’s cold. It is December  1943, the turning point in the war raging in Europe. Noor’s captor, Herr Vogel, allows  her onionskin paper on which he directs her to write children’s stories. She does  so, but also secretly writes letters to someone she addresses as “ma petite,” the  spirit of the child she had conceived with Armand Rivkin, a French Jewish musician  and the love of her life. Although she must keep the letters hidden from her captor,  it is through these words to her unborn child, alternating with a thrilling third-person  narrative, that we learn Noor’s courageous and heartbreaking story.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Noor’s mother  is an American from Boston who married a Sufi musician and teacher from India. Growing  up in France, Noor is extremely close with her liberal Muslim father, but when he  dies, Noor’s conservative uncle Tajuddin and her brother Kabir govern the family.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Uncle Tajuddin and Kabir disapprove of Noor’s love for Armand, and as the men of  the family in 1930s France, they have the legal right to stop her engagement. Noor  is faced then with the choice between defying her family and turning against her  heart. She stops seeing Armand, but is devastated and lonely. Once the war begins,  Noor’s family heads to England while Armand’s family stays. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e When Germany invades  France, Noor despairs of ever seeing Armand again, until Kabir unwittingly introduces  her to his new friend who is recruiting bilingual women for the resistance. Noor  is offered training, and she accepts. She will help defeat the Germans, but her true  purpose will be to find and reunite with Armand.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e As a resistance agent, Noor trains  to be a radio operator, taking on a second identity — Nora Baker — one of many names  she will eventually assume. When she arrives in France, she plays Anne-Marie Régnier  — a woman caring for her sick aunt — and to other spies in her resistance network,  she is known as “Madeleine.” \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e She has secret rendezvous with other agents, transmits  messages from various safe houses, and risks capture at every turn. She rents an  apartment across the street from Drancy, the concentration camp where she knows Armand  is being held. At great peril, she sends him a message — the tiger claw pendant she  always wears for luck and courage. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Noor must wade her way through oppression and  hypocrisy from all sides:  h her beloved Armand could be killed by the Germans at  any time; her French and British colleagues fight the occupation of France while  Britain still occupies India; she learns of dark family secrets; and, one by one,  members of the spy network are being ratted out by a double agent. Betrayal can come  from anyone. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e We know from the beginning that Noor will end up imprisoned, but who  betrays her? Will she ever be released? Will Kabir find her? Will she and Armand  be reunited? Baldwin paces the story like a nail-biting thriller, revealing only  a little bit at a time. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eThe Tiger Claw\u003c\/i\u003e is packed with complex characters riding  the line between good and evil. In the end, it is the reader who must be the judge,  and decide where he or she stands.","brand":"Shauna Singh Baldwin (CA)","offers":[{"title":"Paperback \/ softback Trade paperback (US)","offer_id":42403888595104,"sku":"9780676976212","price":9.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0582\/8637\/5072\/files\/BNCImageAPI_6fa0219d-4f8a-4e80-8587-68145ee81c6e.jpg?v=1732172810","url":"https:\/\/rivendell-books.com\/products\/9780676976212","provider":"Rivendell Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}