A saga set in Paris during World War II, The Art Spy uncovers how an unlikely heroine infiltrated the Nazi leadership to save the world's most treasured masterpieces.
One intriguing wrinkle in Art Spy is that Valland was a lesbian ... The other fresh element of Art Spy is that Young juxtaposes Rose’s story with that of wealthy-heir-turned-Allied-soldier Alexandre Rosenberg ... Shifting between Valland and Rosenberg gives Art Spy a cinematic momentum, and the stakes could hardly be higher ... Lucidly written by Young, The Art Spy demonstrates that, without Valland, today’s visitors to Paris would have a lot less to see.
Places Valland at the center of the action, and illuminates aspects of her personal life and details about her spying methods that have received scant attention in the past ... Young, an award-winning journalist, has an energetic and novelistic writing style. Her book is broken into bite-size chapters featuring dramatic cliffhangers and vivid sensory details that enhance the historical events. However, the book leans at times toward hagiography, focusing solely on Valland’s commitment to beautiful objects without fully developing her as a human being ... Despite the claims of the book’s promotional materials, Valland’s story hasn’t been entirely untold ... Young offers a more nuanced view, revealing Valland’s private life outside the Jeu de Paume ... Young has expertly plucked the emotive elements of Valland’s account, and mined her correspondence with Jaujard, her work confidant, for additional tidbits that offer more depth. But, still, the archival cupboard remains rather bare ... In the end, there doesn’t appear to be enough new material or subjective insight available to sustain an entirely new take on Valland; what Young was able to discover still doesn’t quite manage to draw us into her private world ... Anyone familiar with the history, however, will have to be satisfied with just a few new informational nuggets in a well-told recap.
Young recounts Valland’s brilliance, courage, and sangfroid in enthralling detail ... By pairing Valland’s risky efforts with the besieged lives of the Jewish gallery owner Paul Rosenberg and his family, Young captures the full brunt of the Nazis’ art crimes ... Young vibrantly restores a hidden treasure to the pantheon of WWII heroes.
