Heroes or Criminals Gabriel Timar
Heroes or Criminals By Gabriel
Timar Electronic Release: June 2010 ISBN: 978-1-897521-21-2 http://www.xoxopublishing.com Rated:
A+ Above
Excellent 5+Stars
Reviewed by: Dan Golightly
In
an age
when war criminals launch invasions to seize other countries'
lands and
resources under a false pretext to go to war, enter Gabriel Timar,
a man
courageous enough to set the world straight on World War Two. Why
do I get
the feeling the protagonist of Heroes or Criminals, Hungarian
born but
nationalized U.S. citizen Mark Kende, is based on our unsung hero,
World
War Two vet and now esteemed author, Gabriel Timar? I admire the
character
of both men, the protagonist and the author upon whom I can only
assume he
is based. Why do I make this assumption? Because I actually met
the author
himself at a recent Mississauga engagement. He struck me as a
polished
gentleman who shined his intentions along with his military boots.
After
all, if your boots are shiny enough to see your face in them, you
had
better be proud of what you see. The motto of my school was
"Manners
maketh men" and I see this ethic writ large in every page of this
novel.
Mark Kende is the epitome of the gentleman, a nobleman of the
noblest
rank, who despite his modest petty bourgeoisie background is an
aristocrat
of the highest order in terms of honor and conduct, distinguishing
himself
in battle by singlehandedly leading a charge, armed with only a
bayonet,
against the enemy for which he received a gong, which he wears
proudly.
When observing the abuse of power committed by Nazis and other
military officers breaching the Geneva Convention, Mark Kende
adopts the
mindset of "Yes sir, no sir!" and follows the dictates of his own
conscience. When an old woman expresses pity for the Jews being
boarded on
to trains for transfer to the death camps, she intuits is the
final
destination, she is arrested by the Gestapo and thrown in to the
line of
prisoners. Mark is tempted to open fire on the heartless Nazi
commandant
in charge, but realizes that he will only get himself shot in the
process
and accomplish nothing. When later a woman comes to him with
an
unusual request, Mark, ever the gentleman, sits quietly for a
moment to
formulate a response. It is no wonder he is given cause for pause.
He even
wonders if he is hearing things, begging her to repeat the
request. She
repeats her entreaty and Mark is amazed to find that the charming
woman
endowed with both sweetness of disposition and flawless genetics
actually
wants him to bed her in order to make her pregnant. Any other
soldier of
any rank would not have to be asked twice, but this extraordinary
man of
honor actually asks for an explanation and even tries to talk her
out of
it. When he learns that she fears an invasion by the Soviet army,
whose
reputation for raping the local women is well known, he
understands that
she would rather bear the child of friend than foe, so that she
will be
able to nurture and raise the child with the appropriate amount of
love.
Learning that she refuses to leave out of obligation to her aging
parents,
whom she feels bound to, he insists that she leave because her
fluent
Russian is liable to mean either a death sentence or permanent
exile to a
Siberian gulag. Mark, ever the gentleman, forgives his mother's
tryst
with a male masseuse and even overlooks the fact that his middle
aged
mother has needs. They have a pretty solid rapport and respect one
another's strong character and the fact that are both their own
person.
She stops pestering him to find a wife and he leaves her to choose
her own
husband. In the end, we have a man who is able to bridge the age
gap,
ethnic and ideological divisions, eventually choosing the homeland
that
best suits his cultural and philosophical bent, America, which he
sees as
a place where the boundaries between good and evil and right and
wrong are
more clearly delineated and drawn. It may have been true of the
America of
the Second World War era, but I wonder how Mark Kende would view
the
America of today, or author Gabriel Timar for that matter. I don't
frankly
know. I didn't have a chance to ask him. |
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Biography:
Born in Hungary,
Gabriel studied civil engineering at the Budapest
University. Taking active part in the 1956 revolution, he decided to
defect. Settled in Canada, worked as an engineer but after spending a
few years in Labrador, he took a job in Bangla Desh. For the next twenty
odd years he worked in Africa, Asia and the South Pacific as a
consulting engineer, chief executive officer, United Nations
environmental engineering advisor and finally as a professor.
In 1982 he married,
returned to Canada and taught environmental
engineering at Seneca College in Toronto. He retired as the Chair of
Civil Engineering Technology. Since retirement, his hobby has been
writing. Gabriel has published several full-length novels in both
English and Hungarian.
Novels in English: Hades
Connection (sci-fi, 2004), Assassins’
Club, (thriller, 2005) Novgorod Diary (sci-fi,
publication in August 2008)
Novels in Hungarian:
A Bardán kapcsolat (sci-fi, 2000), Hösök
vagy bünösök (historical novel, 2005), Menni vagy maradni
(fictionalized autobiography, 2006), A Fegyverek árnyékában
(historical novel, 2007)
He has also
written several manuals and college textbooks published
by the Province of Ontario, Seneca College, United Nations and the
University of Malawn
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