Cold war casualties in the true north strong and free.

• Author: Normey, Rob

I have just had the exhilarating experience of reading the new novel by Winnipeg's Margaret Sweatman, a political thriller set in the heart of the Cold War years. I was intrigued by the title--Mr Jones--as that was indeed the name we gave to the first book club I belonged to--the Mr. Jones Book Club, named after the much-misunderstood character (in my estimation) in the Bob Dylan song, "Ballad of a Thin Man." The quotation at the outset of the novel is taken from the song--"And you say / Oh my God, am I here all alone?" It is apt insofar as Sweatman does an expert job of conveying the rapidly ascending loneliness and paranoia of certain of her characters, who are caught in the inexorable trap of being the subjects of loyalty investigations over alleged Communist ties. I have to add as well that as my current book club is focussed on Canadian history, I consider this would make a great book club choice. It surely is the best I am aware of at depicting the critical period in Canadian history where, on the one hand, a growing human rights awareness was developing amongst thinkers, activists and some ordinary citizens, and on the other hand, simultaneously the growing tensions between the Soviet Union and the West led even peaceful, gentle Canada to develop fairly draconian national security measures. These measures interfered in a significant way with civil liberties, particularly freedom of speech and thought, along with freedom of assembly.

The time frame of Mr. Jones coincides with the beginning of the Cold War in 1946 with the defection of Igor Gouzenko. He was a Soviet cipher clerk and espionage agent from the Soviet Embassy in Ottawa, famously photographed in a hooded disguise. This remarkable and unusual character took with him papers establishing a spy ring which included one Member of Parliament, Fred Rose, Canada's one and only Communist MP, and various public servants. The novel continues through various murky episodes, chilling at times in their sense of menace, right up to the High Noon of the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. The focus throughout is on the three main characters who form one of several love triangles that ricochet off one another and set up fascinating explorations of loyalty, betrayal and inevitable guilt.

Emmett Jones is the first of the three. At the outset he is told by his superior at External Affairs that he is the subject of an extensive investigation by the Mounties, for his possible Communist affiliations...