The Orpheus Clock

June 15, 2015

Music executive Goodman believed that his father, Bernard, was the quintessential British gentleman, always "wearing a jacket and tie, or at least a cravat." When Bernard passed away, Goodman and his brother Nick inherited files revealing that their father was born Bernhard Guttman, the primary heir of a prominent German banking family. Since the end of World War II, Bernard had been on a quest to recover the family's extensive art collection, plundered by the Nazis as Jewish property. Taking up the search, the brothers learn about the heartbreaking family history that obsessed their father, and in the process recover numerous treasures from the Guttman collection as well as reconcile with scattered Guttman relatives. As in Anne-Marie O'Connor's The Lady in Gold, many government officials, museum directors, and art collectors callously or duplicitously overlook suspect provenance to enhance their collections. Others are touchingly honorable when confronted with the legacy of the Holocaust. VERDICT Goodman's absorbing debut will appeal to readers with an interest in the business of art collecting, the cultural heritage of Western Europe, family histories, the work of the Monuments Men, and those who enjoyed The Lady in Gold, or its film version, Woman in Gold.--Laurie Unger Skinner, Coll. of Lake Cty., Waukegan, IL

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