if you want to get a taste of world war II, the suffering, the aftermath and the lingering anger, this book is for you. the art history is the glue that holds the story together but actually there’s not much about art it’s more about the loot and the fate of it and the owners.
personally I think the main character is way too argumentative. everywhere he goes there’s an argument waiting for him. but the plot holds together. it takes you through the history and through the landscape. the author has a wonderful way of conveying the sights and sounds and smells of different locales. lots of vignettes of local people.