Under the Poppy

In an unnamed 19th-century European town about to be overcome by war, Rupert and Decca, who run a brothel that specializes in stage shows, await the return of Decca's brother and Rupert's lover, Istvan, a master puppeteer. When Istvan does appear, he and the brothel crew must perform in several ways to keep their lives safe from the military, the ruling elites, and the endemic violence. The ornate prose has a sometimes confusing syntax, but the chapters told in first person by Rupert, Istvan, and their acquaintances are clear and draw the reader into a web of relationships, betrayals, love, spies, and murder. Despite all the trappings of puppets, sex shows, stabbings, and drawing-room treachery, this is a love story about how, sometimes despite themselves, Rupert, Istvan, and their friends have created a family.