The Red Balcony : A Novel

Contents Cover Other Titles Title Page Copyright Contents Dedication Epigraph Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Acknowledgments A Note About the Author Landmarks Cover Cover Title Page Contents Start Copyright Print Page List b iii iv v vii 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 259 260 261 
 
 
 
 
 Also by Jonathan Wilson
 Fiction
 Schoom
 The Hiding Room
 A Palestine Affair
 An Ambulance Is on the Way: Stories of Men in Trouble
 Nonfiction
 Marc Chagall
 Herzog: The Limits of Ideas
 On Bellow’s Planet: Readings from the Dark Side
 Kick and Run: Memoir with Soccer Ball
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents, with the exception of some well-known historical and public figures, either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author’s use of names of historical or public figures, places, or events is not intended to change the entirely fictional character of the work. In all other respects, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or locales is entirely coincidental.
 Copyright © 2023 by Jonathan Wilson
 All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Schocken Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York, and distributed in Canada by Penguin Random House Canada Limited, Toronto.
 Schocken Books and colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.
 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
 Names: Wilson, Jonathan, [date] author.
 Title: The red balcony : a novel / Jonathan Wilson.
 Description: First edition. | New York : Schocken Books, 2023
 Identifiers: LCCN 2022015022 (print) | LCCN 2022015023 (ebook) | ISBN 9780805243697 (hardcover) | ISBN 9780805243703 (ebook)
 Subjects: LCGFT: Legal fiction (Literature) | Thrillers (Fiction) | Novels
 Classification: LCC PR6073.I4679 R43 2023 (print) | LCC PR6073.I4679 (ebook) | DDC 823/.914—dc23/eng/20220429
 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/​2022015022
 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/​2022015023
 Ebook ISBN 9780805243703
 www.schocken.com
 Cover images: (brushstrokes) Iana Kunitsa / Getty Images; rawpixel
 Cover design by Gunjan Ahlawat
 ep_prh_6.0_142549205_c0_r0
 
 
 
 Contents
 
 Cover
 Also by Jonathan Wilson
 Title Page
 Copyright
 Dedication
 Epigraph
 
 
 Chapter 1
 
 
 Chapter 2
 
 
 Chapter 3
 
 
 Chapter 4
 
 
 Chapter 5
 
 
 Chapter 6
 
 
 Chapter 7
 
 
 Chapter 8
 
 
 Chapter 9
 
 
 Chapter 10
 
 
 Chapter 11
 
 
 Chapter 12
 
 
 Chapter 13
 
 
 Chapter 14
 
 
 Chapter 15
 
 
 Chapter 16
 
 
 Chapter 17
 
 
 Chapter 18
 
 
 Chapter 19
 
 
 Chapter 20
 
 
 Chapter 21
 
 
 Chapter 22
 
 
 Chapter 23
 
 
 Chapter 24
 
 
 Chapter 25
 
 
 Chapter 26
 
 
 Chapter 27
 
 
 Chapter 28
 
 
 Acknowledgments
 A Note About the Author
 
 
 _142549205_
 
 
 
 For Sharon,
 and to the memory of my brother Geoffrey
 
 
 
 
 
 
 To understand historical reality, it is sometimes necessary not to know the outcome.
 —Pierre Vidal-Naquet
 
 
 
 
 
 1
 Jerusalem
 March 1933
 
 
 
 Kohler, the receptionist, eyed the large brown paper package stamped, postmarked, and tied up with string that sat on the front desk between his silver bell and a diminished pile of the local German-language newspaper, the Mitteilungsblatt. He shifted it to the side in order to make room for two additional sets of newspapers, popular items for guests on their way in to breakfast even though the news they carried was always a week old. He had no interest in the bland front page of the London Times, but a photograph of a thin-faced figure with his hair swept back and its accompanying headline in the Frankfurter Zeitung briefly caught his attention: Josef Goebbels had been appointed minister of information and propaganda in Hitler’s new government.
 He switched on the overhead fan and a wisp of smoke fell from the gears. Early morning light filtered through shade and touched the brown and mahogany furniture in the lobby, spinning dust motes off its armchairs. Kohler opened the blinds, returned to his desk, caught the sleeve of his jacket in his hand, and ran it across the polished