The Negotiator: The Masterclass at Saint-Germain
This slender novel, originally published in 1958 and newly translated, is not a run-of-the-mill plot, characters, and description type of book. It focuses on a negotiator at Saint-Germain, near Paris, where in 1570 a key peace treaty was discussed and decided.
At that time France was being rent in two by the rival denominations of the Catholics and Huguenots, a division which permeated all of French politics. The treaty was intended to bring this dispute to an amicable end, or at least to provide temporary truce.
If you are in business or have to negotiate at all in your personal or private life, the examination of how to do so successfully, the strategies and tactics used and the mind manipulation employed will probably be quite familiar to you – or you may learn some excellent techniques to get what you want. The focus is really on the wheeling and dealing. We don’t really find anything else out much about the main protagonists. Their emotions and inner lives are only relevant in the context of the treaty and the deal being done.
I definitely learnt some tips for getting my own way in a subtle and indirect way and will be employing them at the next opportunity. My pay rise negotiation is now destined for success (I hope).
