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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I enjoyed this. A historical spy story, combining U.S. history with African in a Cold War environment, with a driven young woman as the main character. But it's not written as a suspenseful thriller. It's written as a reflective memoir, before mama spy goes to kill the man who is out to kill her . This makes the pace much more sedate and steady than thrilling and page-turning. Also, I listened to it, so couldn't have skimmed if I wanted to.
Marie begins as an FBI agent, but balks at some of the things they want her as a female agent to do. Courted by someone she thinks is CIA, she embarks on a mission to undercut the leader of Burkina Faso. She writes her story for her two young sons, after having to flee the U.S. from an assassination attempt. She tells how she did some things she was ashamed of, but writes convincingly of her conflicting feelings about her situation.
It brought back long-ago memories of my African history class, in which I had to read a book about Mobutu Sese Seko, and learned more about African history in one semester than I had in my entire life prior. This class made it glaringly obvious how ignorant I was of world history in general, but African history in particular, and one semester really wasn't enough.
Enjoyable, but more as a personal narrative or historical fiction, and less as a spy-thriller. So I would just suggest to make sure your expectations are appropriate.
Marie begins as an FBI agent, but balks at some of the things they want her as a female agent to do. Courted by someone she thinks is CIA, she embarks on a mission to undercut the leader of Burkina Faso. She writes her story for her two young sons, after having to flee the U.S. from an assassination attempt. She tells how she did some things she was ashamed of, but writes convincingly of her conflicting feelings about her situation.
It brought back long-ago memories of my African history class, in which I had to read a book about Mobutu Sese Seko, and learned more about African history in one semester than I had in my entire life prior. This class made it glaringly obvious how ignorant I was of world history in general, but African history in particular, and one semester really wasn't enough.
Enjoyable, but more as a personal narrative or historical fiction, and less as a spy-thriller. So I would just suggest to make sure your expectations are appropriate.
This was a unique story. It’s written mostly as a letter to her children about her past as a spy and an FBI agent. It jumps to the present throughout. I felt like the end was unsettled, I don’t like to wonder what happened to fictional people with no way to find out. Maybe there will be a book 2 - that could be great!
It was slow at times and didn’t always hold my interest but overall was a good story with an uncommon perspective.
It was slow at times and didn’t always hold my interest but overall was a good story with an uncommon perspective.
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
The Good
1) I appreciated the descriptions of how people of color were included in intelligence and law enforcement in America. This isn't something I really thought about, but once I did, I found it fascinating. There's a whole other book that Wilkinson can write about Marie's father and Mr. Ali.
2) It was definitely a spy novel for people who "don't do spy novels." A strong female POC protagonist is so rare. And Wilkinson's main purpose isn't to sell a thrill, but to include underrepresented groups in this very white and male genre.
The Bad
I have two main problems with this book.
1) The book's form of flashbacks as a retelling to the protagonist's children doesn't work. It mutes the thrill and action of becoming an undercover spy. You already know she's going to survive. And whatever bad moments she has with her mother, you know it can't be that bad because she went to Martinique to birth and raise her children. And then returned again when their safety was compromised.
2) The other shoe never dropped.
All this tension and buildup leading her to the assignment and it never really went anywhere. Sankara and Marie had a weird eyes across the room flirtation, but it never really felt like it got started. Marie is haunted by her sister, and for all the anecdotes Marie provides before she enters FBI service, we don't get enough details in Helene's story for decent closure. It just felt like the story never picked up the pace. It went as slow or as fast as I wanted to read it. I never was wound up in the plot.
1) I appreciated the descriptions of how people of color were included in intelligence and law enforcement in America. This isn't something I really thought about, but once I did, I found it fascinating. There's a whole other book that Wilkinson can write about Marie's father and Mr. Ali.
2) It was definitely a spy novel for people who "don't do spy novels." A strong female POC protagonist is so rare. And Wilkinson's main purpose isn't to sell a thrill, but to include underrepresented groups in this very white and male genre.
The Bad
I have two main problems with this book.
1) The book's form of flashbacks as a retelling to the protagonist's children doesn't work. It mutes the thrill and action of becoming an undercover spy. You already know she's going to survive. And whatever bad moments she has with her mother, you know it can't be that bad because she went to Martinique to birth and raise her children. And then returned again when their safety was compromised.
2) The other shoe never dropped.
All this tension and buildup leading her to the assignment and it never really went anywhere. Sankara and Marie had a weird eyes across the room flirtation, but it never really felt like it got started. Marie is haunted by her sister, and for all the anecdotes Marie provides before she enters FBI service, we don't get enough details in Helene's story for decent closure. It just felt like the story never picked up the pace. It went as slow or as fast as I wanted to read it. I never was wound up in the plot.
A different kind of spy
I really enjoyed this book. I usually am not a fan of spy thriller novels but I loved the premise of this one. You might also if
1. You enjoy books with strong female characters.
2. Books written about Africa and more interestingly Burkina Faso.
3. Novels with strong African American characters.
4. Novels written by women.
5. Exploration of the murky undercover world of private contractors in the "spy" business.
I really enjoyed this book. I usually am not a fan of spy thriller novels but I loved the premise of this one. You might also if
1. You enjoy books with strong female characters.
2. Books written about Africa and more interestingly Burkina Faso.
3. Novels with strong African American characters.
4. Novels written by women.
5. Exploration of the murky undercover world of private contractors in the "spy" business.
Started off good but it dragged towards the middle and end. The ending was very underwhelming.
The idea behind this book was really interesting, but it ended up feeling super slow and tedious, and I was more bored than I would expect to be in a spy novel. The characters are not super well developed, and it felt like their motives were unclear and not well defined. This just felt unnecessary.
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated