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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I read this because it fit a bingo prompt and it took me longer than I wanted to read this because the jumping back and forth between past and present threw me for a loop. I did enjoy the story, but probably wouldn't read it again.
Liked it, didn't love it. It's not in the La Carre/Herron mode, definitely a more literary feel, and a more directly confronting emotions. (Not that La Carre is unemotional, but you have to work more to understand that aspect of those books, this is more straightforward?) That said the pacing is excellent, the characters interesting, and I enjoyed the time I spent with it.
I wanted to like this book more; the premise was so intriguing. The narrator’s perspectives from both her own experiences and from observing her family members within the system were simultaneously critical and sympathetic, showing that there aren’t always two clear sides or even one easy-to-make choice available. But as I drew closer to the end of the book, I knew there weren’t going to be enough pages left to bring it all to a really satisfying conclusion. And while the way the book ended was fitting for the format, it still left me feeling flat (actually, after the heart-pounding opening, the whole rest of the book failed to live up to that first chapter).
P.S. As a copy editor, a couple things bugged me about the text; but in reading the book as it’s written, as a journal to her sons, then some blatant repetition and awkward phrasing is forgivable.
P.S. As a copy editor, a couple things bugged me about the text; but in reading the book as it’s written, as a journal to her sons, then some blatant repetition and awkward phrasing is forgivable.
mysterious
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
A great spy novel about an African American female spy in the 1980s Cold War world of American vs Soviet influence. She gets to go to Burkina Faso and Ghana presumably to stop Burkina Faso from becoming communist. She meets the Burkinabe president and is supposed to kill him.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The story was very interesting, but the writing was not compelling. The story was told instead of shown meaning the author would say how the main character was feeling instead of describing that feeling and encouraging the reader to visualize or feel alongside the main character. Even though it's written as a letter, I feel like it could've been less matter-of-fact and more imaginative.
American Spy is one of the best books I’ve read this year. I learned a lot about Burkina Faso and the role the US played in politics during the post-Cold War era. Marie Mitchell’s character development was phenomenal, and the unique use of the second-person POV enhanced my emotional connection to Mitchell. The author takes a critical lens to the choices made by the FBI and CIA when intervening in other countries. Marie Mitchell served a country that doesn’t reciprocate respect to her as a Black woman, and her thoughts about this experience are portrayed well through her letter to her children. I can’t wait to see what Wilkinson writes next.
I went into this blind since I put it on hold so long ago that I forgot entirely what it was about, and I really enjoyed that experience. Not knowing anything about the plot or characters was perfect. It’s somehow both intense and very slow, a character study and a fascinating meditation on the complexities of love for country and hate for imperialism. Written as a diary left for the protagonist’s children, it jumps around in time and leaves a lot unsaid, both of which are some of my favorite things. I love an open ending. I love an unreliable narrator. Excellent.
The plot was interesting, but there were also areas that could have been further explored. I can’t tell if the author intentionally left holes to be filled in a sequel. Some of the historical (black liberation) references were not accurate? But again couldn’t tell if it was on purpose, the same way politically the facts might be as one desires to support their position. Interesting but missing some elements for me.