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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
This is a good beach read of the best sort, where there is much more going on with the unreliable narrator and the underlying concepts than the surface level suggests
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Yes, all the espionage, absolutely. Gripping, relevant, clever. But what’s especially brilliant about this spy novel is the way Wilkinson employs the genre to render the complexities (sacrifices, injustices…) of navigating multiple and oft-opposing identities and allegiances as a Black woman in America.
I love a good spy tale. This is SO MUCH MORE. I don't have the eloquence or brainpower to do it justice. It's a character of depth and realness. A story that leaves you feeling cheated at the end because you can't read anymore. A plot line ripped from my childhood: communism, cold War, fear of death by nukes. And a story line of my adulthood: American influence in ways I can't imagine, double-dealings. Read it.
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
mysterious
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:
Complicated
A very enjoyable and engaging mystery/spy thriller set in the Cold War in the US, Burkina Faso, and Martinique. A unique perspective on US spy craft, told from the viewpoint of a black woman spy. Historical fiction based on a real BF president.
Fred borrowed this from the Library because he saw somewhere that Barack Obama had it on his list. I wound up reading it before Fred (as he was knee deep in a history of the Hudson River towns.)
Many things appealed to me about American Spy. It is written by a woman, and I don't often see spy books written by women. It is fairly current in terms of the groups and locales where the story takes place. The spy lives in Manhattan, which is 25 miles south of where I live. And then there is the story.
The story is written as journal entries, and I found myself "getting to know" the writer. I am hesitant to say more lest I share something that someone reading this might prefer not to know. Suffice it to say, I quite enjoyed the journal entries and have a feeling there might be another book in the works, and that's all I'll say!
Many things appealed to me about American Spy. It is written by a woman, and I don't often see spy books written by women. It is fairly current in terms of the groups and locales where the story takes place. The spy lives in Manhattan, which is 25 miles south of where I live. And then there is the story.
The story is written as journal entries, and I found myself "getting to know" the writer. I am hesitant to say more lest I share something that someone reading this might prefer not to know. Suffice it to say, I quite enjoyed the journal entries and have a feeling there might be another book in the works, and that's all I'll say!
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
At its core, "American Spy" bills itself as a thriller set during the waning days of the Cold War from a perspective rarely seen during that time. It's a spy story about a black woman who at times feels as if she's been cornered into the decisions she's made. But "American Spy" is also a study in generational trauma, broken relationships, and even loneliness. As Marie speaks to her children through the letter she's writing them, she knows that she likely doesn't have much time left. As such, we get flashbacks of Marie's complicated relationships with her family, her abandonment issues caused by her mother, and living in the shadow of her sister. All of these things worked to shape Marie into an ambitious federal agent hungry to prove herself in the field. And soon, she gets that chance by being assigned to spy on and eventually take out a president slipping further into dictatorship. It was refreshing to see a Jason Bourne-type of story with a black woman at the center: Marie is whip-smart and determined, but what's really great about the novel is that we get a snapshot of Marie at each difficult stage of her life with lots of honesty and empathy. She's not overly-perfect, nor is she a complete tool. As she struggles with not only her own demons but also those of her mother and father, Wilkerson eases us into caring for Marie and wanting to strangle her at times. The only complaint I had about "American Spy" is that I'd love to have seen how the relationship between Marie and all of those closest to her had the chance to grow and evolve beyond many complications and trials. Even those with her FBI counterparts. But I enjoyed "American Spy" because of how it combined family and relationship drama so well with the drama we tend to find on our jobs, and how we tend to carry those burdens with us regardless of what line of work we're in. And this is especially true for black women who constantly get passed over and shunned for what they really deserve.