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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
It took me some time to adjust to the format--a journal written to her sons--but by the end of the book, Wilkinson had convinced me that was the right format.
Also, it's the kind of book that taught me something I didn't know about recent history, which I really appreciate.
Also, it's the kind of book that taught me something I didn't know about recent history, which I really appreciate.
Great read - takes a different perspective to this genre than any other I’ve read before, and ends up saying quite a bit in between the lines. Nuanced and subtle, historically poignant and pertinent to today, and also a smooth and pleasant read.
This book reminded me of le Carré: a cynical, deeply backgrounded, feels-like-truth view of the spy business. Well, perhaps a little bit more upbeat and optimistic in that it did not leave me thoroughly depressed liked le Carré's books.
adventurous
challenging
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I didn't like the way the book ended. I wanted to keep reading so I could find out what happened.
Very good premise, and story. I even got used to her switching between telling the story to her sons and the flashbacks to the events happening in real time. The end just feels quite rushed.
4.5
Fantastic - so many intricate ideas well-developed and executed. Additionally, a complex and admirable lead and an exciting plot! I usually don't read spy stories but this is really excellent.
Fantastic - so many intricate ideas well-developed and executed. Additionally, a complex and admirable lead and an exciting plot! I usually don't read spy stories but this is really excellent.
I loved the journal format of this book as a love letter to the spy's children, and the audiobook narrator was excellent. However, the book lacked the urgency most spy novels seem to have. It read more like a historical accounting of the 1980s interactions of the IS intelligence against an African dictator. I found it interesting, but felt no urgency to untangle the "mystery". Still, it was a good read.
2.5 stars. I'm not sure if this was a problem with my own expectations, or that the book was mis-marketed.
The cover blurb on my paperback describes this as an "espionage thriller" - and when I think "thriller," I think of fast pacing, twists and turns. It starts out strong, the way I expected a thriller to be, but the pacing dipped back down and kind of barely hovered above the ground for most of the book. And that's the problem for me: if this had been marketed as a character study of Marie's journey into becoming a spy, or even a family "saga" (I say that with a tinge of irony, because the book is less than 300 pages) since so much has to do with Marie's mother and sister - whom we are led to believe are also both Feds - and Marie's children, I might have appreciated it more. But instead, I kept waiting for something major to happen. Even the climax felt anti-climactic.
It's complicated too. There's a lot that's unsaid, both in Marie's conversations and in what is presented to the reader. I believed Marie when she said she was good at her job, that external facts (racism, sexism) kept her in the field office instead of out being a spy, until I read Gabriella's review while I was finishing up. Her review makes some really good points about Marie's competence, and made me question what I thought of Marie. And I suppose that's great, that Marie is allowed to be a complicated mess, but I didn't buy a lot of the work she was doing, particularly in the second half off the book.
It'll make a good conversation for book club tonight. :)
The cover blurb on my paperback describes this as an "espionage thriller" - and when I think "thriller," I think of fast pacing, twists and turns. It starts out strong, the way I expected a thriller to be, but the pacing dipped back down and kind of barely hovered above the ground for most of the book. And that's the problem for me: if this had been marketed as a character study of Marie's journey into becoming a spy, or even a family "saga" (I say that with a tinge of irony, because the book is less than 300 pages) since so much has to do with Marie's mother and sister - whom we are led to believe are also both Feds - and Marie's children, I might have appreciated it more. But instead, I kept waiting for something major to happen. Even the climax felt anti-climactic.
It's complicated too. There's a lot that's unsaid, both in Marie's conversations and in what is presented to the reader. I believed Marie when she said she was good at her job, that external facts (racism, sexism) kept her in the field office instead of out being a spy, until I read Gabriella's review while I was finishing up. Her review makes some really good points about Marie's competence, and made me question what I thought of Marie. And I suppose that's great, that Marie is allowed to be a complicated mess, but I didn't buy a lot of the work she was doing, particularly in the second half off the book.
It'll make a good conversation for book club tonight. :)
I like the writing style and the premise - especially when she wrote about relationships. I also like the book was written as a letter to her sons. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.
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