Transcription
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
1 journaler for this copy...
Won in an Instagram Giveaway from Doubleday Canada
When choosing tags for this book, I almost didn't choose "spy novel" because the spies in this novel defy every spy stereotype you can imagine. But it is, nonetheless, a novel about spies.
Kate Atkinson is one of my all-time favourite authors and while this is no where near the brilliance of Life after Life, it is an entertaining and interesting snapshot of the UK, but more specifically, of London during its most vulnerable time, early in the days of WW2. Atkinson's particular gift, to me, is that she creates characters that are so easy to connect to and relate to. These are people we can know from our own experiences. The main character, Juliet, falls into spy-work. She is hired as a secretary for the Secret Service and finds herself transcribing recorded conversations between UK spies and Nazi sympathizers, known in the UK as the "Right Club". The actual transcripts included in the book are mundane and dull, which is intentional, to demonstrate how little 'glamour' there is in the everyday work of "spying". Eventually Juliet herself is going "undercover" in an attempt to flush out a particular member of the Right Club. After some hairy adventures that are both humorous and terrifying close calls, Juliet manages to be successful, more by good fortune and coincidence than by skill.
The most suspenseful bit of the story happens long after Juliet is no longer working for the Secret Service, having moved on the the BBC in the years after the end of the war. One day she sees a colleague from her "spy days" and is surprised when he spurns her, saying she must be mistaken, he doesn't know her at all. This sets in motion a series of events in which Juliet is followed and menaced -- but by who? and why? The answers to those questions are complicated because really, who can Juliet trust? And who, dear reader, can WE trust?
The ending of the novel is, in itself, mysterious and I have questions, but I cannot ask them here without spoiling it!! I will just say this -- was it an accident? or was it NOT an accident?
Loved the time I spent reading this. Highly recommend! (less)
Kate Atkinson is one of my all-time favourite authors and while this is no where near the brilliance of Life after Life, it is an entertaining and interesting snapshot of the UK, but more specifically, of London during its most vulnerable time, early in the days of WW2. Atkinson's particular gift, to me, is that she creates characters that are so easy to connect to and relate to. These are people we can know from our own experiences. The main character, Juliet, falls into spy-work. She is hired as a secretary for the Secret Service and finds herself transcribing recorded conversations between UK spies and Nazi sympathizers, known in the UK as the "Right Club". The actual transcripts included in the book are mundane and dull, which is intentional, to demonstrate how little 'glamour' there is in the everyday work of "spying". Eventually Juliet herself is going "undercover" in an attempt to flush out a particular member of the Right Club. After some hairy adventures that are both humorous and terrifying close calls, Juliet manages to be successful, more by good fortune and coincidence than by skill.
The most suspenseful bit of the story happens long after Juliet is no longer working for the Secret Service, having moved on the the BBC in the years after the end of the war. One day she sees a colleague from her "spy days" and is surprised when he spurns her, saying she must be mistaken, he doesn't know her at all. This sets in motion a series of events in which Juliet is followed and menaced -- but by who? and why? The answers to those questions are complicated because really, who can Juliet trust? And who, dear reader, can WE trust?
The ending of the novel is, in itself, mysterious and I have questions, but I cannot ask them here without spoiling it!! I will just say this -- was it an accident? or was it NOT an accident?
Loved the time I spent reading this. Highly recommend! (less)
Journal Entry 3 by CynthiaA at Little Free Library -- Egerton St in Brantford, Ontario Canada on Thursday, September 16, 2021
Released 2 yrs ago (9/15/2021 UTC) at Little Free Library -- Egerton St in Brantford, Ontario Canada
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
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