tags: espionage, mystery, the early 60s
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐out of 5
From Goodreads
In his most exhilarating novel yet, Britain’s greatest storyteller transports you from the vibrant streets of sixties London to the sun-soaked cobbles of Cadiz and the frosty squares of Warsaw, as an accidental spy is drawn into the shadows of espionage and obsession.
Gabriel Dax is a young man haunted by the memories of a every night, when sleep finally comes, he dreams about his childhood home in flames. His days are spent on the move as an acclaimed travel writer, capturing the changing landscapes in the grip of the Cold War.
When he’s offered the chance to interview a political figure, his ambition leads him unwittingly into a web of duplicities and betrayals.
As Gabriel’s reluctant initiation takes hold, he is drawn deeper into the shadows. Falling under the spell of Faith Green, an enigmatic and ruthless MI6 handler, he becomes ‘her spy’, unable to resist her demands. But amid the peril, paranoia and passion consuming Gabriel’s new covert life, it will be the revelations closer to home that change the rest of his story.
The short novel got me interested again in espionage fiction. 32 year old Gabriel Dax, the accidental spy, is sometimes annoyingly naive, has loose lips, and randy. I forgive him because he suffered a trauma when he was 6 years old and he can't recall exactly what happened that day.
His older brother occasionally uses him as a courier and he unknowingly delivers spy stuff wherever he was asked to go. He never suspects his brother maybe because he is a bit dim. He becomes a "spy" and a useful idiot when the enigmatic Faith Green asked him to fetch a piece of artwork from a famous Spanish artist in Cadiz, Spain. He couldn't say no to the woman as though he is hypnotized. It's just him being randy. Once in a while he has flashes of brilliance when necessary.
The book has lots of humor, not the satirical John le Carré kind, just some light funny stuff. It has equal amount of suspense but not much mind-numbing action which is why I like it. William Boyd is a great storyteller.
Highly recommended for William Boyd readers.
