An Officer and a Spy by Robert HarrisMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
An Officer and a Spy is a nail-biting espionage/legal thriller set in France at the turn of the 19th Century, and is slightly outside my comfort zone. I love Historical Fiction, but thrillers are... uncomfortable. They make me tense. I spend a lot of effort trying not to be anxious in real life, so to chase that feeling purposely is maybe a bit silly. I have to knock off a star because "enjoyment" isn't a word I can use in relation to such emotions.
That said, this is a fantastically written story that probably actually deserves 5 stars if I could get beyond my emotional response to it. What horrifies me the most is that it's a true story. Reality can truly be more cruel than fiction. I felt the despair, the sense of being stamped out by a government for knowing the wrong information, and the outrage at crimes uncovered and injustices committed. Great stuff. I recommend it if historical spy thrillers are your thing. And even if they're not.
No comments:
Post a Comment