Point Epithetical Books Spies
| Title | : | Spies |
| Author | : | Michael Frayn |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 234 pages |
| Published | : | 2003 by Faber and Faber (first published 2002) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Historical. Historical Fiction. War. Mystery. European Literature. British Literature |
Michael Frayn
Paperback | Pages: 234 pages Rating: 3.54 | 4835 Users | 378 Reviews
Commentary As Books Spies
In the 1940s, some boys played Cops & Robbers, some played Cowboys & Indians. But Stephen and Keith, English boys and neighbours during WWII, played Spies. Sure, it's a less well known game, but it is just as engrossing, and involves a hideout and a logbook, lots of sneaking around, and monitoring the movements and whereabouts of... Keith's mother, who the boys are certain is a German spy.This coming-of-age story is told by Stephen, an elderly, grandfatherly Stephen, who is remembering a pivotal time in his childhood. He returns to his childhood neighbourhood and it all comes back to him in a series of nostalgic waves. Memory is not reliable, and neither is this narrative, but it IS deliciously satisfying and continues to unfold and reveal up until the very last page.
The dynamic between the boys is fascinating - Stephen, who feels lucky Keith pays him any attention, and who is aware that there's something shameful about his own family, and Keith, who lives in a perfect house filled with perfect toys and a regularly maintained bicycle, and who calls the shots in their friendship.
The idea of a pair of children acting as amateur sleuths in a mystery that is far over their heads reminded me a bit of The Trouble with Goats and Sheep, though this was far more literary and memorable for me. It's also much more suspenseful, as the game of Spies gradually shifts from a charming, childish fantasy to something dangerous. The street in this quiet English town is full of secrets, and nothing is as it seems. The whistle of a father working in the garden has never been so sinister.
It took me a little time to get into the story, but once in, I was turning pages feverishly. I worried, as in other spy stories, will this one be obtuse and more confusing than anything else? I needn't have worried, though. Frayn doesn't leave us hanging in a maze of double agents and hazy memories. He leads us through, having left a trail of breadcrumbs that we can now see in the clear, 20/20 vision that retrospect affords.
Elegant, captivating storytelling.
4.5 stars
Specify Books Concering Spies
| Original Title: | Spies |
| ISBN: | 0571212964 (ISBN13: 9780571212965) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Literary Awards: | Booker Prize Nominee for Longlist (2002), Whitbread Award for Novel (2002), Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction (2002), Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best Book in South Asia and Europe (2003) |
Rating Epithetical Books Spies
Ratings: 3.54 From 4835 Users | 378 ReviewsNotice Epithetical Books Spies
In the 1940s, some boys played Cops & Robbers, some played Cowboys & Indians. But Stephen and Keith, English boys and neighbours during WWII, played Spies. Sure, it's a less well known game, but it is just as engrossing, and involves a hideout and a logbook, lots of sneaking around, and monitoring the movements and whereabouts of... Keith's mother, who the boys are certain is a German spy.This coming-of-age story is told by Stephen, an elderly, grandfatherly Stephen, who is remembering aThe narrator is an elderly man looking back at events that happened when he was a boy and that he did not understand at the time. Several novels use this device, as it allows a contrast between hindsight and impressions at the time.The difficulty with it is how good a memory does the author give the elderly narrator, can he remember events exactly, in order and what he thought about them then. Michael Frayn handles this well, his narrator struggles with his memory sometimes and questions the
The World From Under a HedgeThere is nothing lacking in Spies. Character, plot and pace are about as close to perfect as it gets. Frayns understanding of the juvenile mind is formidable. His intellectual subtlety is enviable. His ethical sense is acute. He knows how to tell a story. Proust was inspired by the scent of fresh madeleines; the memory of Frayns narrator is provoked by the sickly stink of a privet hedge in Summer under which he spends his time in spying on the neighbourhood. The
The main part of the book is that Michael Frayn has the ability to sustain the effects. The first part of the book is boring but as you get through chapters 7-8. Michael Frayn uses really powerful imagery.The main negative points are:1)This book has got some sexual content, which I don't like2)The starting of the book is bit boring 3)The vocabulary is bit difficult4)The main confusion is that if he imagines or is it real? He is old Stephen or child? the difference in time frames is hard to
In the 1940s, some boys played Cops & Robbers, some played Cowboys & Indians. But Stephen and Keith, English boys and neighbours during WWII, played Spies. Sure, it's a less well known game, but it is just as engrossing, and involves a hideout and a logbook, lots of sneaking around, and monitoring the movements and whereabouts of... Keith's mother, who the boys are certain is a German spy.This coming-of-age story is told by Stephen, an elderly, grandfatherly Stephen, who is remembering a
Want to know if you'll enjoy this book? Ask yourself this: do I enjoy a narrator who switches up his tenses and also acts like a mind reader half the time despite the book being written in a convoluted first person pov? Do you savor long, drawn out descriptions of things that don't contribute to the plot, such as the smell of foliage? What about two dimensional characters and a meandering, confusing plot all tied together with subpar writing?To put it bluntly, this book is an uninspired mess. I
Little boys are inherently curious; I know I was. I had a secret fort in the bushes across the street from my house where my brother and I made plans and spied on neighbors. This book brought me back to those days.However, these two boys uncover a genuine mystery that moves the plot forward in leaps and bounds. The story overflows with suspenseful moments and the protagonists draws the reader in with his way of narrating his self defeating thoughts as he faces and crumbles in increasing tense
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