Today was not a good reading day. Not too much focus, hard to connect smoothly to the books I am reading, and a lack of interest although the topics were usually close to my mind. Tried to switch to French to no avail. German was the lost resort and didn´t work either.
By default, my only reading companion of the day was Spook Street by Mick Herron. The book had the right recommendations: spy intrigue, set in the British realm, written by an author often recipient of prestigious literary prizes. Smirked and tried to ignore the fact that he is compared to John Le Carré which I am not ashamed to recognize that I do not fancy at all (gave it too many tried to change my mind, sorry).
For a good couple of pages, action moved slowly, while the characters - former discharged intelligence operatives - kept chatting. But I was drawn to the story from the opening episodes which were very well crafted, creating expectations for more. But shortly after the red carpet of curiosity is set, there is almost nothing taking place. Then suddenly, a big story boom is crushing my thoughts of completely giving up this spy novel because life is short anyway.
The plot idea sounded fantastic: you have stolen and secret identities, spies coming from the East and the West, transfigurated by the rapid changes brought by the end of the Cold War. But the ways in which those spies coming from the Cold operate and again, their never ending dialogues like they have all the time in the world to chat and observe each other...cut my interest to 25%. Nothing changed until the very end of the book.
Indeed, not all days must be all bookish day. Let´s hope for a more interesting tomorrow....
Rating: 3 stars
No comments:
Post a Comment