Robert Harris' "AN OFFICER AND A SPY"
I count myself as a real Robert Harris fan. He’s a classy writer, he does his research, he knows how to write a tightly coiled plot, and his writing style is clean with occasional bouts of humor.
What I find most interesting is his ability to address complex and recognizable moral and ethical issues in the context of real historical events while still telling a “ripping good yarn” that engages the reader. Plus, he regularly drops in little nuggets of entertaining narrative such as
“Of course, Colonel.” Lauth bows quickly in his Teutonic manner. If he were standing up, I think, he would click his heels.
and
I lie awake that night with my door locked and my revolver under my pillow,
and
Just because the government lies about some things, it doesn’t mean they lie about everything.
That last one encompasses a lot about the main character of this fact-based book. Georges Picquart, a French army officer who realizes that another army officer George Dreyfus has been wrongly condemned to prison for spying for the Germans in 1890s France. Picquart embarks on finding out the truth and discovers that there are sinister forces in high places within the French army that do not want to reopen the “Dreyfus affair.”
The book is really about Picquart not Dreyfus as the former pursues the truth despite the vast array of government forces arrayed against him. Along the way we are plopped into Paris of the 1890s and Harris does his best to illustrate the sights and smells and cultural events that foretell the coming 20th century.
I alternated between the Kindle edition and the recorded version of this book, both borrowed through my local public library. It helps if you have some understanding of French pronunciation as there are many French names to keep track of. But one of Harris’ major gifts is the ability to keep multiple threads and characters well organized and moving forward. If you like historical mysteries and page turners I highly recommend this one.
Review copyright (c) 2019 by Dennis D. McDonald