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The Spy
The Spy
Author: Paulo Coelho, Zoe Perry (Translator)
Her only crime was to be and independent woman — When Mata Hari arrived in Paris she was penniless.  Within months she was the most celebrated woman in the city.  — As a dancer, she shocked and delighted audiences; as a courtesan, she bewitched the era's richest and most powerful men.  — But as paranoia consumed a countr...  more »
ISBN-13: 9781524732066
ISBN-10: 1524732060
Publication Date: 11/22/2016
Pages: 208
Rating:
  • Currently 5/5 Stars.
 1

5 stars, based on 1 rating
Publisher: Knopf
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback
Members Wishing: 0
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jjares avatar reviewed The Spy on + 3284 more book reviews
This is a different kind of story; it starts with Mata Hari's firing-squad death. At the time she begins, she's sure that she will be saved from prison before being shot. Mata Hara is definitely narcissistic ('I was able to change strip-tease into art.') Everyone 'loved' her. Everybody 'copied' her and of course, they are 'poor imitations.' She was also a drama queen ('Tears did not come from my eyes, but from a deeper part of me').

This book is blessedly short because this story was just pitiful. However, it was interesting to watch a male author try to express the emotional drama of a woman very taken with herself. The person I can think best exemplifies Mata Hari would be Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard.


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