🃏 Mrs. Pollifax decided that she can at least try. So, she went to the headquarters of CIA in Langley to volunteer as a spy. If only becoming a spt is that simple! But, through a combination of coincidences and misunderstandings, Mrs. Pollifax is found by a Mr. Carstair, who, at the moment is looking for a spy who looks like ordinary tourist. And so, Mrs. Pollifax is a spy now, and her first task is to disguise as a tourist in Mexico, and retrieve a package from a bookstore while on "holiday".
🃏 Can you imagine a combination of Paul Gallico's Mrs. Harris (Mrs. 'Arris) series and John Le Carre's spy book? That's what this book feels like. Mrs. Pollifax is as funny, feisty, and warmhearted as Mrs. Harris, but she can be as resourceful and brave as any other spy. And Mrs. Pollifax turns out to be quite a brilliant one, despite of her seemingly fickle old woman.
🃏 As is with Mrs. Pollifax, the story itself is as unexpected. The uprising political tension during the Cold War seems real enough, though not as bleak as the reality might have been. I love Mrs. Pollifax's relationship with Farrell, the real spy who's been captured and imprisoned together with her in Albania. I like how he calls her Duchess, and his amusement of Mrs. Pollifax's clever thinking, and of her obsession with solitaire (the card game). I also love the Albanian soldiers who's kind to Mrs. Pollifax - that was too implausible maybe, but added a humanity touch to the story nonetheless; and also source of a few hilarious scenes. But the runaway scenes are the most brilliant and hilarious ones!
🃏 All in all, it's a charming, funny, and sweet story with spy-adventures - rather than thriller. It's also a good way of learning a little about the Cold War and Albanian culture in the 1950s.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2
so glad you started this series. I loved it all. Each book is set in a different country. If you listen to audiobooks, try this series. The narrator Barbara Rosenblat is THE perfect narrator for Mrs Pollifax
ReplyDeleteActually I DID listened to the audiobook. Agree, Barbara Rosenblat IS Mrs. Pollifax! Can't wait to get through all in the series, I love it.
DeleteIf you enjoy reading fact based espionage thrillers, of which there are only a handful of decent ones, do try reading Bill Fairclough’s Beyond Enkription. It is an enthralling unadulterated fact based autobiographical spy thriller and a super read as long as you don’t expect John le Carré’s delicate diction, sophisticated syntax and placid plots.
ReplyDeleteWhat is interesting is that this book is so different to any other espionage thrillers fact or fiction that I have ever read. It is extraordinarily memorable and unsurprisingly apparently mandatory reading in some countries’ intelligence agencies’ induction programs. Why?
Maybe because the book has been heralded by those who should know as “being up there with My Silent War by Kim Philby and No Other Choice by George Blake”; maybe because Bill Fairclough (the author) deviously dissects unusual topics, for example, by using real situations relating to how much agents are kept in the dark by their spy-masters and (surprisingly) vice versa; and/or maybe because he has survived literally dozens of death defying experiences including 20 plus attempted murders.
The action in Beyond Enkription is set in 1974 about a real maverick British accountant who worked in Coopers & Lybrand (now PwC) in London, Nassau, Miami and Port au Prince. Initially in 1974 he unwittingly worked for MI5 and MI6 based in London infiltrating an organised crime gang. Later he worked knowingly for the CIA in the Americas. In subsequent books yet to be published (when employed by Citicorp, Barclays, Reuters and others) he continued to work for several intelligence agencies. Fairclough has been justifiably likened to a posh version of Harry Palmer aka Michael Caine in the films based on Len Deighton’s spy novels.
Beyond Enkription is a must read for espionage cognoscenti. Whatever you do, you must read some of the latest news articles (since August 2021) in TheBurlingtonFiles website before taking the plunge and getting stuck into Beyond Enkription. You’ll soon be immersed in a whole new world which you won’t want to exit. Intriguingly, the articles were released seven or more years after the book was published. TheBurlingtonFiles website itself is well worth a visit and don’t miss the articles about FaireSansDire. The website is a bit like a virtual espionage museum and refreshingly advert free.
Returning to the intense and electrifying thriller Beyond Enkription, it has had mainly five star reviews so don’t be put off by Chapter 1 if you are squeamish. You can always skip through the squeamish bits and just get the gist of what is going on in the first chapter. Mind you, infiltrating international state sponsored people and body part smuggling mobs isn’t a job for the squeamish! Thereafter don’t skip any of the text or you’ll lose the plots. The book is ever increasingly cerebral albeit pacy and action packed. Indeed, the twists and turns in the interwoven plots kept me guessing beyond the epilogue even on my second reading.
The characters were wholesome, well-developed and beguiling to the extent that you’ll probably end up loving those you hated ab initio, particularly Sara Burlington. The attention to detail added extra layers of authenticity to the narrative and above all else you can’t escape the realism. Unlike reading most spy thrillers, you will soon realise it actually happened but don’t trust a soul.
I loved spy-thrillers and historical fiction in the past, but I think my taste has been shifting lately to cozy mysteries or crime fiction. But thanks anyway for your thorough insights. Will keep it for future reading - who knows, I might be on to it again one day!
DeleteMy sister and my mom and my niece all love Gilman's Mrs. Pollifax books. I should really try one sometime. Great review. :D
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lark! Hope you'll enjoy it when you get to read it.
DeleteThis is a great series and the first book is the best, as I recall. Gilman had previously written several charming book for children and teens, some of which I have found and read over the years. Most annoyingly, I was once at a party for a mystery store in New York and learned Gilman was there just after she left! I should have sat down and written her a letter immediately (surprise, she lived in New Jersey) but I didn't and then it was too late. I am still annoyed about that.
ReplyDeleteConstance
Oh, I feel you, Constance - that's annoying!
DeleteI'm glad you think it a great series, will read the next one soon!