The Spy: Reflecting the life of one Mata Hari

Another month, another book. My all-time favorite author, Paulo Coelho just released a new book this year, and it is finally available in English. Titled The Spy, his latest publication is based on a real life story of Mata Hari, who was known as an exotic woman and a dancer living in times of men's suppression and power. Because of her lifestyle, her ambition, and her close relationships with powerful men, she was accused of espionage and was later executed for crimes she had never committed. Her enigmatic persona and her strong stance as an independent woman has since attracted many interests and admiration throughout history: Countless books and reports have been made on her, and Paulo Coelho is not by any means the first to find this woman's life story worthy of sharing. The Brazilian author tells the story of Mata Hari through her final letter to her lawyer, with some modifications and alterations from the real historical events. 

The first sense I got when I flipped through the prologue was that this book clearly had different vibes from the usual Paulo's writing styles. Unlike his other books, poetic and philosophical in rather subtle ways, The Spy is fairly direct and straightforward; its sole purpose is to give readers the perspective of a strong woman fighting for her life - a woman who was seen as both a desirable object and a political threat in a time where men were considered of a higher status. Prior to The Spy, I had never heard of Mata Hari, but reading the book doesn't give me enough information on the femme fatale's life and true nature. Maybe Paulo doesn't provide a long, detailed narrative on purpose. Maybe he just wants the readers to feel how it's like to be inside Mata Hari's head in her final days. Nevertheless, the lack of background stories of Mata Hari and the brevity of the overall narrative left me feeling rather aloof and detached by the time I reached the last page. Even after all those words told directly from her mind, I still do not find the character striking enough to inspire me. She was brave and fearless, of that I'm sure, and it feels unreal to think that such a woman - commendable and by no doubts praiseworthy - actually existed during pre-feminists era. Had she lived in our modern world, would her life story have been different? Would it be less tragic, and would she have a happy ending? Oh, all those wonders and what-ifs. We will never know. 

I may not be impressed by the book, but it is still a pleasant and light read. It's able to put my mind off other worldly matters for a while, and it's a good start for those of you who wish to know a little bit about Mata Hari, though I don't think the book can be used as a valid reference in your essays or research due to its fictional nature. There is also this proximity factor that makes me like this book more, as part of the story happened in Indonesia (Mata Hari means 'the sun' in Indonesian). Paulo even left a personal message in the printed Indonesian version of the book for Indonesian readers which I consider picking up if I have extra money left this month.

All in all, as an avid fan of Coelho, whom I highly respect, The Spy serves as a delectable book, enough to satisfy my needs for his writings after quite a long wait since Adultery. I'll be looking forward to his next work, hoping for it to be yet another masterpiece. 

Have you read The Spy? Will you pick it up? 

Overall rating: 3 out of 5 stars