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Title	:	Spies
Author	:	Michael Frayn
Book Format	:	Paperback
Book Edition	:	Deluxe Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 234 pages
Published	:	2003 by Faber and Faber (first published 2002)
Categories	:	Fiction. Historical. Historical Fiction. War. Mystery. European Literature. British Literature

Spies

Michael Frayn

Paperback | Pages: 234 pages

Rating: 3.54 | 4835 Users | 378 Reviews

Relation Concering Books Spies

In the 1940s, some boys played Cops & Robbers, some played Cowboys & Indians. But Stephen and Keith, English boys and neighbours during WWII, played Spies. Sure, it's a less well known game, but it is just as engrossing, and involves a hideout and a logbook, lots of sneaking around, and monitoring the movements and whereabouts of... Keith's mother, who the boys are certain is a German spy.

This coming-of-age story is told by Stephen, an elderly, grandfatherly Stephen, who is remembering a pivotal time in his childhood. He returns to his childhood neighbourhood and it all comes back to him in a series of nostalgic waves. Memory is not reliable, and neither is this narrative, but it IS deliciously satisfying and continues to unfold and reveal up until the very last page.

The dynamic between the boys is fascinating - Stephen, who feels lucky Keith pays him any attention, and who is aware that there's something shameful about his own family, and Keith, who lives in a perfect house filled with perfect toys and a regularly maintained bicycle, and who calls the shots in their friendship.

The idea of a pair of children acting as amateur sleuths in a mystery that is far over their heads reminded me a bit of The Trouble with Goats and Sheep, though this was far more literary and memorable for me. It's also much more suspenseful, as the game of Spies gradually shifts from a charming, childish fantasy to something dangerous. The street in this quiet English town is full of secrets, and nothing is as it seems. The whistle of a father working in the garden has never been so sinister.

It took me a little time to get into the story, but once in, I was turning pages feverishly. I worried, as in other spy stories, will this one be obtuse and more confusing than anything else? I needn't have worried, though. Frayn doesn't leave us hanging in a maze of double agents and hazy memories. He leads us through, having left a trail of breadcrumbs that we can now see in the clear, 20/20 vision that retrospect affords.

Elegant, captivating storytelling.
4.5 stars

Mention Books In Favor Of Spies

Original Title:	Spies
ISBN:	0571212964 (ISBN13: 9780571212965)
Edition Language:	English
Literary Awards:	Booker Prize Nominee for Longlist (2002), Whitbread Award for Novel (2002), Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction (2002), Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best Book in South Asia and Europe (2003)

Rating Out Of Books Spies

Ratings: 3.54 From 4835 Users | 378 Reviews

Commentary Out Of Books Spies

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In the 1940s, some boys played Cops & Robbers, some played Cowboys & Indians. But Stephen and Keith, English boys and neighbours during WWII, played Spies. Sure, it's a less well known game, but it is just as engrossing, and involves a hideout and a logbook, lots of sneaking around, and monitoring the movements and whereabouts of... Keith's mother, who the boys are certain is a German spy.This coming-of-age story is told by Stephen, an elderly, grandfatherly Stephen, who is remembering a

The narrator is an elderly man looking back at events that happened when he was a boy and that he did not understand at the time. Several novels use this device, as it allows a contrast between hindsight and impressions at the time.The difficulty with it is how good a memory does the author give the elderly narrator, can he remember events exactly, in order and what he thought about them then. Michael Frayn handles this well, his narrator struggles with his memory sometimes and questions the

I loved this book. It reminded me of the time in my life when I still craved an imaginary world but knew that I knew better. Stephen is a vulnerable boy, lacking in self confidence, easily led by anyone who befriends him. His fantasy world with Keith leads to the uncovering of a secret that has devastating consequences. Frayn tells us a poignant story, drawing us into Stephen's troubled world and through his childish perspective into the adjacent adult world. It's a story that will stay with me

Want to know if you'll enjoy this book? Ask yourself this: do I enjoy a narrator who switches up his tenses and also acts like a mind reader half the time despite the book being written in a convoluted first person pov? Do you savor long, drawn out descriptions of things that don't contribute to the plot, such as the smell of foliage? What about two dimensional characters and a meandering, confusing plot all tied together with subpar writing?To put it bluntly, this book is an uninspired mess. I

I can't decide whether to give this book four stars or five. The language was a lot more straightforward than the dense, breathless wordplay I usually love, but the further I got into the book the more I came to see this as another mark of Frayn's genius, because the language picks up and becomes more urgent and complex as the plot does.The plot is brilliant; no question about it. I couldn't put this book down, and those of you who know my distractible self will know that this says a LOT. I put

I dont think Ive ever read a more suspenseful novel than The Spies. Michael Frayn has crafted a remarkable story of WWII intrigue told through the eyes of a young boy living in a tight family neighborhood in London.Following the lead of his only friend Keith, young Stephen embarks on a spying game, tracking Keiths charming mother whom they have convinced themselves is a German spy. The plot then takes many twists and turns as Stephen becomes embroiled in an intrigue he never anticipated, all the