cultbyproxy's review
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Coelho has never shied away from harsh topics and The Spy is no different. In his own words, “Some books make us dream, others bring us face to face with reality, but what matters most to the author is the honesty with which a book is written.”
Set in the 1880s to 1910s, Coelho starts this novel with a prologue of Mata Hari’s execution before taking us on a journey through the life that would lead her there in the format of a letter to her daughter. The first few pages of Part I left me in such a pit of sorrow and disgust for the life Margaretha Zelle-MacLeod was faced with as well as the men in it, who depicted so accurately the misogyny and rape culture that plagues history and is still upheld today, that I physically required a ten minute break to collect myself and process all she has endured. In just a handful of paragraphs Coelho described enough trauma to last a lifetime, and trust me, it did.
For all its vulgarity and injury, Coelho remained true to his unadulterated writing style and depicted Mata’s strong character. In her letter to her lawyer she wrote, “I don’t know if the future will remember me, but if it does, may it never see me as a victim, but as someone who moved forward with courage” and I can 100% say that she had more courage than most will every fathom and endured more than anyone ever should. Her spirit is akin to a phoenix, rising from the ashes of her past lives.
The narrative of Mata’s sexual expression particularly piqued my interest. Having endured multiple periods of sexual abuse and then becoming a prostitute showed not only the manner with which hypersexuality can present itself but also an attempt to be sexually liberated and engage in casual encounters of her own volition, not in an act of violence. And this is only solidified in her views of exchanging pleasure for influence or possessions, how she is “tormented by self-created nightmares.”
This aside, The Spy is a book dipped in culture, with mentions of Freud, Picasso, Modigliani, Nijinsky, Wilde and many more. It has great commentary on history, identity, art, hope and self-liberation. Mata Hari came alive through Coelho’s words.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and War
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