Who is Vera Kelly? : Book Review


Book Review

 

Title: Who is Vera Kelly?

Author: Rosalie Knecht

Genre: Spy thriller/ Historical fiction

 

There are books where the storyline allows it to be classified under multiple genres. ‘Who is Vera Kelly?’ is one of them. While its technically classified as a spy thriller, there are many layers to the characters that leads to an overlap in genres. 

 

Vera Kelly works at a radio station and is struggling to make ends meet in New York city. When a recruiter from CIA notices her for her technical skills, Vera finds herself in Argentina on a mission. As an undercover spy, she disguises herself as a student of Psychology amidst the political unrest in Buenos Aires. Things go awry when she finds herself betrayed in the middle of a coup. In order to fight for her survival, Vera resorts to some extreme measures which spirals into a series of incidents. 

 

Narrated in first person from the point of view of Vera, the story alternates between the past and present. It chronicles her troubled childhood and volatile relationship with her mother, stint in juvenile homes, her sexuality and trying to find her feet in the big city. In the present, we are taken to Argentine revolution amidst a world of radicals and revolutionaries. 

 

The pacing is initially a little slow and doesn’t jump into action right away.  The language is quite literary with beautifully crafted sentences, taking us into the interiority of the protagonist and her dynamics with other characters. The author touches upon the themes of politics, loneliness, violence and sexuality. There are times Who is Vera Kelly comes across as a coming of age story, moments when it delves into events surrounding the coup and political revolution. The gripping sequences post the coup towards the end gives it a flavor of being the spy thriller that it was intended to be.

 

‘Who is Vera Kelly’ is an interesting portrayal of a woman spy and manages to hook you throughout. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

100 meters : Movie Review

Image
Watched this inspiring Spanish film over the weekend on Netflix!  100 meters is a based on a true story of a man named Ramon who is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. He is told that he will be able to even walk 100 meters in the next one year. Determined to prove this wrong, he takes up the challenge of doing the grueling Ironman race which involves 2.4 miles swimming, 112 miles biking and 26.2 miles running.  With the help of his father in law with whom he initially shares a shaky relationship with, he begins to train relentlessly. Ramon faces challenges on the way and is almost pushed to the brink of being bed ridden. He overcomes every hurdle with grit and a positive frame of mind. It remains to be seen if he actually finishes the race.  This movie struck a chord in many ways. A triathlon is not just a race-its a humbling journey which alters your life forever. The training period is especially a challenging one as it demands a lot out of you. The film showcases the importance of f
Read more

The Chennai resistance

Image
-By Swetha Amit http://content.msn.co.in/MSNContribute/Story.aspx?PageID=3cd78548-4240-47c3-a608-8432df372190 Mentality of a Chennaite is something that never fails to amaze me and other people of different cities. This city has a rich cultural heritage and people indeed try their best to preserve it as much as possible. However in spite of globalization descending upon them, with BPOs lurking at every corner, with the Burgers and pizzas invading their eateries, the typical chennaite will go by his time tested staple food. Times have changed, and Chennai itself is now invaded by population from other cities not only in India but form the world, thanks to the IT boom and the automobile hub centre that it has become. One can see the metamorphosis almost everywhere; old buildings have given way to modern architecture, arterial roads choked to the brim with modern vehicles, individual bungalows replaced by the apartments. Only the age old temples have withstood this onslaught, but they too
Read more

My friend Ganesha: Friendship with God

Image
-By Swetha Amit http://content.msn.co.in/MSNContribute/Story.aspx?PageID=b7ab149a-5f35-4861-8859-6a890ddb71fe Loneliness often propels one to longingly seek a friend. Times like these often push us into a solitary stance or we find our solace in the road to spirituality striking an unspoken friendship with God. My friend Ganesha is one such film which depicts this divine friendship between a child and the elephant faced God and takes you down the mythological lane. The movie revolves around a family consisting of Ashu, his parents, aunt and the maid Gangubhai who places her sincere devotion in Lord Ganapathy. Ashu is a lonely child devoid of any friends and to top it all he is bullied by his counterparts at every given opportunity. To make matters worse, his parents who are caught up with the corporate lifestyles hardly spend time with him. One day he ends up saving a little mouse from the harsh rains. On sharing this with the maid, leaves her enthralled enough to tell him of being the
Read more