Review: The Private Lives of Spies

Title: The Private Lives of Spies

Author: Alexander McCall Smith

Publisher: 14th February 2023 by Hachette Australia

Pages: 216 pages

Genre: historical fiction, short stories, spy

My Rating: 3 cups

Synopsis:

From Alexander McCall Smith, one of the world's most beloved and bestselling authors, comes a marvellous collection of stories about intrigue and espionage, told in his inimitable style.

During WW2 there was a rumour that German spies were landing by parachute in Britain, dressed as nuns...

Conradin Muller was an unusual spy. He was recruited in Hamburg in June 1943, much against his will, and sent on his first, and only, mission in late September that year. He failed to send a single report back to Germany, and when the War came to an end in May 1945, he fell to his knees and wept with relief.

From a highly reluctant German spy who is drawn to an East Anglian nunnery as his only means of escape, to the strange tale of one of the Cambridge spy ring's adventures with a Russian dwarf, these are Alexander McCall Smith's intriguing and typically inventive stories from the world of espionage.

My Thoughts

"Do you want to spend your life in the shadows? Now there are shadows, and it is the lot of some to work within them or, indeed, on their periphery, in their liminal territory. But if you are one who prefers to be in the clear light of day, then perhaps it is best not to dwell in penumbral regions."

I am a huge fan of the author Alexander McCall Smith. He is a prolific and incredible writer with his No.1. Ladies Detective Agency being a firm favourite of mine. Therefore I am always eager to read his latest which, this time around, is a short story collection surrounding intrigue and espionage. 

Here the reader is presented with five short stories that are a combination of fiction and nonfiction. The first is my favourite, a tale recounting the supposed legend of German spies dropped into England as nuns during WWII. You cannot help but be drawn to the plight of this reluctant spy and his effort to both hide and survive. Other tales include a Cambridge spy ring's adventures with a Russian dwarf and another on the Vatican Secret Service. 

Each of the short stories is imbued with Alexander’s typically clever prose and sprinkled life musings surrounding intrigue and espionage. Not one of my favoured of his books but still an entertaining read with themes of transparency and forgiveness in our lives.

“… you can create an identity for yourself that can then become the real you. Then people think that you were always what you claim to be, that you were born to it, so to speak, rather than having made it all yourself. And that can be important in the world of spies. They are accustomed to maintaining one identity while really being something else altogether.”

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: Pianos and Flowers

Title: Pianos and Flowers

Author: Alexander McCall Smith

Publisher: 19th January 2021 by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

Pages: 192 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: short stories, historical fiction

My Rating: 3 cups

Synopsis:

A delightful compendium of short stories inspired by images in the renowned photographic archive of The Sunday Times.

A picture can paint a thousand words, but what about a vintage photograph?

In 2015 Alexander McCall Smith wrote a book entitled Chance Developments: Unexpected Love Stories, in which he imagined the stories behind five chanced-upon black and white photographs. Who were those people, why were they smiling, what made them sad? He so enjoyed the experience that when The Sunday Times generously offered him access to their early 20th century photograph archive he jumped at the opportunity.

My Thoughts

‘A lot of people don’t notice the interesting things around them. They go through life thinking everything is very dull, and all the time it’s the opposite.’

I am a huge fan of the author, Alexander McCall Smith. He is a prolific and incredible writer with his No.1. Ladies Detective Agency being a firm favourite of mine. Therefore, I was intrigued to learn about his latest short story collection. Previously, Alexander had written for the Sunday Times when he was asked to take photos from their archive and imagine the lives behind some of the everyday people captured. He did not know who the people were or the context behind the photograph. It is something I am sure we are all guilty of, looking at old photos and wondering about the lives of the various people we gaze upon. Here, Alexander uses his incredible imagination, takes tiny visual clues and creates a fictional story based on that. 

‘When we look in retrospect at the saliences of our lives, we realise, sometimes with astonishment, that this is how they are shaped: a single event; a chance word of advice; an apparently minor decision by another - any of these may dictate what happens to us and what we ourselves do.’

The stories vary but overall it is the pearls of wisdom I seek in Alexander’s writing. The detail and precision is incredulous with some of the stories being as profound as I expected. He has such a readable style and easily brings to life fictional dreams and desires from these still images. Alexander takes you for a brief interlude, a small snapshot, into what may have led the people to be at that place and time for the photograph to be taken. It makes for light and entertaining reading. 

Whilst I enjoyed the concept for this book, I have to admit that I am not a fan of the short story. It probably worked as a newspaper feature and would provide a good ‘inbetween’ read as a book. However, I did not find myself fully engaged and that may be due to the narrative structure rather than the narrative voice. Alexander has a true gift for writing and to take such a simple stimulus and weave stories around it testifies to that. 

‘Some lives are like that - they leave little trace, as unrecorded as were those countless lives led before writing and photography gave some degree of permanence to our human experience.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: Snowdrift and Other Stories

Title: Snowdrift and Other Stories

Author: Georgette Heyer

Publisher: 3 October 2017 by Sourcebooks Casablanca (first published 1960)

Pages: 368 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: historical fiction, short stories, romance

My Rating: 4 cups

Synopsis:

The Queen of Regency Romance, Georgette Heyer, shines in this sparkling collection of fourteen short stories brimming with romance, intrigue, villainy, gallant heroes, compelling heroines, and, of course, the dazzling world of the Regency period.

Additional content in this re-issue of the Pistols for Two collection includes three of Heyer's earliest short stories, rarely seen since their original publication in the 1930s, as well as a Foreword by Heyer's official biographer, Jennifer Kloester.

Revel in a Regency world so intricately researched and charmingly realized, you'll want to escape there again and again in Heyer stories new and old.

My Thoughts

“Heyer delighted in writing sparkling comedies of manners, clever mysteries and incomparable Regency romances.”

For some time now, Georgette Heyer has been on my reading radar - I know! How can a historical fiction connoisseur such as myself, never have read Heyer! So here I go, and I thought these short stories for lovers of traditional Regency romances would provide a wonderful introduction.

‘Snowdrift and Other Stories’ anthology contains fourteen short stories, inclusive of three newer stories that have not been published, I am informed, for many years. What you have here is a taste test that provide lovely, entertaining escapist moments, filled with all that is good and fluffy - young women meeting (or thrown in the path) of wealthy men, in all sorts of variations; rich in period detail and filled with some of the wittiest dialogue I have come across.

“Only two things belied the air of primness she seemed so carefully to cultivate: the jaunty bow which tied her bonnet under one ear, and the twinkle in her eye, which was as sudden as it was refreshing.”

When you sign up for this, you know for certain what you are in for - and in this instance - that is a good thing. Almost every story revolves around travel or runaways, elopement, an Earl, Duke or some entitled male (always handsome of course) and a young innocent, trusting female. These are light-hearted and loads of fun, packed to the hilt with romance and intrigue. Allow yourself to get carried away with young heroines and dashing heroes. There is loads of humour, all providing for some great escapism.

On the whole, I am not a fan of short stories - with little time to develop plot or character affiliation. The few ‘insta-love’ tales may push your acceptance to the limits with their predictability; and, plot lines in some instances are quite similar and repetitive. Overall, however,  it really is an enjoyable collection on the whole.

These are tales that are best taken in bite sized pieces whilst sipping that therapeutic cup of tea. If this is to your taste, you will thoroughly enjoy Heyer’s early works - an expert storyteller who can succinctly entice you with a lavish plot and engaging characters in the minimal amount of pages. Truly, take the journey to Regency England with these charming and romantic tales.  

Author of over fifty books, Georgette Heyer is one of the best-known and best-loved of all historical novelists, making the Regency period her own.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release