The Spy – Paulo Coelho

I do judge a book by its cover sometimes… As covers go, this is an exotic one, the elaborate hairdo and ornaments, the delicate profile… I found myself going back to it over and over after reading certain incidents in the book, could you have done that? I asked the photograph.

‘Mata Hari’ was a name that I had heard many times while growing up but my curiosity was never piqued enough to read more about her and her life. This simple book does shed light on her life and the difficult times that she witnessed. I can only imagine her life in Paris as a dancer and courtesan, dependent on powerful men for money and security, always longing for true love.

Her wrongful conviction as a spy in 1917 and the subsequent lukewarm trial add to the melancholy of her life.

Paulo Coelho keeps adding new subjects to his repertoire. With this book a new subject is firmly in place, but I need to turn to the net to learn more about this intriguing lady.