A novel about one family trapped in the grand narratives of history.
On a freezing January morning in 1961, eight-year-old Anna's mother disappears into the fog. A kiss that barely touches Anna's cheek, a rumble of exhaust and a blurred wave through an icy windshield, and her mother is gone. Looking back, Anna will wish that she could have paid more attention to the facts of that day. The adult world shrouds the loss in silence, tidies the issue of death away along with the things that her mother left behind. And her memories will drift and settle like the fog that covered the car.
That same morning a spy case breaks in the news―the case of the Krogers, apparently ordinary people who were not who they said they were; people who had disappeared in one place and reappeared in another with other identities, leading other lives. Obsessed by stories of the cold war and of the Second World War, which is still a fresh and painful memory for the adults around them, Anna's brother, Peter, begins to construct a theory that their mother, a refugee from eastern Germany, was a spy working undercover, and might even still be alive. As life returns to normal, Anna struggles to sort between fact and fantasy. Did her mother have a secret life? And how does anyone know who a person was once she is dead?
The Spy Game is a beautifully wrought novel about loss, history, memory, and imagination, and the way in which we shape these to construct our own identities. It is a painful and tender reminder of the importance of understanding the past and, in turn, the importance of letting go.
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Georgina Harding is the author of the novel The Solitude of Thomas Cave and of two works of nonfiction: Tranquebar and In Another Europe. She lives in London and the Stour Valley, Essex, England.
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Book Description Condition: Good. 0th Edition. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # 10959671-75
Book Description Condition: Good. . Former Library book. All orders guaranteed and ship within 24 hours. Before placing your order for please contact us for confirmation on the book's binding. Check out our other listings to add to your order for discounted shipping. Seller Inventory # BOS-N-05i-01299
Book Description Condition: As New. Like New condition. Very Good dust jacket. A near perfect copy that may have very minor cosmetic defects. Seller Inventory # R10D-01533
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 1. Seller Inventory # G1596915897I3N00
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Former library book; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 1. Seller Inventory # G1596915897I3N10
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Good. Years after their German refugee mother disappears on the same day the media releases a story about a spy family, Anna and her brother, Peter, struggle to sort out facts and lies about their mother's identity and wonder if she had a secret life. By the author of The Solitude of Thomas Cave. Former library book. Foxing is present on one or more pages. Mylar protector included. Moderate edgewear on the boards. Moderate shelf wear. Please note the image in this listing is a stock photo and may not match the covers of the actual item. Ex-Library. Seller Inventory # 123585739
Book Description Condition: Good. SHIPS FROM USA. Used books have different signs of use and do not include supplemental materials such as CDs, Dvds, Access Codes, charts or any other extra material. All used books might have various degrees of writing, highliting and wear and tear and possibly be an ex-library with the usual stickers and stamps. Dust Jackets are not guaranteed and when still present, they will have various degrees of tear and damage. All images are Stock Photos, not of the actual item. book. Seller Inventory # 6-1596915897-G
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. 310pp. Stated "First U.S. Edition 2009" with '1' in number line. Forest green, fine cloth with brilliant gilt lettering on spine; bevel fore-edge; one page was dog-eared: now flat, else As New. Shiny brownish dustwrapper not price-clipped ($24.00), with front cover color photo-illustration of well-dressed woman behind the steering wheel of car, author name lettering in glossy yellow across top front cover, title lettering in glossy light green across bottom front cover. Book essentially As New: no previous owner names. Clean text. Seller Inventory # 000712