Back in 2022 (is it really that long ago???) I stumbled across a book which grabbed my attention from its title: “Borges and the Eternal Orang-Utans”. Written by Luis Fernando Verissimo, it’s a humorous and clever work which mixes an unrealiable narrator, a locked room mystery and the great Argentinian author. I loved it so much that I kept the author on my radar, and I was lucky enough to have another of his titles, “The Spies”, turn up for my birthday via Youngest Child. I was a bit unsure what to read after “Death of the Poets”, and fortunately this one turned out to be the perfect choice.

First published in 2009, “Spies” is translated by Margaret Jull Costa, who was also responsible for bringing us “Borges…” in English. It’s an entertaining story which is narrated by a man who works in publishing, and whose life is frankly in a bit of a mess. Spending his weekends completely drunk, he struggles to cope with his job, rejecting most of the manuscripts sent in (unless the authors are prepared to pay for publication). His wife, child and even his dog cannot communicate with him, and he’s very much on a downward spiral. The late night drinking, literary debates and even fierce arguments about the placement of commas are all that sustain our man. However, one Monday morning a manuscript makes it past his usual dismissal and captivates him…

This piece of writing is sent in anonymously, apparently by a ‘friend’ of the author. The latter is only identified by the name Ariadne, and indicates that she is in some kind of mortal danger. Instantly intrigued, our publisher begins to investigate and with his friends, discovers that Ariadne appears to be married to one of the two Martelli brothers, shady businessmen and possible gangsters. Located in the small town of Frondosa, there is gossip surrounding past family feuds, and like a spymaster in a le Carre novel, our narrator dispatches one of his friends to the town to see what can be found out.

Meanwhile, further parts of the manuscript continue to turn up – and somehow seem a little familiar. Gradually, the whole of our narrator’s team travels to Frondosa to investigate further, including, eventually, the protagonist himself. The town of Frondosa is quirky and obsessed with five-a-side football; Ariadne is as beautiful and inaccessible as she seemed on paper; and what *is* the secret of the concreted-over tree in the town square? Events will build to a dramatic climax, and frankly, nothing is as it seems!

There is nothing like an overnight bus ride to concentrate the mind. There’s nothing like a sleepless night for thinking about the past and imagining the future, as you whizz along the tarmac, as though the road were leading directly – where? To Frondosa to make a book deal, or to Naxos to save a life? Was I an unlikely Dionysus on a rescue mission, or merely an intruder in someone else’s labyrinth, a chameleon denying his true nature and wanting to be seen?

“Spies” is a slim novel, but a most entertaining one. It’s working, like the other Verissimo I read, on a number of levels, one of which is looking at just how easily we can let our imaginations run away with themselves and make something out of nothing! The narrator is convinced of dastardly deeds in Frondosa and that Ariadne is in danger and needs him; for most of the novel he is totally fooling himself. His side-kicks, from Dubin, who is obsessed with women, through Professor Fortuna who makes up lectures as he goes along, to Fulvio Edmar, the hapless author of a book on astrology, are all as flawed as he is, and also very funny! However, there are, perhaps unexpectedly, darker sides to the story.

Verissimo builds into his narrative many references to the myth of Ariadne, who provided a thread to enable her lover to escape the Minotaur’s labyrinth. The thread here, of course, is interpreted by the protoganists as one which will help them rescue their Ariadne but in reality it’s she who’s drawing them in with her story. There’s also a warning against reading too much into events, and in fact there are deaths in the book; this is signalled from the start and again is a warning about interfering in things which have nothing to do with you!

Publishing gets a bit of a battering too, particularly the gullible nature of the narrator and his side-kicks; drawn into Ariadne’s pages, despite the poorness of her writing in places, they fail to spot an obvious issue… Certain readers of “Spies”, however, myself included, will be ahead of the characters because of particularly distinctive phrases Ariadne uses, and it’s quite clear that her writing is not at all original! I’m not going to say anything about who or what because that would spoil the surprise…

All this is done with a light touch, however, and “Spies” is a really funny and entertaining book, one you could happily enjoy in a couple of sittings (as did I!) Its subtexts are fascinating, the narrative very engaging, and part of me wanted to keep reading about the hapless adventures of this mismatched set of characters. This was another wonderfully enjoyable story from Verissimo and I’m going to have to check and see if I can get any more of his books, aren’t I???? 😊📚