An Ordinary Spy: A Novel (Hardcover)

by Joseph Weisberg (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Mimicking many nonfiction books about the CIA, Weisberg, a former CIA officer, has included a blizzard of redacted (blacked out) words and sentences in his second novel (after 10th Grade), as if the agency's publications review board had worked the manuscript over with a heavy hand. Did they? Or is it just a clever ploy for verisimilitude? Mark Ruttenberg, a newly minted agent, is on his first foreign assignment trying to persuade citizens of an unknown country (the location has been redacted) to spy for American interests. He's doing well until he starts sleeping with one of his contacts and his superiors eventually fire him. Back in America, Ruttenberg meets another cashiered spy, Bobby Goldstein, and the two men share their experiences. Ruttenberg and Goldstein may be pretty ordinary spies, as the title suggests, but their stories compel, thanks to the author's deft prose and insider expertise. Given the quantity of blacked-out material, some readers may be more annoyed than intrigued as they puzzle over the missing information. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Wholly original.”—Los Angeles Times

“Weisberg, a former C.I.A. agent, skillfully maintains a tension-filled plot and offers a humanistic spin on the typical spy story, sensitively portraying the pain of risking lives for the sake of ambition.”—New Yorker

“In a spare but beautifully written book, Weisberg captures the paranoia and frustration, if not the futility, of the real world of spying.”—Newsweek

“The best of new American spy fiction.”—Chicago Tribune

“Recalls G raham G reene’s comic Our Man in Havana…An odd, well-written and interesting novel, a low-key corrective to all the razzle-dazzle spy tales we’ve read.”—Washington Post

“A superb CIA novel.”—St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“A well-wrought, beautifully crafted, incisive book…a remarkably honest and revealing picture of those who shouldn't have become spies in the first place. ”—Washington Times

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA (December 26, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596913762
• ISBN-13: 978-1596913769
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #499,204 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing....something any aspiring case officer should read and ponder, December 28, 2007

By	maskirovka (Alexandria, Virginia) - See all my reviews

I just finished reading "An Ordinary Spy" (in two days). It made me think some of Claire Berlinski's "Loose Lips" (a novel narrated by a woman going through the CIA's career trainee program...the same one that the narrator in this book went through) and perhaps a bit more like one of the stories in John LeCarre's "The Secret Pilgrim" (narrated by "Ned," a veteran of the British intelligence services).

Loose Lips: A Novel

The Secret Pilgrim (Coronet Books)

From what I've read about the clandestine world, "An Ordinary Spy" rings true. I wonder if some readers might find the redactions (some authentically imposed by the real CIA and some imposed by a fictional CIA censoring a former spook's memoir a bit annoying). I found them somewhat entertaining and found myself guessing where the fictional CIA officer was assigned ...my guess was India.

I think I would recommend that anyone aspiring to be a case officer read this book because it shows that to be an effective one, you have to be what a lot of people would consider hard-hearted...I think in a way it's a bit like wanting to be a doctor (if you can't stand the sight of blood, you aren't going to be a success). Similarly, if you don't have the right personality, you aren't going to be a success as a case officer. I think being a case officer is a worthwhile and commendable profession, but I know enough about myself to conclude that it's not something I would be good at or happy at. Because fundamentally, what a case officer does for a living is entice foreigners to betray their countries on the behalf of the United States. To be good at that, you have to be manipulative but also have a code of conduct that keeps you from going right off a moral cliff.

Finally, for those who like pondering the moral dilemmas posed by the spying game, they should read a nonfiction book written by James M. Olson, another former CIA officer, called "Fair Play" that examines dozens of fascinating scenarios and whether they are things that an American intelligence service should be doing or not doing.

Fair Play: The Moral Dilemmas of Spying

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Two thirds a great novel, February 2, 2008

By	Charles G. Oberndorf (Cleveland Heights, OH United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I came to AN ORDINARY SPY due to several very fine reviews, and for the first two thirds I was an entranced reader. Better than anyone else I've read, Joseph Weisberg captures the uncertainty of the spying trade: are you being followed or are you just being paranoid? This sense of unease augments both the novel's suspense and its authentic flavor.

And for the first two thirds AN ORDINARY SPY also seems bound to be a powerful novel about how ambition influences human relationships. Unfortunately, Weisberg didn't learn from le Carre and Greene how tragedy can make for great storytelling. Weisberg pulls most of his punches in a convoluted closing act. It seems the only sad ending is the one the protagonists don't notice, and it's reserved for the foreigner who's already suffered more than any of the ordinary spies.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing, ultimately unfulfilling., January 21, 2008

By	Taggart Murphy (Jakarta) - See all my reviews

Outside of the three Smiley books, this was one of the very rare spy novels that seemed realistic in terms of the trade. Having zero such experience myself, I cannot say that without reservation but it felt realistic and that was certainly refreshing. Mr. Weisberg is a pretty good writer as well and it made the book easy to read and follow. The redactions are a bit silly but don't detract from the story.

Ultimately, the whole thing was too slight. The story that bookends the book is so thin it is almost non-existent. [SPOLIERS BELOW] Goes to country x, blows it, comes home, and becomes a teacher. The motivation for this character were barely there and the resolution obvious. It's barely a third of the book.

The nested story is much more developed and better fleshes out the character. I wished he had dropped the bookend and just finished this story into the book. The second-hand telling shakes off any of the tension or immediacy that might otherwise have been developed.

I will note, that the 'William' character must be a hell of a guy if these two guys are his favorite sons. What, if anything, did they do to engender such loyalty? One has a brief good run followed by feeding actual fake materials (again, I'm not in the intelligence community, but that would seem to be really poorly received). The other has zero success and flames out virtually immediately. So he endeavours to help them help each other? I hated the all-seeing/all-knowing superior able to teach this guy learn his sensitive spy-lesson and then make his woman magically appear. Man, those anonymous postcards sure seem all-powerful.

I suppose the narrative fake-out allow for the twist at the end (was that a twist?). Whether it was or not, it was unecessary and, if anything, detracted from any potential emotional imact (if such was intended). Overall, I felt like he never had enough story for a book and the design was built to cover that but 60% of a book and 25% of a book tied together didn't do anything for me.

On a side note, our (first) hero drives a DODGE DART and has it SHIPPED to and from country X! WHAT? Well, no. Until someone from the CIA tells me different, I do not believe any foreign posted US official anywhere would be shipping a DODGE DART to say, Algeria or Kenya or Turkmenistan, no, no, no. What, he's going to do burnouts in front of the Syrian embassy? If I were the foreign intelligence service, I couldn't be more excited to have this 'spy' there! How easy would it be to tail a guy driving a Dodge Dart?! Nonsense. Dumbest spy-novel car since the guy in "Charm School" was driving a TRANS-AM through Soviet Russia.