Customer Reviews

Tears of Autumn: A Paul Christopher Novel

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This book was out of print just a short while after it was originally published in 1974. The author, who currently enjoys a bit of a cult status, was an unknown at the time and this book slipped under the radar screen. But with his popularity growing ever stronger with each of his books, many of which now are out of print, the publisher "Overlook" has recently republished this book , now available in hardback for all McCarry fans.

This is my first McCarry novel, but it will not be my last. McCarry tackles the Kennedy assassination in this his first book. I was a bit reluctant at first to read this book because I was frankly tired of all the silly conspiracy theories revolving around Kennedy's assassination. I think that the lone crazy assassin theory has been largely vindicated. I am tired of the ridiculous grassy knoll Oliver Stone nonsense. These theories held a certain fascination for me when I was much younger, but no more.

This book however approaches the assassination from an entirely different perspective. I won't give away the plot line by discussing McCarry's theory, but suffice it to say, he does not insult our intelligence.

This book is a very intelligent, elegant, and cleverly written story about the assassination and the world of espionage. His story and his characters make sense. He does not stretch credulity to the breaking point. I'm not saying that I endorse the theory of this book only that it is plausible. And that's what makes for such an interesting read.

Paul Christopher, the protagonist, David Patchen, his Harvard college roommate and now his supervisor, Tom Webster, his case officer, Tom's wife Sybille Webster, and Paul's girlfriend Molly are all immensely likable and believable characters who, no doubt, we will hear from again in later novels.

If you enjoy historical fiction and have any interest in Vietnam, the Kennedy assassination, and the inner workings of the CIA during this period then you will thoroughly enjoy this very good first effort by a fine writer.

P.J. O'Rourke has called McCarry the "absolute best thriller writer alive." This is very high praise and in this case well deserved praise.

I also stumbled across The Tears of Autumn a long time ago, and have never forgotten it. I went on to read and enjoy a number of McCarry's novels, particularly The Last Supper and The Better Angels. But no one I've talked books with in the fifteen or so years since then has ever brought up his name. Which I find sad and weird, because Charles McCarry is up there with LeCarre and Robert Stone (not Oliver, nor strictly a thriller writer, but nonetheless).

Not only is hero and narrative viewpoint Paul Christopher one of the few fictional spies as interesting as George Smiley, but the plot of Tears of Autumn is genuinely original, compelling, disturbing, thoroughly plausible--all you could ever ask from a thriller. Put it next to DeLillo's Libra and you have two utterly contradictory scenarios for what lay behind Dallas '63 that both feel true.

Oh, and did I mention he could write? I mean the pages turn themselves and the world around you fades until the story ends. Then it lingers with you. He can write.

Blah blah. I won't go on further because, like I say, it's been years. I only came here because I'd forgotten the exact title of "that Kennedy assassination book". But when I got here I found myself wanting to add my praise to that of the two previous reviewers and to wholeheartedly recommend it, along with the McCarry's other Paul Christopher novels, to anyone who's curious. It's well worth dipping into. Not to be missed, really, if you like good spy books (or well-constructed conspiracy theories).

I remember reading and enjoying Charles McCarry's "Tears of Autumn" many years ago. Re-reading it, I find that it quietly comes up with a very plausible theory for the Kennedy assasination. It is not the typical spy novel--nor is Paul Christopher the typical spy. There's an intelligence and sensitivity to Christopher that James Bond lacks. The evocation of various locales--Vietnam before the war, the Congo, France, and Italy--are amazing. Christopher's friends, the Websters and Patchen, are also well-drawn. A very rewarding read. Why has this excellent novel never been made into a film, Hollywood or otherwise?

For its type, this book is almost perfect. Long out of print, it has now been reissued by a small publisher. McCarry wrote a number of espionage thrillers utilizing many of the same characters in The Tears of Autumn, but this book and The Secret Lovers are by far the best of McCarry's books. The ingenious plot is an unusually clever conspiracy theory based on the Kennedy assasination. The quality of writing and characterization are excellent. This book is just a bit below the level of LeCarre's best novels and on par with the best of Alan Furst's books. I hope the same publisher is bringing out The Secret Lovers.

McCarry crafts a more plausible Kennedy assassination theory than most conspiracy devotees. Kennedy countenances (at a minimum) the assassinations of Ngo Dinh Diem and his brother on 1 November 1963 (so says the book; in reality the date was 2 November). Three weeks later, JFK is assassinated in Dallas. US agent Paul Christopher concludes that the Vietnamese did it. He quits the agency and sets out to prove it. The tale sprawls across 4 continents with rapid pacing as he chases down the truth.

The book's interesting characters are mostly believable, at once familiar yet not completely typecast. Christopher is the expert and honest US agent. David Patchens is the honest-broker spy chief. Foley is the JFK worshipper and political operator. The Truong toc is the ancestral head of Diem's family (OK, not so familiar, but intriguing). Luong plays Christopher's trusted agent (guess what happens to him!). And there's a Cuban agent, a Mafia don, a Vietnamese fortune-teller, and more. Molly, Christopher's obligatory love interest, provides important motivation, but is otherwise uninspired.

The book gives readers a peek into Vietnamese culture that is quite interesting. The book also suggests that if the American people had been told the connection between the assassinations that support for the war, not yet fully under way, would have dried up overnight.

Highly recommended for fans of the spy genre.

Thankfully this author's books are coming back into print and I have yet to be disappointed with any of them. Without sounding condescending, (or elitist), McCarry's books are "intellectual" thrillers in the best sense - i.e. much like Littell, Furst or early LeCarre - in that they make the reader think and the books are also almost impossible to put down. McCarry's books track Paul Christopher, covert agent in the "The Outfit", who is a multi-lingual, globe-trotting ladies' man, rarely carrys a gun, doesn't drive fast expensive cars and doesn't blow stuff up. On the other hand he knows a lot of people who do all the above (and more), and be them friend or foe, Paul is usually very busy staying at least one step ahead of them. In this volume we find our hero searching for the truth behind the tragic events, both in Vietnam and the U.S., of November 1963, bouncing from continent to continent. (As an aside the view into Vietnamese culture in this book is fascinating). The answer(s) he finds are troubling, creative and seemingly involve everyone but the journey in ascertaining them is what makes this book a great read. Highly recommended.

I rarely read fiction. Just don't seem to have enough time. I first heard about Charles McCarry because if his uncanny plot predictions, especially in Better Angels, his 1990 thriller about a disputed Presidential election and a subsequent Arab rich kid-turned terrorist's plot to slam fuel ladden jet liners into American buildings. McCarry is a former CIA man who has his history right and writes about it beautifully.

Tears of Autumn involves his main spy, Paul Christopher, in an entirely believable speculation about who shot Kennedy.

Since even today, the Warren Commission findings remain painfully inadequate, this overlooked book can be read and enjoyed by even the most avid non-fiction reader. It offers a great window into 20th century intrigue. A great book!

This is a wonderful novel about Vietnam, the Kennedy assassination and other modern fascinations. "The Tears of Autumn" is an early McCarry work that shows the seeds of his later greatness. Anyone who is nominally interested in historical fiction or spy novels will love this book.

This novel, in my opinion, is one of the best spy novels ever written. If you love the fast paced exitement of other suspense novelists of today, like Dan Brown or even Jeffrey Archer, I recommend giving McCarry a try. This novel first came out in 1975, but still holds relevant excitement. The plot line seems very plausible, and that only adds to the suspense. You don't have to be a history buff or political junkie to enjoy the twists and turns of this engaging novel.

I first read this in 1975. I started reading in the early evening, read it straight through to the end. Stunned by the breathtaking authenticity, I read it through again, immediately, entirely.

When I looked up, the sun was shining through my window. I had been at it for over 16 hours.

This book became my benchmark for its genre.

I am a student of the CIA, especially the 1960s evolution of the Agency. Today the head of the Clandestine Service (also then euphemistically called the Deputy Director of Plans, and today called the Deputy Director for Operations) would never dream of meeting a CIA officer in the street, but in the 1960s it was a practice. The episodes in the Congo were authentic. The tradecraft was authentic. The rivalry between the Agency and the military Special Forces continues to this day.

The book is probably authentic to a fault. One reviewer complains that the reader is kept in suspense because the author keeps secrets already know to his characters from the reader.

But isn't that what secrecy is all about? Even the reader, after all, is not entitled to know everything. Need to know. I found that an outstanding literary device, given the genre of the book.

There's more on this theme. McCarry's next book, The Secret Lovers, actually takes place before The Tears of Autumn. But the two stories dovetail together, and this second (but chronologically earlier) book deliciously dovetails with The Tears of Autumn, and even innocuously explains secrets that were left hanging in the Tears of Autumn.

McCarry was actually a field officer of the CIA, operating covertly in Europe, Africa and Asia. He knew of what he wrote. His description of Feung Shui, the powerful concept of Chinese geomancy, is absolutely spot on. Ask any Asian.

Finally, McCarry's style of leaving all emotion out of his principal character, and his overall writing style, strengthens the overall proposition of the tale. This is an intelligence report. Delivered by an intelligence operative. Take it or leave it. Yes, it reads like a Haiku should -- all the emotion is provided by the reader. The truth itself needs no embellishment.

-- Tonet