Spies A Novel

The National Bestseller The sudden trace of a disturbing, forgotten aroma compels Stephen Wheatley to return to the site of a dimly remembered but troubling childhood summer in wartime London. As he pieces together his scattered memories, we are brought back to a quiet, suburban street where two boys--Keith and his sidekick, Stephen--are engaged in their own version of the war effort: spying on the neighbors, recording their movements, and ferreting out their secrets. But when Keith utters six shocking words, the boy's game of espionage takes a sinister and unintended turn, transforming a wife's simple errands and the ordinary rituals of family life into the elements of adult catastrophe. Childhood and innocence, secrecy, lies and repressed violence are all gently laid bare as once again Michael Frayn powerfully demonstrates that what appears to be happening in front of our eyes often turns out to be something we cannot see at all. Michael Fraynis the author of numerous novels, including the bestsellingHeadlong, which was aNew York TimesEditor's Choice selection and a Booker Prize finalist. He has also written thirteen plays, among themNoises OffandCopenhagen, which won three Tony Awards in l999. He lives in London. ANew York TimesNotable Book From the celebrated British novelist and playwright Michael Frayn comes this rich novel of childhood, deceit, desire, guilt, innocence, the past, and other universal mysteries. InSpies, one Stephen Wheatley revisits the sidewalks, shops, houses, and fragrant shrubs and flowers of his childhood neighborhood, and in doing so returns to vivid memories and life-changing secrets of growing up in wartime London. As Stephen pieces together his scattered recollections, we are brought back to a quiet, suburban street where two boysKeith and his sidekick, Stephenare engaged in their own version of the war effort: spying on their neighbors, recording their movements, and ferreting out their secrets. But when Keith reveals a shocking facet of his home life, the boys' game of espionage takes a sinister and unexpected turn, transforming a wife and mother's simple errands into the elements of adult deception, irreversible catastrophe, and domestic violence. In his sharp yet tender depiction of the boundless imagination and incessant game-playing of childhood, Frayn offers us an exciting world of suspense and intriguebut it also a world that is human, familiar, ordinary, and real. Lyrically written and sensitively imagined,Spiespowerfully demonstrates that what appears to be happening in front of our very eyes often turns out to be something we cannot see at all. "A master of intellectual mystery masquerading as ripping popular entertainment . . . A gorgeous melancholy that shivers the mind."The New York Times Book Review "Marvelously effective . . . A novel of extraordinary power and wisdom, a tour de force of humane insight."The Baltimore Sun "Bernard Shaw couldn't do it, Henry James couldn't do it, but the ingenious English author Michael Frayn does do it: write novels and plays with equal success. [He] has extended his reach and seriousness while keeping a sprightly intellectuality."John Updike,The New Yorker "InSpies, recollections of actual thingsthe 'disconcerting perfume' of privet hedges in bloom and the flavor of lemon barley watermake Frayn's story so real you can taste it."Boston Herald "[Spies] convinces American readers that Frayn, author of some thirteen novels and sixteen plays, is a literary double threat."The Boston Globe "In this very English novel, secrets assume an unexpected power and

Michael Frayn is the author of ten novels, including the bestselling Headlong, which was a New York Times Editor's Choice selection and a Booker Prize finalist. He has also written thirteen plays, among them Noises Off and Copenhagen, which won three Tony Awards in l999. He lives in London.

". . . a master of intellectual mystery masquerading as ripping popular entertainment. . .a gorgeous melancholy that shivers the mind." --The New York Times Book Review

"Marvelously effective. . .a novel of extraordinary power and wisdom, a tour de force of humane insight." --The Baltimore Sun

"Bernard Shaw couldn't do it, Henry James couldn't do it, but the ingenious English author Michael Frayn does do it: write novels and plays with equal success. [He] has extended his reach and seriousness while keeping a sprightly intellectuality." --John Updike, The New Yorker

"In Spies, recollections of actual things--the 'disconcerting perfume' of privet hedges in bloom and the flavor of lemon barley water--make Frayn’s story so real you can taste it." --Boston Herald

"[Spies] convinces American readers that Frayn, author of some thirteen novels and sixteen plays, is a literary double threat." --The Boston Globe

"In this very English novel, secrets assume an unexpected power and excitement as Frayn reveals that a little of the fascist is buried in every clever child, and that spying can be a soul-destroying game." --Chicago Sun-Times