The Spy

A novel

By: Paulo Coelho

Narrated by: Hillary Huber, Paul Boehmer

In his new novel, Paulo Coelho, bestselling author of The Alchemist and Adultery, brings to life one of history's most enigmatic women: Mata Hari.

HER ONLY CRIME WAS TO BE AN INDEPENDENT WOMAN

When Mata Hari arrived in Paris she was penniless. Within months she was the most celebrated woman in the city.

As a dancer, she shocked and delighted audiences; as a courtesan, she bewitched the era’s richest and most powerful men.

But as paranoia consumed a country at war, Mata Hari’s lifestyle brought her under suspicion. In 1917, she was arrested in her hotel room on the Champs Elysees, and accused of espionage.

Told in Mata Hari’s voice through her final letter, The Spy is the unforgettable story of a woman who dared to defy convention and who paid the ultimate price.

Critic reviews

Praise for Paulo Coelho and The Spy

“[The Spy is a] masterful new novel.” --Bookpage

“Coelho, whose books have sold more than 200 million copies worldwide, has taken the Mata Hara story and fashioned it into a short dynamo of a novel.” --Los Angeles Times

“A striking novel. . . . By the end, readers will believe they’ve read [Mata Hari’s] actual letters.” --Publisher’s Weekly

“Coelho has created a portrait of an anachronistic woman, who was destroyed by her times and became a legend.” --Paste Magazine

“A novelist who writes in a universal language.” --The New York Times

“Spiritualists and wanderlusts will eagerly devour . . . [Coelho’s] search for all things meaningful.” --The Washington Post

The Spy by Paulo Coelho

I really enjoyed this book on audio so much that I'm going to listen to it again make sure I didn't miss anything and also it worth reading once or twice as Paulo Coelho is by far one of my most favorite authors.

re read material just for fun

even better than i expected. great gift material. great effort in the voice changes and it helps create a "movie" in your minds eye!

Excellent Read

Mata Hari as a young woman is trying to escape her Dutch heritage so she marries young and is enticed by the thought of living abroad. When that dream fizzles and reality is more than she wants, she leaves the East and heads to Germany and Paris to build a name for herself as an exotic dancer and a kept woman. She gets sucked into espionage, double spying and eventually a scapegoat when the war hits and it all comes crashing down. Her past and her relationships catch up with her. An excellent book and well narrated.

Highly recommended

Great narration. Meticulous detailing of facts and documents and final, just exoneration of a wrongly-accused. Heartbreaking and very timely.

Not what I thought the story would be.

the story was sad and depressing to hear about a woman having to use her body to get her freedom. But she was never free, she ended up being smited by the same men that desired her. Lets pray that this type of story will soon be historical info instead of fodder for a new screenplay.