The Miernik Dossier
Spy novel | |
Published | 1973 |
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Followed by | The Tears of Autumn |
The Miernik Dossier, published by the
Paul Christopher
This book introduces Paul Christopher, who will go on to be the main character in another six novels. Document #4 says that he is "An American under deep cover in Geneva",[2] presumably with a cover job in the World Research Organization, a branch of the United Nations; his post, however, is unspecified. In future novels he becomes richly portrayed, with an elaborately detailed family life in pre-War Berlin that plays an important role in some of the books. In The Miernik Dossier, however, he is little more than a nonentity, an intelligent, capable, relatively youthful American agent that his superiors think highly of. Cool and detached, he rarely shows his emotions, even with those who love him. At the end of the book he spends 47 days in Geneva with a beautiful girl who is totally in love with him. One afternoon they make love.
I opened my eyes and saw his face above me. It was the first time we had done it in the daylight. In his eyes I saw the truth. I guess he had drunk too much wine or was too tired to save me from it. Paul did not like to make love to me. I waited until he went to sleep, and then I left. Paul never tried to find me.[3]
In this book we learn little about his past: A British agent says that he had been a paratrooper in the U.S. army;[4] another character says that he speaks perfect German, to which Christopher replies that he had studied in Germany;[5] his middle name is said to be Samuel;[6] and Christopher himself says that he has siblings.[7]
While not all of this information is consistent with what we learn about him in later (and presumably more authoritative) books, it does not have to be: since Christopher is a professional agent used to dissembling, he does not have to tell the truth when he says he does not resemble his own brothers and sisters (if they exist), or in talking about other details of his past life.
Critical appraisal
At the time of its publication,
Then, 15 years later, reviewing a non-Christopher novel by McCarry in the Times, John Gross wrote in 1988:
Charles McCarry's first novel, The Miernik Dossier, which was published in 1973, is arguably the finest modern American spy story, the only one that matches the leading British masters of the genre in subtlety and ingenuity. It featured an agent called Paul Christopher, and Christopher's adventures form the basis of four subsequent novels by Mr. McCarry, none quite as good as The Miernik Dossier, but all far superior to the average cloak-and-dagger concoction.[9]
Writing in the Wall Street Journal in 2009, the noted contemporary thriller writer Alan Furst called it number two of the five best spy novels ever written:
It is a travelogue that bristles with suspicion and deception—but don’t listen to me, listen to a certain highly acclaimed spy novelist who reviewed McCarry’s literary debut: "The level of reality it achieves is high indeed; it is superbly constructed, wholly convincing, and displays insights that are distinctly refreshing. A new and very welcome talent." Good call, Eric Ambler.[10]
Eric Ambler, of course, was the most widely known spy novelist of an earlier generation.
In the magisterial Twentieth Century Crime and Mystery Writers, George Grella called it "something of a masterpiece, a novel of espionage that succeeds at every ambitious level the author attempts and reverberates with possibility". He goes on to say:
The Miernik Dossier is indeed a dossier, but demonstrates an artfulness and meaning that its documentary authenticity suggests without belaboring: it is truly a remarkable book, one of the finest novels of espionage to appear in recent years. If McCarry continues to write as well in the future, he may turn out to be the American John le Carré; there is no higher praise a spy novelist can earn.[11]
Narrative structure
The form of the narrative is a variation of the
Plot
Low-key and straightforward, the plot is relatively simple, incorporating two basic threads. Underlying everything is a group of Muslim terrorists in the
Recurring characters
In most of McCarry's novels, both those about Christopher and those about his cousins, the Hubbards, there are characters who turn up in more than one of the books. The Miernik Dossier is almost an exception to this—only Paul Christopher himself and Kalash el Khatar, the Sudanese prince, ever appear in any of the other stories, the prince appearing many years later in Old Boys.
Discrepancies in the Christopher saga
McCarry apparently wrote The Miernik Dossier with no idea that Christopher would go on to become the hero of future novels.
As the Christopher saga expanded and background details were fleshed in, discrepancies arose between the newer books and what the reader had been told about Christopher in earlier books, including this one.
The Last Supper, published in 1983, begins with a long section about Christopher's parents and his birth and upbringing in post-World War I Weimar Germany. Not only is it clear that he has no brothers or sisters, McCarry even has a disclaimer at the end of the book:
In an earlier novel, Christopher was said to have an older brother, his parents' favorite child. Readers of The Last Supper will recognize that this was unfounded gossip.[12]
On the other hand, since Christopher is a professional agent used to dissembling, he does not have to tell the truth when talking about his past life.
Notes
- ^ Twentieth Century Crime and Mystery Writers, John M. Reilly, editor, St. Martin's Press New York, 1980, p. 1038
- ^ McCarry 2007, p. 17
- ^ McCarry 2007, p. 256
- ^ McCarry 2007, p. 55
- ^ McCarry 2007, p. 103
- ^ McCarry 2007, p. 77
- ^ McCarry 2007, p. 121
- ^ "Criminals at Large," by Newgate Callendar, The New York Times, July 8, 1973
- ^ "John Gross. Books of The Times; A Romantic Tale of the New World. The New York Times, August 23, 1988
- ^ Alan Furst. "Books: Five Best: These five are unsurpassed says novelist Alan Furst". The Wall Street Journal, June 13, 2009
- ^ Twentieth Century Crime and Mystery Writers, John M. Reilly, editor, St. Martin's Press New York, 1980, p. 1038 for both quotations
- ^ The Last Supper, Signet, New York, May 1984, paperback edition, p. 442
Sources
- McCarry, Charles (October 30, 2007), Miernik Dossier, The Overlook Press, ISBN 978-1-59020-375-0