The author has sly, intelligent fun with the idea that the mindset necessary to live as a closeted queer woman transfers seamlessly to high-stakes espionage work; a spy and a not-yet-out lesbian are both undercover, in a sense—both are accustomed to subverting identity, using coded language, and seeking out covert action ... The book smartly juxtaposes Vera's rocky coming of age with her espionage adventures. It could come off as contrived and heavy-handed, but Knecht makes it work ... John le Carré and many other writers make hay with the personal repercussions of assuming false identity. Knecht flips the terms artfully, showing us a heroine who discovers her true tough self by going undercover. By the end of Who is Vera Kelly? the reader is rooting for Vera to claim her much deserved personal freedom as much as succeed as a spy.
Women in espionage-oriented fiction tend to come in two varieties: the clueless wife or girlfriend of the male spy, and the femme fatale who ensnares him. In her new novel, however, Rosalie Knecht adopts a different tack. Who Is Vera Kelly? makes for light reading, but of a kind that proves sly, brisk, and charming – with a woman as protagonist. Who Is Vera Kelly? won’t exactly set the literati’s hearts aflutter. No matter. Imagine yourself a contestant on Jeopardy! presented with this description of a novel’s heroine: Brainy bisexual/lesbian CIA agent sent to Argentina in the 1960s, where she unearths scant information on supposed KGB machinations but acquits herself impressively when backed into a corner by a military coup, untangling political intrigue all the while and endearing herself to the reader, to boot. Answer: Who is Vera Kelly?
Women in espionage-oriented fiction tend to come in two varieties: the clueless wife or girlfriend of the male spy, and the femme fatale who ensnares him. In her new novel, however, Rosalie Knecht adopts a different tack. Who Is Vera Kelly? makes for light reading, but of a kind that proves sly, brisk, and charming – with a woman as protagonist. Who Is Vera Kelly? won’t exactly set the literati’s hearts aflutter. No matter. Imagine yourself a contestant on Jeopardy! presented with this description of a novel’s heroine: Brainy bisexual/lesbian CIA agent sent to Argentina in the 1960s, where she unearths scant information on supposed KGB machinations but acquits herself impressively when backed into a corner by a military coup, untangling political intrigue all the while and endearing herself to the reader, to boot. Answer: Who is Vera Kelly?
Women in espionage-oriented fiction tend to come in two varieties: the clueless wife or girlfriend of the male spy, and the femme fatale who ensnares him. In her new novel, however, Rosalie Knecht adopts a different tack. Who Is Vera Kelly? makes for light reading, but of a kind that proves sly, brisk, and charming – with a woman as protagonist. Who Is Vera Kelly? won’t exactly set the literati’s hearts aflutter. No matter. Imagine yourself a contestant on Jeopardy! presented with this description of a novel’s heroine: Brainy bisexual/lesbian CIA agent sent to Argentina in the 1960s, where she unearths scant information on supposed KGB machinations but acquits herself impressively when backed into a corner by a military coup, untangling political intrigue all the while and endearing herself to the reader, to boot. Answer: Who is Vera Kelly?
The book reads like the love child of John le Carré and Rita Mae Brown. I loved Vera immensely, even more so as the plot progressed and the threats became deadlier. What a fun read and what a terrific character! I can’t wait for the next installment.
The distance between Vera’s backstory and her mission in Argentina sets Knecht’s novel apart, making it more than just a suspense-driven romp of Cold War covert ops. Vera is no James Bond, with his glamour and gadgets, nor is she the anti-James Bond, John le Carré’s George Smiley, the bland, bespectacled, and balding expert in tradecraft. Vera is a deeply lonely lesbian living in a time of vice squads, and her history is as crucial to the plot as any suspicious man in a trench coat ... What kept me turning the pages in Who is Vera Kelly was not so much a desire to find out what Vera’s spying would reveal about Román’s plotting and its relationship to the coup. Instead, I found myself drawn to the bildungsroman folded into the spy novel. Balancing those two elements in alternating chapters that read like Vera’s diary entries, Knecht imbues the novel with emotional depth that allows for meditation on human connection and the ties that bind us to life’s worth.
Vera narrates the life around her, and it is easy to become consumed with her experiences. As she strives to discover who she is, it is charming and endearing to discover along with her. Vera is developed delightfully; she is an absolute treat, irresistibly likable ... The book is more successful at its literary prose than it is with the crime and mystery elements of the story ... Through a deep analysis of Vera’s experiences, Rosalie Knecht shows what it is like to be pushed to the edge of society and discover oneself while acting under an alias. This is a spy novel for those who do not read spy novels: a delightful coming-of-age story with supplementary themes of love and politics.
Part espionage tale, part coming of age/coming out novel, Knecht’s narrative requires a lot of setup, which gives the first half of her story a cumbersome stop-and-start rhythm. Readers who have the patience to stick with it, however, will find themselves rewarded with an off-road tale of political intrigue and youthful naivete ... The pacing of Who Is Vera Kelly? is uneven, but it ends up being a pretty satisfying adventure romp. Given the current popularity of 'women-in-trouble' psychological suspense tales, where much of the action takes place in the heroine’s anxious mind, it’s refreshing to read a novel where a capable young woman not only knows how to fix an electrical short in a transformer, but also how to maneuver around the homophobic biases of her own era.
Knecht deftly explores how Vera’s alienation from her mother and various romantic partners leads to her becoming a CIA recruit and how her self-confidence continues to be both challenged and reaffirmed in Argentina. Knecht’s crisp prose moves swiftly as Vera tails suspects and also accommodates moments of increasing self-awareness ... A riveting, satisfying novel.
While Vera is a charming narrator, especially among the ranks of spy thriller leads, her work among the radicals is never as gripping as it should be, nor are the flashbacks following her trajectory from reckless teenager to CIA operative. Still, with some suspension of disbelief, this is a promising subversion of the classic espionage novel.
