Spies in Canaan, by David Park - Lauren
A thought-provoking, unique novel by Irish author David Park, following fictional character Mikey Miller. The novel is a little slow to grip you, but once hooked you’re engrossed in the plot and will not want to put it down.
The first half of the book follows Mikey as he works as a junior diplomat for the American forces in Vietnam, during the Vietnamese war. Park fantastically sets the scene, describing a humid, adventurous, and tense Saigon, as seen through Mikey’s eyes. As the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong close in on the city, Mikey is offered an exciting yet nerve-wracking opportunity to advance his career with a somewhat dubious role in espionage. However, drip-by-drip he becomes more and more disillusioned by his superiors and what ‘America’ are doing in Vietnam. As things come to a head, he feels increasingly out of control and out of the loop, and unable to provide any answers to the Vietnamese who have been promised lives in America for their loyalty, but are now being left on their own.
The second half of the book cuts to forty years later, where a widowed and retired Mikey is forced to reflect on his and others actions in Vietnam. The Vietnamese evacuee crisis is paralleled now with the immigrants illegally coming into America today, and Mikey is forced to confront his regrets and actions.
Whilst set in Vietnam and America, this novel provokes one to think about the refugee crisis around the world; in Afghanistan, Ukraine, the Channel crossings, and how we as a society, and as individuals, are facing the catastrophes. Mikey’s soul searching cannot help but reflect one’s own soul searching in these times.
A thoroughly enjoyable read that I highly recommend.
4/5 stars
- Lauren
