Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews

I saw that Obama bought this book, Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews, during a recent book buying binge, so I thought I’d check it out. The pitch on the book was that it was a realistic spy novel. Maybe that’s true, but I’ve always thought the real life side of spying would be really boring. If it wasn’t for the hope that this would turn into a really great story (and maybe my loyalty to the President), I would have given up long before it got really interesting, which did not occur until about the 2/3 mark of the book – which is far too long to wait. Ultimately, the premise is good, but the plot is very simple. There is not much in the way of subplots. There are two agents, one Russian, one American, who are each trying to recruit the other to their country’s clandestine services. The characters were interesting and thoroughly, if not slowly, tediously, and painfully developed. There was just one big surprise at the ending. If you like the genre of the international thriller, there are lots of other books out there that are far more entertaining. This one does not get my recommendation. Check out the blog.