The Miernik Dossier

De: Charles McCarry

Narrado por: Christopher Cazenove, Stephen Hoye, Moira Quirk, Stefan Rudnicki

The Miernik Dossier is the dazzling first novel, newly reissued, by master spy novelist Charles McCarry. In this riveting, imaginative tale, five international agents embark on a car trip in a Cadillac, traveling from Switzerland to the Sudan. Among them are Paul Christopher, an American operative; Kalash el Khatar, the seven-foot-tall Muslim prince; Ilona Bentley, the beautiful half-English, half-Hungarian girlfriend of the British national, Nigel Collins; and Tadeusz Miernik, the shy and bumbling Polish scientist who might be the leader of a terror force that could set the Cold War aflame.

Related as a collection of dossier notes written by the five characters, the novel reveals a complicated web in which each spins his or own deception: each is a spider, and each is a spy.

©1973 Charles McCarry (P)2005 Blackstone Audiobooks

Dated, but interesting

The author tells the story in a series of letters, reports, diary excerpts, building up genuine tension around the question of whether Miernik is a Soviet agent or just a blundering Pole who speaks Arabic. As someone who has worked in a government bureaucracy, I was really impressed with how the author caught the tone and way of thinking of the bureaucrats he created.
For me, the story had a bit too much sex and violence, a little too much of the air of 1970’s spy movies. But cleverness of the storytelling in the end won me over.

Creative story structure

I appreciated the unique structure of the story, told from a series of intel dossier reports. The story itself was good (not great), but the approach and good performance by the voice actors made it a pleasure to listen to.

Intrigue & Unique format

Excellent book with unique characters. A deep look into where our suspicions lead us and how people come to see others. Self fulfilling prophecies and ambition..
Almost 50 years old and still amazing to read..

Creative, unique storytelling

I've never heard a book or story told in this way. It was very intriguing. Hard to get into for the first couple chapters. However, the storyline began to unfold and it was easier.

The story itself left some things to be desired in my opinion. With this type of storytelling, character development is much more difficult. The resolution of the story was a bit anti-climactic as well.

Overall, I will likely read another but I can put it in my all time favorites. If you are looking for something different and a change of pace to help stir up the way you read and interpret... worth it.

Captures the paranoia

Well written and very well read. It captures both the naivite and the paranoia of the era quite well. Is he or isn't he a spy/enemy agent? Story told through "official" documents and debriefings is an excellent vehicle for a taut plot. Different from the usual cold-war spy thriller and well worth the listen.

This book was something else. . .

I'd guess any secret agent would have to be paranoid if they read it. I've heard numerous other books using the parallel story format, but all these characters were really interesting and the narrators added a lot to the fun. Unfortunately it's harder to skip past all the unnecessary musical interludes listening on an iphone vs. the really user-friendly little ipods. I still love my little ipods and continue to use them every chance I get.

A superior spy novel

A thoroughly unique, thoughtful, touching, and even funny novel. I had not read anything by this author previously but am so delighted he has written other books.

performances create the characters ..good story to

enjoyed this style of storytelling. think reading it might have lost me but the performers kept me engaged until the end.

A thrilling journal

Would you listen to The Miernik Dossier again? Why?

Yes, this is sort of a book that the end doesn’t matter, it’s the journey (no pun intended) that counts.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Definitely Miernik, his add demeanor had kind of…. a je ne sais quoi about him.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

I loved this 4 narrators combination, it felt like a radio performance of years gone by.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, definitely yes.

Any additional comments?

It is the first time I have listened to book in a journal style comprised of reports & debriefings. I was expecting it to be a very long 10 hours.To my surprise, I couldn’t put it down, at times I sat in the car long after my arrival to hear a few more minutes of this fascinating account of those add friends in their strange journey. McCarry weaves this espionage plot in an ingenious way; he has this “picturesque” way to describe the players and events. The narrators, 4 in total, did an excellent job “acting” the parts of each of the characters and reading the dossier in a dry non involved manner.
I would strongly recommend listening to this book

Confusing

Too many characters to keep up with .
I had to start over 3 times to keep the characters straight