The English Teacher

A Novel

By: Yiftach Reicher Atir

Narrated by: Charlotte Albanna

Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

Soon to be the major motion picture The Operative, starring Martin Freeman and Diane Kruger.

For listeners of John le Carré and viewers of Homeland, a slow-burning psychological spy thriller by a former brigadier general of intelligence in the Israeli army.

After attending her father's funeral, former Mossad agent Rachel Goldschmitt empties her bank account and disappears. But when she makes a cryptic phone call to her former handler, Ehud, the Mossad sends him to track her down. Finding no leads, he must retrace her career as a spy to figure out why she abandoned Mossad before she can do any damage to Israel. But he soon discovers that after living undercover for so long, an agent's assumed identity and her real one can blur, catching loyalty, love, and truth between them. In the midst of a high-risk, high-stakes investigation, Ehud begins to question whether he ever knew his agent at all.

In The English Teacher, Yiftach R. Atir drew on his own experience in intelligence to weave a psychologically nuanced thriller that explores the pressures of living under an assumed identity for months at a time.

©2016 Yiftach Reicher Atir (P)2016 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Compelling.... As in the works of John le Carré and Charles McCarry, here we see that in the day-to-day spy business, it’s not so much countries that are in danger but individual human souls." (The Washington Post)

"The time is right for this astonishing thriller.... Though facts have been masked by censors for security reasons, the emotional and psychological elements ring true." (Library Journal)

"Reicher Atir writes with poetic authority of the bleak isolation that pervades the life of the spy long after their active existence is over. This black yet strangely beautiful tragedy will stay with me for a long time." (Alex Marwood)

Reminiscent of John LeCarre novels

Where does The English Teacher rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I'd rank it close to the very top.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The English Teacher?

The return of the protagonist to her one time lover after 15 years. But don't think this book should be classified with the romance genre. The story is more profound and reveals an in-depth look at what covert agents must do and how they are "used".

What about Charlotte Albanna’s performance did you like?

Her performance was fine just not remarkable.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

The Manipulators

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed the story but there seemed to be parts that were missing...didn't flow smoothly. Not sure if this was due to the author's requirement to edit out some of the details that were too revealing regarding covert work or some other reason. I did find it very interesting and character development was great.

In the leauge of "I am pilgrim "

If you want to feel what kind of nightmare the agents live this will swollow-you!

Unique, captivating and thought-provoking.

Very different from the usual spy thriller genre. It's stark, dark and realistic. No good guys. No bad guys. Just human beings.

What an amazing and surprising treat...

This book was an exceptional listen. It perfectly captures the tension and sheer emotional torture that undercover agents endure.

Highly recommended.

KRD NY

The Good and the Bad

The Washington Post named this mystery novel one of the top 10 of 2016. I agree that the story was well written and interesting; however, while the narrator had a good voice and did an adequate job, her lack of energy throughout much of the story did a disservice to the author and the listeners. Overall, still a good audiobook.

A superb story

I recently watched the English Teacher movie which left a number of things unfinished for me thus I wanted to listen to the story.
Amazing what spies actually go through.

Powerful suspense story

This is not a feel good happy ending spy story. It's a powerful and seemingly truthful account of an agent caught between a real life which holds nothing for her and a False life that she creates containing all that she loves. Well written and well read.

Psychological spy novel

I found I couldn't stop listening to this, so once I caught on to what kind of book it was, I enjoyed it. Once you accept it's more about the inner experience of being a spy, especially as a woman, it makes sense. The focus is different than many other spy novels, but it seemed believable most of the time, with a couple of exceptions. I especially liked how the author made reference to John Le Carre's Little Drummer Girl in a very clever way, because seasoned spy novel readers likely would be thinking of it and comparing them early in the novel.

Don't , just don't.

No big story, nothing special, no character building. I waited and waited then it's over.

Not my cup of tea

I like spy novels, thrillers, “who dunnits ,” but this was none of those. I suppose if I were a spy, going through a spy’s mental processes might be worthwhile, but for me it just didn’t work. This is the third time I started this novel, and I finally decided I would read through to the end. It was a disappointment.