An unsuspected reread. Didn't realize it until some time in the second chapter. A quirky enough plot so I couldn't remember the progression, though I did roughly remember the end.
A very good read, but I'm not sure what to make of this one. A bit Le Carre-esque in that it deals with the world of spies and international intrigue. Perhaps some kind of reflection on the famous double agent period of English secret service history? I almost wonder if it isn't also some kind of style exercise just to show he can write a damn good espionage novel too. Definitely not a reflection on truth, good and human values, like Le Carre's work. In part a reflection on the unknowable other - Hamid, the German girl, the brother-in-law all at some point seeming tied to secret political organizations, but in fact not - or even the opposite. The mother herself - how can you not know your own mother? How can she be other?
Also somehow a reflection on the fleetingness of life, its provisionality. The invented selves, the masks, the hovering threat of everything "going away" as he mentions in several contexts. The uncertainty of identity. At least for some people.
Within the book there are also the regular folks - the police officer, her own father, the "stupid people" according to the lead male character and chief spy. At least some of them - the father, Hamid - seem to stand as some kind of refuge, a haven.
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