Book Review- The Spy by Paulo Coelho

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Disclaimer- This book review is majorly a self-contemplation. The personalized meaning derived from the book vis-à-vis life experiences. The quotes are used directly from the book. 

“Her head was conserved in the Anatomy Museum in Paris until one day in 2000, it was stolen.” 

When I heard this piece of evidence on one of the BBC programs, it steered me to browse about her. 

The search led to this book. The book cannot compare to the events that transpired in her life, but I believe Paulo Coelho gave this woman a voice that was condemned by a rigorous community of her time.

Published in 2016, "The Spy" is the real-life story of the historical figure Margaretha Gertrude Zelle, famously known as Mata Hari. The novel has been translated from Portuguese by Zoe Perry. 

In this story, Coelho has used history, wrapped in the colorful cover of myth and fantasy. This book sympathizes with Mata Hari for her being one of the first women who became a martyr for equal rights. She was court-martialed on the charge of espionage on October 15, 1917. While reading the story my mind crowded with the ideas of feminine rights, various geographical locations, dubious war politics, and vulnerable human dignity.

It was an enlightening yet impassive biography.

Margaretha Zelle, better known by her stage name as Mata Hari, was a Dutch girl born into a middle-class family in Holland. After her parents' divorce, she moved in with her uncle to get teacher's training. One fine day, she replies to a matrimonial ad in the newspaper of an army man looking for a wife, and within three months of meeting the man, she gets married to him and moves to Indonesia. 

Her life turns tragic as she becomes a victim of sexual and physical abuse by her husband. But her painful ordeal with marital life soon comes to an end, when the suicide of another army's wife irks her up and fills her up with confidence to leave her husband. 

She makes her way to Paris, where a wealthy man spots her talent of dancing. He gives her the right opportunity to showcase her talent during the opening of his museum. And within a few months of success, she became a household name in Paris. Her beauty and grace stole the hearts of many wealthy men who provided for her extravagant lifestyle. Gradually, she gets caught up in the crossfire of the war, as she chooses to work as a double agent and later is convicted of being a spy for the Germans in World War 1.

This read made me marvel at her strong will which compelled her to stand among all tragedies and squabbles. This unusual life story of a woman who gave priority to her heart is a substantial illustration of the famous phrase “where there is will there is way”.

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Some interesting quotes from the book -

"When we don't know where life is taking us, we are never lost."

"These seeds will always be tulips, even if at the moment you cannot tell them apart from other flowers. They will never turn into roses or sunflowers, no matter how much they might desire to. And if they try to deny their existence, they will live life bitter and die."

"Flowers teach us that nothing is permanent: not their beauty, not even the fact that they will inevitably wilt, because they will still give new seeds. Remember this when you feel joy, pain, or sadness. Everything passes, grows old, dies, and is reborn.”