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4.5
Spy in a Little Black Dress is the story of Jacqueline Bouvier, or Jacqueline Kennedy, as we all are familiar with; before she was a Kennedy. This novel touches on her life as a CIA agent working under cover in Havana, Cuba. It is riveting, heartbreaking and historical in the sense that some of the storyline is factual.Reading about Jacqueline's budding romance with Emiliano was excellent. The character development was nicely done and the reader could slowly follow along as Emiliano transformed from her protector and essentially tour guide, to a very important love interest.The author opened a door to the past and introduced the reader to many historical figures including Fidel Castro, John F. Kennedy, Frank Sinatra and Grace Kelly to name a few. It was very interesting to read a bit about what these people might have been like.What took away from the story a little was the overuse of fancy words, which I felt interrupted the flow. The author could have used more common words to make Spy in a Little Black Dress more of an easy read and more enjoyable.As a person born in the 1970's, I found reading some of the comparisons to historical novels and movies somewhat difficult to follow. I think the author could have kept the book open to a much larger audience had she minimized some of the associations she made to such items from that era.Jacqueline Kennedy was a very heroic, intelligent, caring and unique person, and this story very clearly demonstrates that. The action that took place in the book was very entertaining and certainly kept me reading. Some of the scenes were downright nail biting.Here are some excerpts I enjoyed from the book:"She looked into his eyes and was surprised by their intensity. They were blue and fervent as though lit from within by a holy fire, and his riveting gaze made her feel safe.""For a man like Jack Kennedy, nothing is a bigger aphrodisiac than competition,""One thing you need to know about Jack Kennedy is that as soon as he has a woman, he loses interest,"..."The chase is everything to him, the challenge of getting the woman to say yes, and then he's off to the next one. He has a voracious sexual appetite, it's like Chinese food-an hour after a meal, he's hungry again.""Call me Jackie. Anyone who saves my life is entitled to call me by my first name.""I admired them because even though they wrote about the seamy side of life from firsthand experience, they were still idealists who believed in a better world. They brought rebellion, but by using their words to accomplish what activists had been trying to do for years.""I should have said a cigar-factory reader," Emiliano corrected himself. "We have a long-standing tradition in Cuba of hiring people we call torcedores, or lectors, as you would say, to help our cigar-factory workers pass the time by reading to them while they roll the tobacco leaves into cigars. The lectors sit in the front of the factory room and read aloud all day long. They start out with the newspaper in the morning, and after that, it could be anything the workers might like-self-help-improvement books, magazine, modern novels, or classics.""That's a wonderful idea, but doesn't that distract them?""No, actually, it improves their concentration by keeping them from getting bored, and they're not allowed to look at the reader or talk to their workmates because quotas have to be met. So instead of distracting the workers, the reading helps them keep on rolling cigars at top speed while it entertains and informs them."Spy in a Little Black Dress was an enjoyable read that I would recommend to someone who enjoys historical fiction, especially from the JFK era. Well done Maxine Kenneth!
