After stumbling on this story I immediately emailed Tom Rachman and demanded to know if this was the start to his next novel. Tom is an incredibly nice guy and a great writer, so he crushed my hopes and told me it was just a short story. But it could be his next novel, I think, hope, wish, dream. As you all know, I adored The Imperfectionists, and actually stop strangers on the street to tell them. Wouldn’t it be great if this was his next book?
Paul works in a cubicle at a spy agency. He’s in charge of listening and transcribing what he hears on survelliance tapes. Paul is convinced that the war on terror is run by idiots with bad internet connections. Paul’s own voice is crisp and solid, written in Rachmanesque tones, he’s never rattled or pissed off, just subtle. He loves to read short stories in French while taking a bath. His co-worker is the bane of his existence and a typical office asshole. Paul puts up with him.
Tom doesn’t know this, but highly literate spy stories make me weak in the knees, and it’s Haley’s Comet rare when that happens. Paul is immediately adorable for all the right reasons. He reads whatever Russian novels Wayne forces on him, but Wayne never gives Paul what he needs to do his job. This leaves Paul no choice but to take Wayne out, subtly. This story moves like electricity and you’ll be going back to read it again. At $1.99, you can’t go wrong. If you’re reading this and you’ve not read The Imperfectionists, shame on you.