Book Review: The Marionette by Terry Fallis

I’m a big fan of Canadian author Terry Fallis, both as a person, and a writer. Having interacted with him a few times, I know he’s a great guy, but he’s also a good writer, and the light humour of his novels has always appealed to me. He’s fairly prolific so I haven’t read all of his books, but I eagerly scooped up his latest release The Marionette, and as usual, thoroughly enjoyed it. Although the plots will shift and characters will differ (slightly), Fallis’s books are surefire sources of entertainment that will keep the pages turning, offering readers a light and engaging story that one can depend on in The Marionette.

Plot Summary

We meet James Norval, a mega-successful thriller writer when he’s in a bad spot; he’s been picked up by the military in Tajikistan after being caught taking pictures of their top-secret base as research for his next novel, and as they threaten him with torture during his days-long interrogation, they refuse to believe his story of being a writer. Luckily, the Canadian embassy swoops in and saves him before physical interventions are used, much to Norval’s relief. But instead of delivering him safely back to his home in Toronto, they ask a favour – would he be willing to assist in a covert operation to rescue some of his fellow Canadian citizens from a mining site in Mali, where they are being held captive by the new government regime? Apparently the new President in power there is a big fan of Norval’s novels, and they believe James would be the perfect entry point to this new government, and hopefully, a step towards freeing the folks being held against their will. Norval always wanted to be a secret agent, and is still sore about the fact that he was denied employment at CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Service) decades ago with no explanation as to why. Yes, he went on to become an extremely successful writer, but he always wanted to be a spy! So this is an opportunity he can’t say no to, even though it’s dangerous, and he has no experience whatsoever. There are hiccups along the way of course, and Norval struggles to keep up with the experienced agents around him, but the excitement and gravity of the situation keeps him optimistic, and prevents the story from becoming too serious. As the challenges stack up, it quickly becomes clear that the original plan will have to be altered, but will Norval be allowed to take some liberties, or will he be relegated to the backseat of the action? It’s never truly a question of whether our protagonist will survive, but the question of whether he retains his dignity is definitely one that remains unanswered almost to the very end.

My Thoughts

My ongoing quibble with Fallis, ( a minor one) is that his protagonists are always a variation of the same man; aged 30-50, funny, slightly dorky but with a successful background, humble, and looking for love. I’ve raised this in all the reviews I’ve written of his books, and yet, it doesn’t dissuade me from continuing to read his books. Yes, I would love to see him branch out a little more, but honestly, this formula works for him, and I appreciate the reliability of his writing. They say write what you know, and I appreciate Fallis writes the characters he knows, albeit in increasingly more complicated situations.

Norval is a likeable character with few complications; he’s single, wealthy, attractive, and well-liked by many. Other than the burning question of ‘why is this man still single?’, the ongoing inner turmoil he faces is why he was denied employment by CSIS, all those years ago. I personally found this a bit unrealistic, although I reasoned that some people may feel differently about this forcedcareer redirection then others; if you felt as though you were always meant to be something, then denied this opportunity, how would your psyche deal with this rejection?

“I certainly could not complain about my Plan B. I had enjoyed writing novels and all the rewards that came with it. But deep down, that failure three decades previous had left a hole inside me that even my unexpected international success as a writer could never quite fill” (p. 233, The Marionette by Terry Fallis).

If you are at all familiar with the publishing world, you’ll likely recognize the glaring irony in this situation; one is more likely to become an agent a national intelligence service than becoming a writer so successful that Hollywood has turned a number of your books into movies, and yet this realization doesn’t seem to be enough for our protagonist. Still, it’s fun to join him in living out his dream, if only temporarily. Yes, you’ll have to suspend your disbelief at numerous points to really immerse yourself in this book, but it’s most definitely worth it.