The Spook Who Sat By the Door

This story asks: What if a Black man in the 1960's was trained to be a spy by the CIA and, after the CIA utterly wastes his talents, uses what he's learned to start a revolution? I'm not sure if I would classify this book as fantasy (or science fiction) so much as it is a satire. And in many respets, it's not even satire - it's just spinning systemic racism out to its logical extreme. The premise of the book was interesting and the writing was biting and humorous. I will say it suffers from some common problems of many 1960's pulp novels (at least what I personally perceive) - there's cast of thousands and it's mostly action/dialogue (happening at breakneck speed) with very little scene-setting, so it's sometimes hard to follow or picture what's happening. Also - again, as with many 1960's books - the representation of women leaves much to be desired. All that being said - so mcuh of this 50-year old book still rings true today, so it's worth a read.