February 9, 2014

“An Officer and a Spy” by Robert Harris – Let There be Justice

An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris (Book Cover)
The Dreyfus affair is something which shook the foundations of humanity’s notion of justice, demonstrating that even with the most advanced justice system (or so it was believed at the time, at least), humans are open to errors of judgement through illogical discrimination and plain old racism.

As a matter of fact, the doings of that affair were stranger than fiction, with Dreyfus being accused of spying and executed, all while the true culprit was still at large. An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris would be best-described as a novelization of the events which took place.

No known facts are distorted and the research was indeed conducted rather diligently… Harris simply made sure to weave them all together into a story that would not only make us think, but also entertain us.

To start things off, I have to say that this novel succeeds in being an entertaining one, presenting the whole Dreyfus affair as a tragic mystery, discussing different points of view on the whole ordeal.

We are never quite sure what will happen (at least, that will be the case if you aren’t acquainted with the affair), and Harris succeeds in actually bringing the characters to life, making us care for them, regardless of what side of the fence they are on.

Alfred Dreyfus

In the end, though much of the book is pure fact, it still has the structure of a story, making it a good source of entertainment.

Besides that factor though, there are other things going for this book. The more important one being, in my opinion, the examination of how personal opinions and prejudices can stand in the way of proper justice being done, a topic which is no less current today than it was a hundred years ago.

We see how illogical judgements can bring ruin to those who do not deserve it, the corruption which reigns within a dysfunctional system where laws are broken for the sake of protecting those who belong to it, and how ultimately, those with money and power dictate the fates of others.

It seems to explore the idea of racism even beyond its apparition in institutions, perhaps showing that it is, sadly, an inherent characteristic to humans as it helps a society maintain its heterogeneous form.

An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris (Book Cover)
All in all, An Officer and a Spy is a very interesting, entertaining and educative look at the Dreyfus affair, the justice system, and human nature when it comes to implementing said “system”.

I recommend it to those who are looking for a solid detective story, to learn about the Dreyfus affair in its entirety, or those who are interested in examinations of the concept of justice in human society.



Robert Dennis Harris (Author)

Robert Dennis Harris


Personal site

Robert Harris is an English novelist who used to work as a journalist as well as a television reporter for the BBC.

Though Harris began with works of non-fiction, he has branched off into historical fiction as well as contemporary history, with Fatherland being one of his most recognized novels.

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