This book is just a little off-center from the traditional spy novel – and one that is enjoyable on many levels.
I gave it the following SCORE:
Setting: Present day, Vieques and the fictional country of Bolrovia
Characters: Hal Knight, a former comedian and elected official, several key members of the CIA, other suspicious operatives, and an engaging, varied cast of characters in the Bolrovian regime
Overview: Hal Knight has made a critical error and is disgraced on Capitol Hill, leading him to seek solace on the island of Vieques. Nikolai Horvatz, Bolrovia’s oligarch, is captivated by Hal’s comedic talent and invites him to perform. The CIA looks at this as an ideal opportunity to convince Hal out of his self-imposed isolation and infiltrate Bolrovia’s inner circle to obtain secret information.
Recommendation: I rate this book 5 stars
Extras: This story is less serious than Fesperman’s previous books. It is more of a tongue-in-cheek, nip-and-tuck story, than his by-the-book, tried-and-true spy tales. It is thoroughly amusing and entertaining.
Thanx to NetGalley and Knopf for the opportunity to provide this candid review.

I interesting book that I would recommend for anyone interested in political type thrillers. Well written and with a good plot many people would love it. I am not a political fiction fan.

Dan Fesperman’s “Pariah” is nothing if not topical, with its story of a disgraced comedian recruited by U.S. intelligence operatives to be their eyes and ears on the ground in an Eastern European country headed by an authoritarian leader manifestly patterned on Hungary’s Viktor Orban.
More than just a spy story, though, the novel clearly aspires to be, with the comedian carrying around a Philip Roth novel with a particular passage he has bracketed. But for the most part the novel ensconces itself in traditional spy novel territory, with much topicality, including clear references not just to Orban but Tucker Carlson.
Also, in an irritating tic for me, the novel here and there abandons its usual close-third-person voice for an omniscient remark such as “spies do not sleep like you and me” or “a house … lives and breathes.” Still, with the Roth references and the overall quality of its writing, the book is a cut above the usual spy novel and will no doubt prove engaging fare for fans of that genre.