Legends: A Novel of Dissimulation by Robert Littell

Who is Martin Odum?, September 11, 2005****


The chief character in this spy thriller is Martin Odum but is he? Even Martin Odum does not know for sure who he is. At different points in the novel he assumes alternate identities, supposedly legends or covers that the CIA created for him over the years. but which legend is real? Whoever he really is, Martin is off to Russia in pursuit of a mafia-type who married an Israeli woman to get out of Russia but then disapppears and she needs a "get" to free her from her marriage. Around this apparently simple premise Littell weaves a complex story. The CIA attempt to stop Martin from pursuing this assignment and in the end we realize why. Not your ordinary thriller but definitely well plotted and well written