I felt the training was an integral part of the book in the sense that it is part of what makes Michel and explains his paranoia. A lot of spy books imply that this sort of constant subterfuge can be lived with easily, without any effect. My premise was that actually the whole idea of living a lie is quite damaging.
I should add here that it’s not just the tradecraft that’s written with such command in Shake Off—it’s the sense of alienation with which Michel views his surroundings. It’s something I personally responded to in an unexpected way. You and I have never actually discussed this before, but we are both mixed race—you’re half Palestinian, half British, and I’m of Chinese, German, and Irish descent. I’m not sure if your heritage was something I knew about you when I started reading Shake Off, and Michel himself is not biracial, but at least to me, the way Michel describes his sense of not quite belonging to his surroundings (something I know I’ve at times struggled with) was extremely well-taken and quite emotionally accurate.
Was cultural alienation something you’d known you wanted to write about, or a theme that grew naturally out of the genre as seen through your own particular cultural perspective? (Did you begin wanting to write a spy novel, or by wanting to write about a Christian orphan from the Sabra refugee camps?)
That’s an interesting question. This idea of belonging and identity is something that interests me, no doubt, and I recently wrote an essay on what it means to me to be of mixed race, and the challenges this poses (in terms of belonging and acceptance) and the advantages it can provide, especially as a writer, in terms of being able to look at things “from the side,” as it were. I mentioned in a previous blog post about how I drew on my own feelings when imparting the alienation Michel felt in the book, and of his being a fish out of water. One could say that this was a theme I wanted to explore to some extent, and indeed the outcome of the book is his way of addressing this loss of identity. As for wanting to write a spy novel or a book about someone from the camp, I think both came to me simultaneously. What would happen, I thought, if an orphan was groomed for espionage and placed in an alien environment? Also, I did think, how great it would be to have a Palestinian protagonist in a thriller.
I’ve given much thought to genre and subgenre in the years I’ve spent working exclusively with suspense fiction since the launch of Mulholland Books. I’ve heard it said that it’s often those moments outside of those expected from the conventions of the form that affect you the most strongly. (Michael Connelly and Mark Billingham touched on this in their conversation on MulhollandBooks.com earlier this summer—the “looking out the window” moments from Connelly’s Bosch novels being some of Billingham’s favorites—and there’s a TED talk with JJ Abrams where he mentions subgenre in discussing the unspoken reasons a film like Jaws becomes part of the cultural lexicon.)
Shake Off does this better than most in the slow introduction of Helen, Michel’s flatmate, into Michel’s otherwise almost hermetically sealed life—their budding romance is the reason that suddenly this nail-biter of paranoia, dead drops, and clandestine missions becomes an almost lyrically written love story as well. Many, many writers struggle with the idea of subgenre and romance in particular—do you have any tips to share with any colleagues who might be reading? What would you (humbly) say about writing Helen and Michel’s story makes their relationship seem more genuine than most? And are Helen and Michel based on any people in particular or do they serve as amalgams of people you’ve known?
I am pleased, as reviews and readers have suggested, that I have managed to escape the confines of the genre. To me this is the greatest compliment I can be paid as a writer. Genre can be limiting (both in terms of writing and what people will read), so if, as a writer, you can fuse more than one genre, or transcend the genre you are ostensibly writing in, without pretention or creating a horrible mess, then you may be onto something. You can appreciate this effect better in great films, as you mentioned; they are about something greater than the plot, which is often incidental.
For me, Shake Off could easily be about Michel and Helen’s relationship, with some spying and politics that get in the way, rather than the other way round, and my only advice would be to give as much thought and weight to one aspect of a book as you do another. Unfortunately, a lot of books, and films, bolt something on (usually the “love interest”) rather than weave it in, but it is obvious and therefore unsatisfying.
Michel and Helen are not based on particular people, but there are aspects in each that I have observed in others and myself.
Your earlier novel Sabra Zoo focused on the Sabra and Shatila massacre of 1982 in Beirut, Lebanon. Michel Khoury is a survivor of the Sabra massacre, an event that haunts him throughout the novel. I believe you were living in Beirut at the time of the Sabra and Shatila massacre—what was it like, being in Sabra then? How would you describe living in cities torn apart by sectarian violence to Americans, whose almost sole point of reference would have to be the events of 9/11?
It is difficult to explain what it is like to people who haven’t experienced it, which I guess is why some of us write books about it. I suppose, therefore, people could do worse than read Sabra Zoo to get a feel for what it was like in Lebanon at that time. But there are other fine books that deal with conflicts in a serious and sensitive fashion. A couple of years ago, after Sabra Zoo was published, I read Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche, which is set against the Nigeria-Biafra war of which I was completely ignorant. It is a powerful book that I felt had effectively tackled the Nigerian Civil War in a way that I had aspired to do with Sabra Zoo for the Lebanon Civil War.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a crucial part of the drama of Shake Off. While in a less astute writer’s hands, treatment of the conflict might have seemed more didactic and overtly polemical, because of the work you’ve done in crafting Michel as such a seemingly real and empathetic character, the Palestinian perspective (and the Israelis’ as well, through Michel’s reading and education) comes through in remarkably nuanced fashion. For me, those sections of Shake Off that address the conflict head-on reminded me in a way of some of Dave Eggers’s later work—another testament to Shake Off’s complexity.
Given that you’ve done such great work in depicting the nuances of the conflict—to such a degree that you’ve made even this self-professed Apathetic American feel deeply for the plight of Michel and those like him—what is your view of the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Fully realizing what an impossible question this is, what do you think it would take for a solution to be reached—and would there ever be one that will satisfy both ends of the negotiations?
Well, I am pleased that it has had this effect, and I’ve had emails from people expressing similar sentiments. Fiction is a great way to give narratives that are rarely heard an airing, and I thought Eggers did that brilliantly with Zeitoun.
This is probably not the forum to propose a detailed solution to the Israel-Palestine problem, but I would start with the naive and basic premise that everyone living there should have equal rights.
The PLO is still active and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is still unresolved. Given this, why did you decide set Shake Off in 1989, before the end of the Cold War, instead of the modern day? Other than the later historical landmarks that would influence parts of the story (the Madrid conference of 1991, the Oslo Accords, etc.), would you say that this novel could at least in spirit be set in modern times?
Yes, it could be set now, but that was such a fascinating time—a year that culminated in the fall of the Berlin wall—with the PLO still being supported by the Soviet Union and its allies within the context of the Cold War. Also, the spying game was a lot more interesting then because it was still people-driven rather than technology driven. Intelligence officers today spend more time in front of a screen than talking to agents. A contemporary book would therefore look different, but there is certainly still plenty of political intrigue to mine.
This interview o
riginally appeared on mulhollandbooks.com.
Questions and topics for discussion
1. “No suffering is unique,” Abu Leila tells Michel early on in the events of Shake Off. What does Michel’s mentor mean by this assertion? Do you agree with him, and if so how is Michel’s suffering like that of another person? How does or should one apply this maxim to daily life? In what way can this phrase be applied to the aims or effects of literature as a whole?
2. Much of the character dramas that unfold in Mischa Hiller’s Shake Off take place within the limited space uncommon to most U.S. living arrangements—the shared facilities of a bed-sit with one washroom per floor, each used by multiple tenants. What was your reaction reading these sections—did they seem particularly exciting or radical, given how infrequent this setup is in America? Looking back on the novel, how central is this living arrangement to the events of Shake Off—do you think the same plot could unfold in the U.S., without the same amount of shared living space?
3. What did you think of Abu Leila’s mentoring of Michel in the novel’s opening chapters? Of Abu Leila in general? Did you foresee any of the later reversals that occur as the story develops? How do you reconcile the ways in which Abu Leila alternately saves and misleads Michel—is he more benefactor, enemy, or both in equal measure?
4. The tradecraft in Shake Off provides a fascinating glimpse into the world of clandestine operations. What is the most interesting piece of how spies operate you learned in reading Shake Off? Do you think Michel’s knowledge of the tricks of the trade, and complicated double life, ultimately doom or redeem him?
5. Michel is not the first literary spy to struggle with substance-abuse issues, though his addiction to codeine is particularly well-drawn. What is it about dependency that makes addiction good fodder for crime fiction, spy thrillers in particular? What do you think Hiller is attempting to demonstrate about Michel by saddling him with a drug problem—and how, if at all, does this aspect of Michel’s character color your feelings toward Shake Off’s protagonist as a whole?
6. Abu Leila’s training for Michel includes more than just lessons in professional spy tactics—he also encourages Michel to read widely. What purpose would you say Michel’s literary education serves? Do later events influence your understanding of Abu Leila’s motives in encouraging Michel’s reading? Or do you think Abu Leila encourages Michel’s literary pursuits for reasons separate from his political agenda?
7. Set around a pivotal moment in the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Shake Off eschews a directly polemical approach for a well-told story peopled with complex characters. Did reading Shake Off cause you to think of this conflict in different terms? Or did it enrich your understanding of the conflict or the Palestinian perspective in matters large or small?
8. Helen, Michel’s flatmate, plays a principal role in the events of Shake Off, and Hiller takes care to show how she is unlike any other woman to Michel’s eyes. What did you think of Helen? Does she make a good match for Michel? In what ways does she complement Michel and demonstrate the workings of a good literary romance? What, if anything, do you foresee happening between Michel and Helen beyond the novel’s final pages?
About the Author
Of English and Palestinian descent, Mischa Hiller was born in England in 1962 and grew up in London, Beirut, and Dar es Salaam. He was a semifinalist in the 2007 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting and winner of the 2009 European Independent Film Festival script competition for his adaptation of his first novel, Sabra Zoo. Sabra Zoo was the winner of the Commonwealth Writers’ 2011 First Book prize (Europe and South Asia region). Hiller was also a runner-up in the 2006 Bridport short story competition. He lives in Cambridge, England, with his wife and children.
Extraordinary acclaim for Mischa Hiller’s
Shake Off
“Shake Off absolutely blew me away. Hiller’s novel has the benefit of mining every trope of the thriller genre while being absolutely original at the same time. I will read anything by Hiller from now on.”
—Malcolm Gladwell, The New Yorker (Best Books of 2012)
“A contemplative espionage novel that uses the imminent demise of the Soviet Union as a backdrop….Consistently intriguing.”
—Adam Woog, Seattle Times
“Both poignant and human…A unique and engaging voice….Hiller’s writing style is sparse but evocative; the hero’s bare room and the loneliness of exile deftly drawn. Words are used sparingly and effectively….Powerful and thought-provoking, this is a book that stays with the reader. Shake Off is hard to shake off.”
—Adam LeBor, The Economist
“A spy thriller of the highest class.”
—Charles Cumming, New York Times bestselling author of The Trinity Six and A Foreign Country
“A beautifully written novel that chronicles the education of a spy….Sensitive and realistic.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Shake Off is the gripping tale of a foot-soldier operative, forever passing on coded messages and delivering packages….Hiller recalls the cool detachment and compelling eye for the ordinary detail that characterized the early thrillers of Graham Greene.”
—Sholto Byrnes, Independent on Sunday (UK)
“Excellent….Woven into this tense and tightly knit narrative, and embedded in frank, confessional prose, Hiller provides an education in spycraft….Hiller, whose work has long been admired in Israel and Europe, is a confident storyteller, as skillfully restrained in exposition as in dialogue. His novel is sparsely populated, but the few characters he offers us are so fully formed they fill up the pages and threaten to spill over….You can train your way to competency as a spy, but all the training and all the spy novels in the world, including this one, can’t prepare you for what it means to be a human in the fuzzy ethical world of the twenty-first century. And Hiller makes certain that irony, like a pesky shadow, is something we can’t cleanly shake off.”
—Jason Allen Ashlock, TheRogueReader.com
“Shake Off carries the conviction of authentic espionage tradecraft on every page. Imagine John le Carré combined with Ken Follett. Smart and tense and real enough to be scary.”
—David Morrell, New York Times bestselling author of First Blood and Creepers
“In the best le Carré tradition….Hiller brings to his works not only a craftsman’s skill but also a compassion for his characters that proves infectious.”
—Haaretz (Israel)
“Successfully mixes the suspense and fast pace of a spy story with a set of complex, compelling characters and unexpected situations.”
—Jordan Times (Jordan)
“Shake Off is ingeniously plotted and skillfully paced, and interlaces compelling human stories with political espionage. The suspense builds until the very end.”
—Saudi Gazette (Saudi Arabia)
“Hiller’s fiction joins great Arabic novels such as Love in Exile by Bahaa Taher, Egyptian winner of the inaugural ‘Arabic Booker’ prize in 2008, and Elias Khoury’s Gate of the Sun. His own strengths are understated humor and an eye for irony.”
—Maya Jaggi, The Guardian (UK)
“Hiller tackles complex issues with sensitivity, and his portrait of a traumatized survivor is also deeply affecting….A clever thriller…this British-Palestinian writer is an upcoming talent to watch.”
—Lucy Popescu, The Independent (UK)
“Melancholy and dreamlike, Hiller’s neat upending of conventions movingly captures the realpolitik of a conflict perpetuated by the shared interests of enemies.”
—The Telegraph (UK)
“Excellent…A fast-moving, literate thriller.”
—Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)
“Impossible to put down….Shake Off is all the things it’s billed as—infectious, thought-provoking, and entertaining—because Michel is a character who exposes the dark complexities of being human. Intense and complicated. Hiller succeeds in a significant way.”
—Wil
liam Boyle, Grift
“Le Carré said we live in ‘coded times,’ and Shake Off is a book that takes that idea to hypnotizing levels. A novel about identity and sadness and love, it is also a hellaciously entertaining chase thriller. But the achievement of the novel rests in its orphan main character; Michel is a great character, one of the finest heroes I’ve seen in the spy genre simply because he is like so many of us, desperately searching for who he is and where he came from. This is a novel that is as much about personhood as it is tradecraft, and it succeeds on both counts. My highest recommendation.”
—Will Lavender, New York Times bestselling author of Obedience and Dominance
“In a life driven by deceit, [protagonist] Khoury’s motives, decisions, and reactions can be traced to the massacre that cost him his family. Khoury’s initial human contact is the superbly written Abu Leila, but Hiller opens the narrative by introducing Helen, a beautiful and free-spirited English anthropology doctoral candidate….The author writes believably of the world of undercover spies, both about the practicalities—picking locks, coding messages, using false identities—and the atmosphere of constant paranoia, continual double-dealing, and amorality. An entertainingly complex, quick-moving psychological thriller.”
—Kirkus Reviews
Also by Mischa Hiller
Sabra Zoo
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