At this meeting we will be discussing John Banville's Untouchable.  The story begins just after Victor Maskell - a knighted art historian in his seventies, passionate about both art and crime - has been exposed as one of the Cambridge spies.  This catastrophe causes him to reflect on his past, and Banville is off and running with a delectably droll and masterful fictionalization of this infamous WWII cold war spy ring.  He creates a vivid cast of heavy-drinking dissemblers, two of whom, including our hero, are homosexual, a serious criminal offense.  So Maskell lives more than a double life.  But this description can only suggest the hilarity and wisdom worked into the rich fabric of this novel, which blends the shrewd humor of a comedy of manners with the suspense of a tale of espionage.

Copies of the book will be available at the library at least one month before the meeting.