The English Teacher: A Novel - A Heartwarming Story of Love and Learning | Perfect for Book Clubs, Gifts & Literature Lovers

This is really a very good spy novel written by a former spy of Israel. The author is up front that the novel had to be approved by the government and that the actual story is not a real story but fabricated from numerous real activities of Israels spy agency. The story unfolds with the disappearance of a female operative many years after her last assignment. She leaves a very brief phone message for her former handler who has already retired from the service.Having a former operative go off the grid is alarming so the retired handler who also has harbored an attachment for the woman immediately contacts the "Office".From this point on the story line takes a twist that is unexpected. The former handler contacts an old friend and mentor who is also retired from the Office. The old friend with the Offices approval meet and the two men talk about what might have caused the operative to disappear, where might she be, and how to get her back. She has secrets. She has knowledge about the Office. She must be found.From here the former handler tells the story. To his friend and former mentor. From the beginning of her recruitment until nearly the end of the novel. There are flashbacks involving the woman, involving the handler until near the end of the novel. The writing is beautiful but in the context of the real world of spying it exposes the inner feelings and emotions and effect on the people who are in this business. And the effects are sobering. The author exposes the spy business in what one can assume is the way it really is. And this is scary stuff.With many long discussions the two help each other. And finally, the former handler thinks he knows where his former operative, an operative he secretly loves and has loved for may years, has gone. He shares this knowledge with his friend, who by the way is reporting everything to the Office, and from here the ending of the book starts.The reader must remember that the author has told you that this book is based on real action(s) of the State of Israel. The actual story is not, but throughout the story individual pieces are real. Thus the sensors. Thus the blurred and often grey locations and scenes and action taken. This takes some getting use to as it colors your perception of the story. But what is not grey, what is not blurred are the raw emotions that are exposed to you from the point of the operative, her handler, the handlers friend and former mentor, and the Office, the spy chiefs.You will never guess the ending of the book until you are there.