Book review: I am Pilgrim - a bumpy ride

I am Pilgrim may not be literary masterpiece but makes for fun read

Author Terry Hayes must have had a film adaptation in mind when he wrote I am Pilgrim. Despite this being his first novel — he has previously written screenplays of several action films which comes through in the way I am Pilgrim is constructed — it’s outlandish, has a conspiracy theory-fused plot, spans over a great deal of geographic locations and has a great American hero who saves the day.

Little surprise that the book has already been picked up by MGM studios for a film adaptation. So it makes sense that it has the same problem a lot of blockbuster action films have — it is engrossing and fun but it does not really make sense when you start thinking about it.

The story revolves around Pilgrim, a trained spy who once oversaw a secret espionage unit for American intelligence. When the book opens, Pilgrim has retired from service but has arrived at a crime scene as a favour to a detective friend who wants his help in the investigation. A woman has been brutally murdered in a cheap hotel room, and the murder is an amalgam of the murders Pilgrim has outlined in a book, based on his experiences as a spy. Meanwhile, in flashbacks, Saracen, a young boy in Saudi Arabia witnesses the beheading of his father, and then grows up to be a jihadist with a strong hatred for all things American. He masterminds an attack on US citizens, which Pilgrim must thwart before it’s too late. The two storylines converge in surprising ways, with plenty of twists and curveballs.

Author Terry Hayes.

The greatest strength of I am Pilgrim is that it’s compulsively readable. It has short chapters that mostly end in cliffhangers and the story has enough momentum to make you keep turning the page. The stakes are high and the writing is intelligent enough to keep the reader engaged. Its lightning pace and various twists and turns almost — but not quite — conceals the novel’s various flaws, mainly that it tries to be too many things. It’s a whodunnit mystery, a spy caper, a race-against-time thriller and a commentary on the West and the Middle East. There are hundreds of pages consisting of backstories and side stories which are quite fascinating, but have nothing to do with the main plot.

Added to that, Saracen, the main antagonist is a stereotypical nutjob who is given the most predictable back story. It’s commendable that the author tries to make a meaningful villain, but his attempt completely fails. In fact, all non-Americans in the novel, from the corrupt officials, incompetent police officers to the sleazy gigolos, are all clichés. This is in contrast to all the noble and heroic Americans.

I am Pilgrim is a fun and entertaining read as long as you are able to switch off and not think too hard about the plot and the barely suppressed xenophobia.

Nudrat Kamal is a subeditor on The Express Tribune magazine desk. She tweets @Nudratkamal

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, November 9^th, 2014.