{"product_id":"my-life-in-the-cia","title":"My Life in the CIA","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBy Harry Mathews\u003cbr\u003eIntroduction by Daniel Levin Becker\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePaperback:\u003c\/strong\u003e 9781628977103\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eeBook:\u003c\/strong\u003e 9781628977110\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e July 6th, 2027\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eDescription\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThrough a series of improbable coincidences in the early 1970s, Harry Mathews was rumored to be a CIA agent. With growing frustration at his inability to make anyone believe him, Mathews decided to act the part.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn unimpeachable capstone of 20th century American literature, \u003cem\u003eMy Life in CIA\u003c\/em\u003e was the last book to be published in Harry Mathews' lifetime: a maybe-autofictional, page-turning romp through 1970s Paris. At loose ends, waiting while his third novel “went the rounds of New York publishers,” our fictional Mathews gets hung up on three misunderstandings repeatedly made by his social set: that he’s gay, that he’s rich, and that he’s a spy. At the urging of his close friends, he decides to lean into the spy rumor to regain a sense of agency—until the situation spirals out of control.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the midst of a charged year for global politics—the coup in Chile, Watergate, and the ending of the Vietnam War—Mathews finds himself entangled in a host of misadventures and precarious situations. He mans a fake travel agency; he infiltrates the communist party; he ends up at a dinner hosted by notorious fascists. His ruse has been \u003cem\u003etoo\u003c\/em\u003e successful: he catches the eye of the CIA itself, who attempt to recruit him, and receives warnings of a plan for his assassination. Whether fact or fiction, \u003cem\u003eMy Life in CIA\u003c\/em\u003e is a spellbinding thriller that cements Mathews’ legacy as a generational storyteller.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eBiographical Note\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHarry Mathews\u003c\/strong\u003e was born in New York City in 1930 and spent his adult life in the United States and in France, where he co-founded the influential journal Locus Solus with John Ashbery, Kenneth Koch, and James Schuyler in 1961. He was the first American member of the literary consortium Oulipo, alongside Raymond Queneau, Italo Calvino, and Georges Perec. His many writings, spanning novels, short fiction, poems, essays, and translations from the French, include \u003cem\u003eThe Conversions\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eTlooth\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThe Sinking of the Odradek Stadium\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eCigarettes\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThe Journalist\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eMy Life in CIA\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eThe Solitary Twin\u003c\/em\u003e. Mathews was honored by the French government as an Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters and earned awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the National Endowment for the Arts. He died in Key West, Florida, in 2017.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDaniel Levin Becker\u003c\/strong\u003e is the author of \u003cem\u003eMany Subtle Channels\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eWhat's Good\u003c\/em\u003e and the translator of books by, among others, Georges Perec, Laurent Mauvignier, Jakuta Alikavazovic, and Éric Chevillard. He has been a member of the Oulipo since 2009.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Dalkey Archive Press","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":49327364898971,"sku":"9781628977103","price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"eBook","offer_id":49327364931739,"sku":"9781628977110","price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0594\/2915\/9067\/files\/MyLifeinCIAFrontFinalDLB.jpg?v=1787168267","url":"https:\/\/dalkeyarchive.store\/products\/my-life-in-the-cia","provider":"Dalkey Archive Press","version":"1.0","type":"link"}