Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein Book Review

When you’re young, your parents tell you that you can become anything you want to be, and if you become a British spy, that incentive holds true. Verity, Queenie, Brodatt, Eva, or Julia, would know this best, for she is a British spy who was kidnapped by Germans. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein is written from the point of view of Verity’s best friend, Maddie, and is the letter that Verity is writing to the German soldiers explaining all that she knows about the British side of the war. The story follows Maddie’s and Verity’s British war story and how Maddie ended up a pilot, and Verity a spy. In this paper I will be evaluating why I like that the story is written from Maddie's point of view, questioning how Verity was so easily influenced by her German captures, and predicting that everything she is writing is fake.

As I have already mentioned, Code Name Verity is written from the point of view of Verity’s best friend, Maddie. In the book, she states that it is easier to write her story in that way: “I don’t have to take myself seriously- or, well, only as seriously as Maddie takes me.” (Wein 58). I believe that she might have also chosen to write from the point of view of Maddie because after the crash landing in Germany she can be described as bereft. Throughout the story, it is clear that Verity and Maddie were extremely close, and now that she is without Maddie she could be writing in her point of view as a coping mechanism. Either way, I like that the story is written from Maddie’s point of view because it allows you a clear snapshot of what Verity’s life was like without it being muddled by her thoughts of herself. Often times when books are written completely in first person, it is harder to determine what a character actually looks like to the outside world because it has such a narrow point of view, whereas in this book we are able to see how Verity conducts her outward appearance. This makes it easier to analyze a character’s true personality. I think that it was an interesting literary choice by the author to write the book from Maddie’s point of view.

While the story is mainly written from the point of view of Maddie, it also has exerts from Verity’s point of view. This is because the book is set to be the letter from Verity to the German soldiers listing everything she knows about the British side of the war. Verity mentions multiple times that she is an amazing interrogator: “Like you, I am a wireless operator. Like you, I am bloody good at it.” (Wein 162). This leads me to question how she could so easily give up when she herself is getting interrogated. She is also depicted to have a stolid personality and is sometimes even described as the smartest and the slyest person on the planet☺(Hyperbole). Before she was even dropped off in Germany, she trained for many weeks on what to do. All of this makes me question how she gave in so quickly when getting interrogated herself.

As I have continued to read the story, I am starting to question if anything Verity is writing is even true.  She has mentioned that she knows she will be killed in the end, whether she tells them anything or not: “‘I am supposed to vanish into the Night and Fog-’” (Wein 130). Throughout the story so far Verity has exhibited an immense amount of fortitude, so I think that it is odd that she would so easily give in now to the Germans. Being a British integrator also means that lying is as easy as pie☺(Simile), so why is she telling the truth so willingly now?  If she knows she’s going to die in the end, then what is the point of telling the German’s everything she knows? All of these things make me question if she is actually being truthful in her letter to the Germans or if it is all a perfectly cumulated lie.

I loved that the book was written from Maddie’s point of view, questioned how Verity could so easily give in to the Germans, and predicted that what she was saying was a lie. Elizabeth Wein used wonderful literary choices when writing the book and also made the main character strong-willed, which made me keep reading this book. I think that it is interesting that she also has still not revealed the true identity of Verity to allow the reader to believe that you can truly be anyone you want to be if you become a British spy☺(Full Circle Ending).