The Month of the Falling Leaves: A Novel

By Bruce Marshall

Professor of philosophy Harold Hilliard is the author of The Symphony of Discord, a metaphysical treatise on the “Dysteleological Surd”—the physical suffering which seemingly serves as proof against the existence of a benevolent Creator. Its limited sales in England notwithstanding, Symphony of Discord is a success in—of all places—Poland. Arriving in Warsaw for a lecture to the Metaphysical Society, Hilliard is mistaken for a British Secret Service agent and rapidly becomes embroiled in international espionage. Despite his best efforts to persuade Agent Karminski of the PZPR’s intelligence service to the contrary, Hilliard’s every move only serves as further evidence of his new identity as MI5’s new man in Poland and draws him deeper into the bewildering world of Cold War spies.

A political satire akin to Graham Greene’s classic Our Man in Havana—more lighthearted but no less clever—The Month of Falling Leaves by Bruce Marshall is a diverting story, swirling with suspicions and suspense, of scholar versus spy behind the Iron Curtain.

Paperback. 174 pages.