De Onaanraakbare by John Banville

Told by a close friend, this elegiac novel chronicles the life of an urbane, closeted art historian who secretly serves as a Soviet agent; through wry, precise prose the narrator examines their complex friendship, the protagonist’s vanity and devotion to art, and the moral ambiguities of betrayal and loyalty as the double life unravels and memory, identity, and conscience are laid bare.