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Roman Clodia's Reviews > Agent Running in the Field
Agent Running in the Field
by
by
After a slightly slow start, this turns around at about the 50% mark and suddenly becomes utterly gripping - in a I-can't-sleep-till-I've-finished-this kind of way. And when I say 'slow' about the start, I mean slow in a good way, not dull and crawling.
We're no longer in Smiley's world and while some of the old skool types are still around, The Office (no longer The Circus) is far more inclusive (to some extent): we have female Florence, our narrator has a Guardian-reading lawyer/activist wife, and one of the central characters has a conscience around which the whole plot revolves.
This is certainly simpler than the earlier books and nothing like as convoluted as, say, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold or Smiley's People, or even The Constant Gardener. Billed as le Carré's 'angry at Brexit' book, it pulls together a plot involving Brexit, Trump and Putin that won't surprise anyone who followed the ongoing Russian interference in the 2016 US election story - although le Carré does pull off a rather marvellous sleight of hand towards the end.
With a fairy-tale/wish-fulfillment ending that won't satisfy everyone, I wouldn't describe this as vintage le Carré. There's a *massive* coincidence that pulls the plot together and the characterisation of Florence, so important to the story, isn't especially credible: (view spoiler). Nevertheless, this is always readable, intelligent about contemporary politics, and has a more compassionate ending than some of the bleaker books. I enjoyed it hugely.
We're no longer in Smiley's world and while some of the old skool types are still around, The Office (no longer The Circus) is far more inclusive (to some extent): we have female Florence, our narrator has a Guardian-reading lawyer/activist wife, and one of the central characters has a conscience around which the whole plot revolves.
This is certainly simpler than the earlier books and nothing like as convoluted as, say, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold or Smiley's People, or even The Constant Gardener. Billed as le Carré's 'angry at Brexit' book, it pulls together a plot involving Brexit, Trump and Putin that won't surprise anyone who followed the ongoing Russian interference in the 2016 US election story - although le Carré does pull off a rather marvellous sleight of hand towards the end.
With a fairy-tale/wish-fulfillment ending that won't satisfy everyone, I wouldn't describe this as vintage le Carré. There's a *massive* coincidence that pulls the plot together and the characterisation of Florence, so important to the story, isn't especially credible: (view spoiler). Nevertheless, this is always readable, intelligent about contemporary politics, and has a more compassionate ending than some of the bleaker books. I enjoyed it hugely.
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Reading Progress
November 9, 2019
–
Started Reading
November 9, 2019
– Shelved
November 10, 2019
–
27.62%
"'... his unexplained presence at a reception held at the Russian Embassy in London for leading Brexiteers, and his million-pound contribution to an arm's-length fighting fund for Leavers'"
page
79
November 11, 2019
–
53.15%
"'You walk out of Europe with your British noses stuck in the air. "We're special. We're British. We don't need Europe. We won all our wars alone. No Americans, no Russians, no anyone." '"
page
152
November 11, 2019
–
63.64%
"'Trump, speaking as if to order, is disowning the findings of his own intelligence services, which have come up with the inconvenient truth that Russia interfered in the 2016 American presidential election. Putin smiles his proud jailer's smile.'"
page
182
November 11, 2019
–
Finished Reading
