John le Carré's 'Agent Running in the Field' 2019

 

Penguin Books first paperback edition - 2020

A very classy entertainment about political ideals and deception...laced with fury at the senseless vandalism of Brexit and of Trump - The Guardian.

The master espionage novelist takes on Brexit and Trump in this tense and chilling portrait of today - Evening Standard.

A book about loyalty and betrayal...serves to emphasize the consequence of the greatest wilful mistake in British history = New Statesman.

There are 21 other extracts from reviews at the front of this paperback edition, all praising the superb/impeccable, classy writing and the astute state-of the-nation commentary. One reviewer suggests it is the author's best effort this century. 83% of Amazon reviews give it a  5* or 4* billing. It was the 26th novel from le Carré; this is only the second I have read and I still have to be convinced that he is something special.

 I thought the coincidence of the ageing spy, in effect put out to grass, meeting up with a young, so-called idealist through a badminton challenge very unlikely. It was not a set-up, just by chance. Very early on, I had worked out the youngster Ed was working in another Secret Service Department and that Florence, Nat's wilful assistant, would link up with him. The vehement anti-Brexit/Trump sections appeared to be bolted on, for the sake of the author's own prejudices or an attempt to be 'with' the elite, metropolitan thinking. The badminton matches, very sketchily commentated on, quickly gave way to these aggressive diatribes.

All the characters teetered dangerously on being caricatures and I didn't feel sympathy for any of them. The paranoia and treachery, the overall seediness may be true to life, but it is not a life that I find particularly attractive or interesting. One reviewer called the writing tired. After 25 novels, it is not surprising. The revelations about the author's own life suggests a personal attachment to treachery and seediness as well. The book was a decent enough companion for two train journeys and a wait at St Pancras International.