Reviews

Absolute Friends by John le Carré

laticsexile's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The writing, as always, is top notch. The characters, by and large, are superbly described. The dialogue and backdrops where they appear are convincing. There are moments of high tension, drama and wry humour. I liked it a lot, and there were moments when I felt that it might occupy a seat at the Le Carré highest table, but in the end, it just didn’t quite get there. Le Carré’s distaste for the dubious (at best) Iraq War maybe coloured his vision a tiny bit. The ending, while epic, didn’t quite feel quite right. A very good book, but possibly not a great one.

534n's review

4.0

As always a great read. This one being heavy on the politics in addition to the usually excellent spy craft, deception etc...

duparker's review

4.0

A thriller with some panache. Le Carre always delivers. Enjoyed this with it's back and forth of spy vs spy vs changing times. Solid writng and pace.

shirlee2024's review

1.0

My loan expired, and I'm not going to try to finish this one. That's almost unheard of for me. It isn't a bad book; I just didn't like it. While I knew from experience that le Carré's books can be hard to get into, I read more than half of this one and still wasn't very interested.

msladyreads's review

challenging dark informative mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

thisisstephenbetts's review

I preferred this to The Constant Gardener (his previous one). It felt a little lop-sided — the denouement really rushed at you. A more understated fury than recent books, but still a furious fury. Notable for being a very direct, very quick response to "The War On Terror", published in 2003.

sunjammer's review

3.0

Reviewed long after reading.

Prose and character are of sterling quality, in line with le Carré's usual work. The parts of the narrative in Germany are particularly wonderful, and the two "absolute friends" of the title are deeply explored and memorable. Fully four-fifths of the work demands to be read.

Unfortunately, like many of le Carré's post-9/11 novels, it remains a work of terrific human interest so long as the plot remains on a human and personal level, but as soon as it enters the realm of newspaper headlines and public politics, it loses its charm. The plot becomes unbelievably sinister, the protagonist blind or stupid by plot necessity, and the ending is politically pointed and implausibly conspiracist.

Recommended to le Carré completionists due to the quality of his work even when misguided. Not recommended to others.

austinburns's review against another edition

4.0

meanders along for a hundred pages or so before snapping into focus and barreling along to a strong finish

rocketiza's review against another edition

3.0

LeCarre is always great, but not my favorite LeCarre. Told in more of a wistful grandfather recounting tone, and more about the circumstances of the characters life than the intrigue they are involved in and figuring out.

kymme's review

4.0

Excellent book. A fellow goodreads friend said it made Constant Gardener look like a Horatio Alger story. Indeed.