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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I had relatively low expectations of this and picked it up mainly for completeness' sake, as I'd heard it was less strong than the other Smiley novels. As it turned out, I was pleasantly surprised. "The Looking Glass War" certainly isn't as densely plotted and "thrilling" as the Karla novels, nor as perfect as "The Spy Who Came in From the Cold". But it is quite ambitious in its own way, as an exploration of what it is that drives an individual toward the life of a spy, and the emotional relationship between a spy and his handlers. It offers a bleak view of the deluded world that the agency manufactures in order to create the conditions for their own existence. A world, fragile yet relentless, whose flaws make it all the more revealing a depiction of the secret service milieu.
“You are either good or bad, and both are dangerous.”
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Being a fan of Bond it seemed a natural next step to explore the world of Le Carré and the ‘anti-Bond’ George Smiley. Last week I read and enjoyed ‘The Spy Who Came in from The Cold’ and this was next. The Looking Glass War describes the attempts by The Department to verify claims by an East German defector of some sort of weaponry being built by the border with West Germany. The Department attempt to train up a spy to cross the border to discover if this information is sound. Very quickly it becomes clear that The Department are completely out of their depth, more interested in status and reclaiming their former glory of life during the war. Their tactics are outdated and decisions are made based on being on a ‘war footing’ rather than on what might actually work.
It continues the theme from ‘The Spy Who Came in from The Cold’ of being a cynical look on espionage and has a similarly tragic ending. Status, winning, nostalgia and relevance are the name of the game, not doing anything that will help the country or assist in the Cold War. It is slower going and less subtle than the previous book, and I can fully understand why it isn’t usually considered amongst Le Carré’s best, however it is largely an enjoyable book which I would recommend, though I may revise my opinion once I’ve delved further into the Le Carré back catalog.
It continues the theme from ‘The Spy Who Came in from The Cold’ of being a cynical look on espionage and has a similarly tragic ending. Status, winning, nostalgia and relevance are the name of the game, not doing anything that will help the country or assist in the Cold War. It is slower going and less subtle than the previous book, and I can fully understand why it isn’t usually considered amongst Le Carré’s best, however it is largely an enjoyable book which I would recommend, though I may revise my opinion once I’ve delved further into the Le Carré back catalog.
challenging
dark
informative
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated