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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
As with all of le Carre's work, The Looking Glass War is brilliantly crafted and well written. In the introduction to the Penguin Edition, he notes that this was less well-received among the general public than The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, in part because it was very different. Spy had far more action, tradecraft, and all the romanticized elements of espionage that outsiders believe exist. The Looking Glass War, on the other hand, was far more reflective of the realities of the Secret Service, as le Carre knew them to be.
This is definitely a darker novel, peopled with petty little bureaucrats more concerned with saving face, and grasping for power or prestige or acknowledgement from those higher up the food chain, than with human life. There's nothing sexy or glamorous in this view of espionage. The whole plot is seedy and a bit pathetic.
Ostensibly, this is another of the George Smiley novels, but George appears only briefly. The ending, while not only being sad, left me with questions - not about what happened on the page, but more what happened behind the scenes and just how involved Control was with how events played out. One answer comes to mind, but it's the one I least want to contemplate because it will color how I view Control in my favorites of the Smiley novels, which are still yet to come in my reread of le Carre's books.
I know this sounds like a negative review, but it's not. The Looking Glass War does what all of le Carre's novels do - it makes you think and question, and as always, it's extremely well written. It quietly draws you in and then won't let you go until it's wrung all of the emotion out of you. I just feel sadden by this one, more so than the other earlier works. It's just all so seedy.
This is definitely a darker novel, peopled with petty little bureaucrats more concerned with saving face, and grasping for power or prestige or acknowledgement from those higher up the food chain, than with human life. There's nothing sexy or glamorous in this view of espionage. The whole plot is seedy and a bit pathetic.
Ostensibly, this is another of the George Smiley novels, but George appears only briefly. The ending, while not only being sad, left me with questions - not about what happened on the page, but more what happened behind the scenes and just how involved Control was with how events played out. One answer comes to mind, but it's the one I least want to contemplate because it will color how I view Control in my favorites of the Smiley novels, which are still yet to come in my reread of le Carre's books.
I know this sounds like a negative review, but it's not. The Looking Glass War does what all of le Carre's novels do - it makes you think and question, and as always, it's extremely well written. It quietly draws you in and then won't let you go until it's wrung all of the emotion out of you. I just feel sadden by this one, more so than the other earlier works. It's just all so seedy.
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
sad
tense
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not the best of his books. Kind of slow but the end is good.
Originally published on my blog here in September 1998.
The Looking Glass War, classic John le Carré, is a damning indictment of an amateur attitude in a professional world. It is about a small intelligence agency, a left-over from the war that by the late sixties had been over for more than twenty years, which is virtually defunct but valued for its archives. A rumour of odd troop movements in East Germany prompts it to an overflight by a pilot of a commercial aircraft to take photographs while pretending to go off course. The man from the agency trying to collect the film he has taken is killed, apparently from a hit and run accident, though the film has been taken from the body.
His death prompts Leclerc, in charge of the agency since the war, to consider running an agent for the first time in twenty years. This agent is prepared and equipped in the fashion appropriate in 1945; no one has any idea that things have changed. The equipment he is given includes a drastically obsolete radio transmitter. The agent is a bitter loner, himself left over from the war when he was betrayed to the Germans in its last days. The whole proceedings are watched by the naive Avery, new since the war; he is the centre of the book. His admiration for Leclerc and what he acheived during the war tuens to horror as he realises that the agent is being sent to his death. In their enthusiasm for a return to the operational days of the war, none of the others even begin to see this. The only person who does is Smiley, observing what is going on (from a distance) for the Circus; but Control will not let him interfere in what is bound to be a disastrous mission and which will probably bring an end to an agency which is (however ineffectually) in competition with the Circus.
This is one of le Carré's greatest novels, the air of impending doom so well done that it is a struggle to read. It is a book not just about cynicism and disillusionment but also about the dangers of misplaced enthusiasm and stupidity.
The title is a reference to the distance between the dreams of the spymasters and the reality of the sixties cold war by relating it to the adventures of Alice (Through the Looking Glass).
The Looking Glass War, classic John le Carré, is a damning indictment of an amateur attitude in a professional world. It is about a small intelligence agency, a left-over from the war that by the late sixties had been over for more than twenty years, which is virtually defunct but valued for its archives. A rumour of odd troop movements in East Germany prompts it to an overflight by a pilot of a commercial aircraft to take photographs while pretending to go off course. The man from the agency trying to collect the film he has taken is killed, apparently from a hit and run accident, though the film has been taken from the body.
His death prompts Leclerc, in charge of the agency since the war, to consider running an agent for the first time in twenty years. This agent is prepared and equipped in the fashion appropriate in 1945; no one has any idea that things have changed. The equipment he is given includes a drastically obsolete radio transmitter. The agent is a bitter loner, himself left over from the war when he was betrayed to the Germans in its last days. The whole proceedings are watched by the naive Avery, new since the war; he is the centre of the book. His admiration for Leclerc and what he acheived during the war tuens to horror as he realises that the agent is being sent to his death. In their enthusiasm for a return to the operational days of the war, none of the others even begin to see this. The only person who does is Smiley, observing what is going on (from a distance) for the Circus; but Control will not let him interfere in what is bound to be a disastrous mission and which will probably bring an end to an agency which is (however ineffectually) in competition with the Circus.
This is one of le Carré's greatest novels, the air of impending doom so well done that it is a struggle to read. It is a book not just about cynicism and disillusionment but also about the dangers of misplaced enthusiasm and stupidity.
The title is a reference to the distance between the dreams of the spymasters and the reality of the sixties cold war by relating it to the adventures of Alice (Through the Looking Glass).
Well written, but dated, and while interesting, the story just hasn't held up.
A minor le Carré on par with a [b:A Murder of Quality|622855|A Murder of Quality (George Smiley, #2)|John le Carré|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347598479s/622855.jpg|2334425] and [b:Call for the Dead|46460|Call for the Dead (George Smiley, #1)|John le Carré|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347597241s/46460.jpg|1176737], the Looking Glass War explores the pathetic ineptitude, personal and professional betrayals, and the amoral universe of a former military espionage department that has seen better days. With nuance le Carré dissects a dying animal. At times it felt like a strange combination of [a:Philip Roth|463|Philip Roth|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1287938301p2/463.jpg] (see [b:The Dying Animal|29776|The Dying Animal|Philip Roth|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1329410700s/29776.jpg|2683285]) meets [a:Robert Littell|101398|Robert Littell|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1343165325p2/101398.jpg] (see [b:The Sisters|173803|The Sisters|Robert Littell|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348809166s/173803.jpg|167881]). By the end the reader feels betrayed, humanity feels soiled, and nothing at all has really changed.
This is my second Le Carre book and I have the exact same feels as the first. This is basically me while reading these books:
Who are these people
What are they even doing, and why
They don't seem like very good spies
Wait, which organization is doing what?
Who is this now
Oh
Technical mumbo jumbo...scan pages
Why is this taking me so long to read
Inaccessible
But wtf should I care
Yeah right, like any woman would have any interest in this dude, highly unlikely, keep dreaming
Jerks. Jeeze.
Wait wtf
Oh there's Smiley, doing his thing
Woahhhhh
HOLY SHIT
And scene.
Honestly, getting through these slim volumes can be an absolute slog, the women ...well let's just gloss over the women in these books because JFC.
But you know it will all be worth it because that ending is like mutherfuckin woah. Heartless and fantastic.
Who are these people
What are they even doing, and why
They don't seem like very good spies
Wait, which organization is doing what?
Who is this now
Oh
Technical mumbo jumbo...scan pages
Why is this taking me so long to read
Inaccessible
But wtf should I care
Yeah right, like any woman would have any interest in this dude, highly unlikely, keep dreaming
Jerks. Jeeze.
Wait wtf
Oh there's Smiley, doing his thing
Woahhhhh
HOLY SHIT
And scene.
Honestly, getting through these slim volumes can be an absolute slog, the women ...well let's just gloss over the women in these books because JFC.
But you know it will all be worth it because that ending is like mutherfuckin woah. Heartless and fantastic.
One thing that John le Carre is brilliant at is characters, and this book is no different from his others in that regard. With one or two sentences, he can tell you exactly what kind of person his character is. I love his writing. What I didn't like about this book was the ending. The book built and built and built and then the ending was so frustrating. It was one of those, "That's it?" endings. I had put so much into the book, gotten so attached to the characters, and then the ending happened. But I felt like the book was reflective of the mission that was being run, so while it was frustrating, it was okay that it happened. But arrggghhh! I wanted a different ending.
It took me forever to get into but once the knife twisted in, I had to finish it as quick as possible.
My third John LeCarre in as many weeks. They are pretty satisfying! Now I'll take a break from him for a bit, but I'll plan to read the trilogy that includes Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy next.