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pierceinverarity's review against another edition
4.0
Typical Le Carre -- great prose and plot, but dolorous end-game apparent from a great distance, w/zero consolation to be had.
gbliss's review against another edition
3.0
A Cold War master navigating in the War on Terror era. Good, not great. Motivation of the characters who cooperate with the undercover operation is not well established and the end is abrupt to say the least.
richardwells's review against another edition
5.0
It's always an occasion when John Le Carre publishes a new novel, and "A Most Wanted Man" is no exception.
A young, devout Muslim by the name of Issa sets the plot in motion by arriving in Hamburg, Germany, as an undocumented visitor. He carries a note that will open the vaults of a private bank, and provide him with the principal and interest on a deposit made by a Russian general in the early 1980's. Will Issa claim the money? What will it be used for? Who will be compromised? Remember, it is post 9/11, terror is the watchword, documents are the only acceptable proof of belonging, and even then you can't be sure. It's a world of deals and duplicity, do-gooders tainted by the times, and violence subtle and horrendous where good-hearted charitable donations outfit suicide bombers. As always, Le Carre reveals the anxiety and despair linked to power. It doesn't matter if it's the Red Menace, the menace of arms merchants and gunrunners, of pharmaceutical companies, dictators, or Islamic terrorists, anxiety touches all, and despair is the shallow water that leads to madness.
"A Most Wanted Man," is an exciting novel by an author who is never less than keyed into the zeitgeist. Le Carre handles character, description, and action like the master he is; and writes prose that is a joy. Anyone who can craft a sentence as elegant and clear as the 270 words that are paragraph two of chapter eight of this book has a place secured in Author Heaven. It's a sentence you can dance to, and I'll bet he had a lot of fun crafting it.
Finally, this quote from the young, civil-rights lawyer who has been retained by Issa; it gives a taste of the novel's world: "In my law school, we talked a great deal about law over life... It's a verity of our German history: law not to protect life but to abuse it. We did it to the Jews. In its current American form it licenses torture and kidnapping. And is infectious. Your country is not immune, neither is mine."
A young, devout Muslim by the name of Issa sets the plot in motion by arriving in Hamburg, Germany, as an undocumented visitor. He carries a note that will open the vaults of a private bank, and provide him with the principal and interest on a deposit made by a Russian general in the early 1980's. Will Issa claim the money? What will it be used for? Who will be compromised? Remember, it is post 9/11, terror is the watchword, documents are the only acceptable proof of belonging, and even then you can't be sure. It's a world of deals and duplicity, do-gooders tainted by the times, and violence subtle and horrendous where good-hearted charitable donations outfit suicide bombers. As always, Le Carre reveals the anxiety and despair linked to power. It doesn't matter if it's the Red Menace, the menace of arms merchants and gunrunners, of pharmaceutical companies, dictators, or Islamic terrorists, anxiety touches all, and despair is the shallow water that leads to madness.
"A Most Wanted Man," is an exciting novel by an author who is never less than keyed into the zeitgeist. Le Carre handles character, description, and action like the master he is; and writes prose that is a joy. Anyone who can craft a sentence as elegant and clear as the 270 words that are paragraph two of chapter eight of this book has a place secured in Author Heaven. It's a sentence you can dance to, and I'll bet he had a lot of fun crafting it.
Finally, this quote from the young, civil-rights lawyer who has been retained by Issa; it gives a taste of the novel's world: "In my law school, we talked a great deal about law over life... It's a verity of our German history: law not to protect life but to abuse it. We did it to the Jews. In its current American form it licenses torture and kidnapping. And is infectious. Your country is not immune, neither is mine."
barts_books's review against another edition
4.0
Probably one of Le Carre's best page turners with an absolutely brutal ending.
leafdmcg's review against another edition
4.0
My first le Carre. Truly an excellent and timely thriller that managed to be hugely suspensefull without indulging in cartoon violence.
gsatori's review against another edition
5.0
This isn't a typical spy novel, and nor should it be, especially from LeCarre. It is heavily character driven and asks questions about the morality of governments in dealing with terrorist organizations. It is bleak from beginning to end, one reason I suspect for the lack of reader approval, and the ending is tense and stunning, but gives no answers other than to reaffirm the moral stances taken throughout the novel.
ianl1963's review against another edition
4.0
As Mr Le Carré, ending rather inevitable but believable.
Not sure where conscience ends and woke starts, apparently 'do gooders' an even more pejorative term these days amongst the jack booted powers and banana republics; UK included!
Mr Jayston always a good listen, knows how to pronounce calvados!
As an opinonated pedant, my one big issue with audio books; sometimes, the readers "take" on words.
Even if they are conforming to their country of origin's perceived usage.
Not sure where conscience ends and woke starts, apparently 'do gooders' an even more pejorative term these days amongst the jack booted powers and banana republics; UK included!
Mr Jayston always a good listen, knows how to pronounce calvados!
As an opinonated pedant, my one big issue with audio books; sometimes, the readers "take" on words.
Even if they are conforming to their country of origin's perceived usage.
rocketiza's review against another edition
4.0
A good book to send to your racist Uncle during the era of Trump to subtle maybe gt him to realize James Bond isn't real, there's a lot of nuances to intelligence community, and justice isn't as important as headlines to some people.