mpasch 's review for:

A Perfect Spy by John le Carré

3.0

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3.5, a very good book! The prose paints a very detailed picture of the events, which elevates the mundane nature of the observations and actions that are happening within the story. There is not much action, and some of the backstory (particularly that of young Pym) can drag a bit. But, the good sections are great and the slow sections are not bad, but merely slow and a bit dense. I very much enjoyed how the central premise of the plot was slowly revealed to the reader, and how the mystery is solved. I felt that I solved some of the mystery before the characters, which I think marks a good mystery novel. The britishness of the novel is also great, are there better british character names than Jack Brotherhood and Sir Makepeace Watermaster? Would recommend to those who enjoy spy-craft (but not the action heavy variant), and to those who are interested in the making of the mind of 'A Perfect Spy'.