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dgrachel 's review for:
The Looking Glass War
by John le Carré
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.