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geoffreyjames 's review for:
The Looking Glass War
by John le Carré
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 Their tactics are outdated and decisions are made based on being on a ‘war footing’ rather than on what might actually work.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.