The Secret Pilgrim – John LeCarre, 1990
John
Le Carre wrote two cycles of espionage novels starring spy catcher George Smiley. In one Smiley acts as a
major character and in the other he plays a minor role or appears in a
cameo role. This novel has a different structure from the others
in the series in that it is a series of short stories held together by Smiley giving an off
the record talk to young spies in training. That is, Smiley makes an
overarching point and Ned, the narrator also of The Russia House, provides a cautionary tale that illustrates that
point. In part three, for instance Smiley says that recognizing the truth is far more difficult than
spotting a lie. Being suspicious people, likes cops and mothers, spies are
really suspicious of seemingly innocent targets who have nothing to hide. Ned then tells a great story about
a band of Latvian patriots who come to an unhappy end after an informant, whom
nobody suspect, blows their plans to the Sovs. Each of these stories about Ned’s career completely involved
me and held my attention from first to last.
No comments:
Post a Comment