The Looking Glass War

Geschreven bij The Looking Glass War

First published in 1965 after the worldwide success of The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, Le Carré once more, in a sense, returns to WW II. In his debut Call for the Dead, he introduced his readers to George Smiley (GS), who had “a very nasty war”, spending four years in (pre-) wartime Germany. The Looking Glass War is situated in Finland, the UK and Germany, some 20 years after the war.
WW II is still very much on the minds of the surviving senior staff of a small section of the Ministry of Defence, which has been downsized and marginalised during the two decades since WW II. It still has an archive on armaments and military matters, and a network of couriers performing legitimate duties, even some rather dubious networks. Neither senior nor junior staff have been operational in recent times. Until suddenly a chain of events unfurls, prompted by rumours of a new missile site near the border with West Germany, which may or may not develop into something momentous. If handled well , it may put the agency back on the map again...
GS performs different roles at different stages of the novel. He is never a dominant character, and in the end he is not saving the day but preventing worse from happening. As always Le Carré can pin down a character with a few lines of speech. Accordingly, plenty of rope is handed out in this volume. A sad and very devious book. Great on atmosphere, context and action. Highly recommended.