New spies with new loyalties, old spies with old ones; terror as the new mantra; decent people wanting to do good but caught in the moral maze; all the sound, rational reasons for doing the inhuman thing; the recognition that we cannot safely love or pity and remain good "patriots" -- this is the fabric of John le Carré's fiercely compelling and current novel A Most Wanted Man.
A half-starved young Russian man in a long black overcoat is smuggled into Hamburg at dead of night. He has an improbable amount of cash secreted in a purse around his neck. He is a devout Muslim. Or is he? He says his name is Issa.
Annabel, an idealistic young German civil rights lawyer, determines to save Issa from deportation. Soon her client's survival becomes more important to her than her own career -- or safety. In pursuit of Issa's mysterious past, she confronts the incongruous Tommy Brue, the sixty-year-old scion of Brue Frères, a failing British bank based in Hamburg.
Annabel, Issa and Brue form an unlikely alliance -- and a triangle of impossible loves is born. Meanwhile, scenting a sure kill in the "War on Terror," the rival spies of Germany, England and America converge upon the innocents.
Thrilling, compassionate, peopled with characters the reader never wants to let go, A Most Wanted Man is a work of deep humanity and uncommon relevance to our times.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Carre's latest on Islamic Terrorists and spies.:
Illuminates the mindset of Islamic terrorists and theCIA types who pursue them. Book holds reader,s attention though convoluted at times. Not always easy to follow. Burt Shachter
First Le Carre book:
Prompted by an NPR discussion of John LeCarre, I purchased this book. It was my first John LeCarre book. I am familiar with some of his other works, specifically those that were made into films (e.g., Constant Gardener). I enjoyed the book overall, but was left disappointed at the ending which left me unfulfilled.
A Cold, Hard Slap in the Face:
John Le Carre's "A Most Wanted Man" has much to say about the upheaval in the post-911 moral universe. Previous fans of Le Carre who reveled in the "West good/ Communist bad" genre of spy novels may be unprepared for the complexities of the post-Cold War age presented in this novel. Some reviews at this post have decried it as pro-Islamic. Only if you define as pro-Islamic any work which shows that people of an Islamic ideology can be as righteous or self-righteous, as driven and confused, as focused... more info
An axe to grind. . . .:
The Cold War, Le Carre's forte, is long over, and Le Carre has turned his attention to the war on terror. But the sides have switched, and Le Carre's disenchantment with the West pervades his current work. Absolute Friends is another example. One of the wonderful things about Le Carre was the nuance and ambiguity he brought to his stories, but I feel as if he's lost that. This story is about a mysterious young man who arrives in Hamburg for a mysterious reason. He's a Muslim--maybe, a Chechen--maybe,... more info
