Slow and depressing. Cynical as well.

If anything this is grimier than The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (it's immediate predecessor, I believe). On top of the dirty business of espionage, the main characters are quite clearly incompetent, yet proud with it (it's somewhat reminiscent of the old Fry and Laurie sketches about a cosy spy ring, but with a think layer of hubris spread over). That may sounds like it should be amusing, but it's anything but - it's sad and a bit frightening (I must say, if I'd been reading these books during the Cold War, I'm sure my enjoyment would have been tempered by a paranoid chill of assumed recognition).

Again, fascinating to read for the descriptions of the UK in the early 60s, this book also introduces a whole spectrum of snobbery. Everyone has someone else to look down upon; sometimes this hierarchy is somewhat understandable, other times it is opaque, but it is absorbing. While the UK is still class-ridden in some ways, this book - better than any Evelyn Waugh or writer of his ilk - demonstrates quite clearly, throughout society what class meant, when it still did really mean something.

The plot has some similarities to The Spy Who Came In From The Cold - an initiating incident, then long build-up to something resembling action. The characters are beautifully depicted, and the politics of the plot are played out very subtly. Occasionally, the dialogue seemed a little florid, but that's a minor quibble. In fact, the more I think about this book, the more I like it. It doesn't quite have the 'perfectly-formed' quality of its predecessor, but it has a subtle complexity and rich context which makes it very rewarding.

A slow burn. First decent, then boring, with a great ending.

I enjoy le Carre's novels for a single thing - his portrayal of intelligence agencies and spies is rather unique (or maybe was, I do not know if there are other authors writing spy novels in similar way). They are all shown as civil servants, part of the mighty bureaucratic machine who risk their lives (at least some of them) but in general live rather dull or maybe better said every-day lives with a little rush of adrenaline when action kicks in. They are all expendable (operations more than others) and their puppet masters are more than willing to sacrifice them just to see what will happen next.

While I understand that not every spy is James Bond (and, yes I am aware of le Carre's view of James Bond, although his own "scalp-hunters" are no better) it is very interesting to imagine every civil servant or minor official you meet in the street as a secret agent working for a boss unlike your own - one who wants results no matter the situation.

And what happens when that overachieving boss decides that his department needs revitalization and takes upon himself to organize a grand operation that will bring back the glory days? What if in the background another boss, of more successful department, decides to swallow up this small unit of men and in order to do that orchestrates things so that operational element gets terminated in process? What if in general you cannot trust anyone and maybe those closest to you are the same people that want you put down?

Le Carre's novel reads like a shadowy conflict between two sections in the same department store. They are all well and polite but very much ready to back-stab each other on the first opportunity. And when operations guys end up captured or worse what happens to their respective directors? Well they advance, because it was war rules you know and poor chaps did not get the break .... but hey life goes on right? No need to dwell on negative thoughts.

Interesting novel, recommended to all fans of spy literature.

Normalmente cuando leo una novela de John Le Carré ya sé que no me voy a encontrar la típica novela de espías, de alguna manera, ese es el sello de este autor. Sin embargo en esta ocasión hasta yo me he visto sorprendido porque realmente esta novela, más allá de algunos toques, no es realmente una novela de espías. Yo creo que en cierto modo es una novela de frustraciones, todos los personajes que aparecen por ella se encuentran desencantados con su situación y pretenden hacer lo que haga falta para conseguirlo, hasta engañarse a ellos mismos. Creo que para entender completamente esta novela habría que haber vivido en los años en los que esta ambientada, con una Europa en plena reconstrucción, con unas naciones en plena lucha de poder por establecer sus "zonas de influencia" y con la gente totalmente desengañada.
Es una novela que desborda pesimismo por los cuatro costados y desde el primer capítulo te esta diciendo que esta historia no va a terminar bien, algo por otro lado bastante común en las novelas de John Le Carré que suele huir de los finales felices.
En lineas generales me ha gustado mucho esta novela aunque reconozco que en ciertos momentos le falta algo más de ritmo y quizás me hubiera gustado que profundizará más en las motivaciones que tiene Leiser para volver "a la acción".

Far better than I expected. The novel is bleakly comic, perceptive, cynical, and full of rounded characters. In other words, typical Le Carre.