Spy & Cold War Era (fiction) – Read Write Reflect

Silverview

John Le Carré (Viking)

There will never be another Le Carre

No one can write like Le Carré – I am convinced of this. Sadly, he passed away in 2020. At the time of his death, Silverview was finished but unpublished. Fortunately, his son brought it to publication. If you’re a Le Carré fan, don’t miss it!

Is this book in the league of some of his classics like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and The Russia House? Honestly, it’s hard to compare anything those books, which are true classics. My answer is “no, it’s not as awesome as those.” But it’s still great, it’s classic Le Carré. In a strange way, the book has an air of finality about it, and I can’t help but wonder if Le Carré somehow knew this would be his last book. If you’re a Le Carré fan, I highly recommend it.

What’s it about?

The book opens with a young woman delivering a letter on behalf of her dying mother, Deborah Avon, whom we ultimately learn is a former high profile spy. What’s in the letter? That’s the key. She’s delivering the letter to Stewart Proctor of MI6, who becomes an integral player in the story.

Living in the same town as the dying spy, is the young Julian Lawnsley who has left a high-flying finance career in London in order to open a bookstore. He is befriended by a well-educated gentleman who becomes his confidant in building and growing the bookstore. That man, Edward, is non other than the husband of Deborah, the dying spy.

What we learn later is that Edward himself also had a distinguished spy past that began before he married Deborah. And we come to discover that this career was resurrected by MI6 when the former Yugoslavia descended into war, and Edward’s past skills became extremely valuable. We learn all this as Stewart Proctor talks extensively with two retired spies.

Disillusionment

Le Carré slowing pulls back the curtain for us to see that Edward, committed to peace in Bosnia, becomes progressively disillusioned with the work being done in Bosnia, which is comes to see as failing to protect innocent Bosnian lives. The final straw is the execution by the Serbs of two members of a family to which he has become particularly attached. They were not Bosnians, but they were executed because they had provided medical support to Bosnian Muslims. Only the wife, Salma, survived.

Providing a frame to this disillusionment, one of the retired spies sharing the story with Procter says “we didn’t do too much to alter the course of human history, did we?”

The spoiler stuff

So it turns out that Edward crossed sides after what he saw in Bosnia. He’s been spying on his wife, Deborah, ever since. Of course, he’s spying on Britain, and passing the information to Salma, with whom he’s in love. Why? Because Edward believes he’s chasing true world peace and he’s come to believe that the British and their American allies really aren’t legitimately committed to the same peace to which he’s committed.

Eye of the Needle

Ken Follett (Harper)

What’s it about?

The book is fictional but it’s a spy novel set in WWII and is based on the Allied effort that was dubbed “Operation Fortitude.” The operation was designed to mislead the Nazis into believing that the Allied forces would invade France from the Pas de Calais, rather than Normandy.

Until I read this book, I was unaware of this operation but it was really quite creative and the efforts the Allies went to in order to create the deception was amazingly extensive.

The book follows the efforts to capture Die Nadel (“The Needle”), who has discovered and photographed the Allied deception, which involved decoy tanks and barracks that simulated a major troop buildup. From the air, and through false wireless transmissions, the Nazis could be deceived. On the ground, it would need an individual to penetrate the restricted areas and verify that the troop buildup was a deception. Die Nadel is that individual and the Allied victory depends on stopping him from sharing what he knows with his Nazi masters.

Why is it worth reading?

The book is high-energy and gripping. It’s got that page-turning quality that draws you in and keeps you reading. The characters are well developed and intriguing, but it’s the action that keeps the reader coming back for more.

The conclusion

[Spoiler alerts]

Die Nadel is a professional but he is an evil individual. The book pulls at the reader’s emotions, especially as Die Nadal deceives a beautiful young woman trapped in a loveless marriage, who becomes an unwitting supporter. But in a moment of horror, she discovers the truth and becomes instrumental in Die Nadel’s downfall, and his failure to deliver the vital information to his Nazi masters.

Reflections

This was my first Ken Follett book. I definitely enjoyed this book so I’ll be looking for more of Follett’s books going forward!

Category: Spy & Cold War Era (fiction)

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