[.ca] Secret Pilgrim (ISBN 034093767X)

The Right People Lost The Cold War, The Wrong People Won It:
Ned, the narrator, is nearing retirement from the British Intelligence, or "The Circus" as it is known. The book opens on the occasion of the traditional informal dinner that celebrates the end of the training of a new class of spies-to-be who will be among the first to operate in the post Cold War environment. Ned, who has been in charge of their training, has invited his already retired mentor, George Smiley, to speak at the get-together. To Ned's surprise, Smiley has accepted. All this is in the way of setting the scene for the series of reminiscences that make up the meat of THE SECRET PILGRIM. Smiley, who has attained the status of a legend in the service, keeps the students entranced for hours and his comments trigger a life time of memories in Ned, who has been one of the Circus' key players in a forty year career that covered most of the Cold War years. One of Ned's earliest experiences, in the final phase of his training, was when an older hand kept him from making a career ending faux pas. He misread a situation and believed that a member of a visiting Royal's retinue was an intended assassin. Ned, who was anxious to show off his new found skills was about to jump the "assassin" but was prevented from doing so by the more experienced agent. This was a learning experience that he never forgot. As the evening progresses we share more of Ned's memories with him. One is when a murder is made to look like a suicide, and false evidence is left that was meant to discredit Ned. At another time, almost every group of spies that he is "running" are betrayed, and a number of innocent people are thought to be the betrayers. The source of the betrayals remains a mystery until one of the top men in the Circus is found to be the traitor. We go through many other life threatening, and occasionally humorous, escapades with him. As is frequently the case in Le Carre's novels, the deskbound, high level, decision makers run the gamut, from the rare competent and dedicated individuals, to the more common politically motivated self enhancers who build their own careers with no thought to the jeopardy in which they are putting their field agents. The evening ends, and we accompany Ned as he passes the final days before his retirement. With three days left to go, he is given one last assignment. He is charged with convincing a rather unpleasant multi-millionaire to stop providing armaments to various participants in conflicts throughout the world. These armaments are sold through an interlocking chain of corporations which he totally controls. Because of the international complexities of these corporate structures, the armament sales are technically legal. Unhappily for Ned his efforts are rebuffed. It is at this point that he remembers Smiley's old aphorism about the right people losing the Cold War but the wrong people winning it. If you've never read Le Carre, this book should whet your appetite to go back in time and read his "Smiley" books. If you have read other of his books, I can't think of a better way to wrap them up.

Last of the best Le Carre novels:
This is a recollection of a spy about to retire. Each chapter is a more or less independent episode, so you can read one at a time. Admittedly it is a recycle of materials from his past novels (e.g. the protagonist's trip to Bangkok to find his agent in Cambodia no doubt comes from research done for the novel "The Honourable Schoolboy". But the usual le Carre class is here, and his fans would not be disappointed. The brief last chapter puts a nasty but brilliant twist to the novel, and it also serves as a brave challenge by the author to write spy novels of the present day. It is just too sad that le Carre has failed badly in his subsequent noves. With this novel, we may well have seen the last of his talent sparkle.

How to review a book without reading it:
I ordered The Secret Pilgrim last December. Since about mid December, you have told me it would be shipped in Jan. Today you say, "Order soon, only three in stock." Either send me the copy I paid for over four months ago or return my money. I am not interested in a credit with you, either the book or my money back, please.

Disappointment from a Master:
When first released, it was said that this "novel" was actually a compendium of scenes that Le Carre had sketched out for inclusion in future works featuring George Smiley. The end of the Cold War made future Smiley novels irrelevant, but instead of shelving the sketches, he stitched them together into this book. Is this true? I don't know, but I can certainly believe it. The book reads like a patchwork, but an engrossing one nonetheless. Reading Le Carre is NEVER a waste - hence 3 stars - but this is far from his best effort, and one gets the uncomfortable feeling that this was a shallow attempt at wringing more lucre from the Smiley franchise. Read the Karla trilogy (Tinker, Tailor; Honourable Schoolboy; Smiley's People): they are wonderful, wonderful books. (I re-read my first copy of Tinker, Tailor so much, I reduced it to tatters) But stop there. The Secret Pilgrim should have remained Le Carre's secret.

Customary Excellence:
Mr John LeCarré, with Len Deighton, is tops at writing about espionage and he deserves mention in the history of English literature of this century. I have all his books in my personal library. They all denote an insider's knowledge of the espionage world, the right dose of skepticism about human nature, tongue-in-cheek, sense of the plot, mastery of the language, eclecticism. The only flaw may be found in a pervasive melancholy and pessimism: there is never sun in these books, only a uniform and pervasive grayness - but I guess the world he describes is of that colour. However, he is one of the most entertaining writers I ever found and I always look for new production of his whenever I enter a bookstore.