I love spy novels but am sick to death of Cold War plots. Can anyone recommend a spy novel dealing with more recent issues, particularly the Middle East?
I just finished John LeCarre’s Absolute Friends this week and it was terrific. It starts in the cold war, but finishes in the present day and is very topical (and scary). I’m a big LeCarre fan and I thought it was one of his best.
John LeCarre’s The Little Drummer Girl is a masterpiece that compellingly carries you to the Middle East. The story follows an English actress who is sought out and subtly secuced by an Israeli intelligence/action unit that is investigating a Palestinian bomber whose bomb killed an Israeli child among the diplomatic corp in West Germany. But don’t draw any conclusions from that description: as one expects from LeCarre’, he doesn’t choose sides.
Charly is one of his most eclectic and charismatic characters ever. Except perhaps for a couple of Smiley stories (which I adore beyond reason), in my opinion this is his best novel, and I’ve read them all except his latest.
I agree this is very good. You can feel LeCarré’s burning anger, just below the surface, about what he feels is happening in today’s geo-politics.
If you’re willing to go pre-Cold War, you should try Alan Furst. He writes incredibly atmospheric and interesting spy novels that take place before and during World War II.
Great stuff.
Thanks all. I read The Little Drummer Girl and am a fan of Le Carre so I’ll check out the other book.
I just read the Vince Flynn series. Some pretty good pre- and post- 9/11 mess with the middle eastern terrorist pot-boilers. The main character in all but the first one, Mitch Rapp, kicks ass without worrying about taking any names. Its not classical literature, and the libs would have a field day with all the civil liberties violated, but kinda fun in a guilty pleasure sort of way.
Frederick Forsyth’s new book “The Avenger” is pretty good. So is Robert Littell’s “Legends”