The Looking Glass War by John le Carré
My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Jacket Blurb: John le Carré's classic novels deftly navigate readers through the intricate shadow worlds of international espionage with unsurpassed skill and knowledge, and have earned him unprecedented worldwide acclaim. THE LOOKING GLASS WAR Once upon a time the distinction had been clear: the Circus handled all things political while the Department dealt with matters military. But over the years, power shifted and the Circus elbowed the Department out. Now, suddenly, the Department has a job on its hands. Evidence suggests Soviet missiles are being positioned close to the German border. Vital film is missing and a courier is dead. Lacking active agents, but possessed of an outdated mandate to proceed, the Department has to find an old hand to prove its mettle. Fred Leiser, German-speaking Pole turned Englishman -- once a qualified radio operator, now involved in the motor trade -- must be called back to the colors and sent East....

Read as an audio book.

While I enjoyed the narration, I did have some troubles following who was who and some of the transitions. It was as if the reader skipped the pauses that would indicate a change in POV.

Dovetailing on the audio quality, I either zoned out or missed a key point on the *why* of the overall plot. I *thought* the impetus was going to be to find out why an agent was killed, the importance of a set of photos, and where those photos went. The whole premise ended up being something completely different which left me vaguely bemused for a goodly portion of the book.

I think I may have enjoyed this more if I had read it rather than listened to it, and I may yet go back and re-read.

Recommended as it's book four in the Le Carre George Smiley series.



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