John le Carre Our Kind of Traitor
A few days ago I came across a volume by Eric Ambler, who started writing spy books before Le Carre although their careers overlapped a little. Ambler was the master of the #accidentalspy.
John le Carré is less associated with that tradition. His world is full of professionals, people who understand the game, even if they mistrust it. Which is why Our Kind of Traitor feels like something of a departure.
At the book's centre are a teacher and a lawyer on holiday. They are not recruited so much as drawn in. By the time they realise what’s at stake, they are already entangled.
In accidental spy novels, remarkable things happen to unremarkable people. They don’t seek the situation, but proximity, circumstance, or a flaw (or more often and most intriguing, a virtue) in their character makes them susceptible to involvement. That is very much the case here.
Our Kind of Traitor builds slowly but is dramatic towards the end. It is probably not among the very top tier of le Carré’s work, but it is one of his more accessible novels, and one I enjoy.
And I have a signed copy. Which always makes me happy!