Absolute Friends - Hardcover

Le Carré, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0340832878 ISBN 13: 9780340832875

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton, 2004

Synopsis

ABSOLUTE FRIENDS is a superbly paced novel spanning fifty-six years, a theatrical masterstroke of tragi-comic writing, and a savage fable of our times, almost of our hours.

The friends of the title are Ted Mundy, British soldier's son born 1947 in a shining new independent Pakistan, and Sasha, refugee son of an East German Lutheran pastor and his wife who have sought sanctuary in the West.

The two men meet first as students in riot-torn West Berlin of the late Sixties, again in the grimy looking-glass of Cold War espionage and, most terribly, in today's unipolar world of terror, counter-terror and the war of lies.

Deriving its scale from A PERFECT SPY and its passion from THE CONSTANT GARDENER, Le Carré's new novel presents us with magical writing, characters to delight, and a spellbinding story that enchants even as it challenges.

About this title

Review:

John le Carré's Absolute Friends is his best in years, capturing the verve and mastery of the magnificent early work. In fact, as a prelude to the book, you could do worse than reread The Spy Who Came in from the Cold again, and be forcibly reminded how le Carré transformed the spy thriller 40 or so years ago. And the consolidation of his achievement came with the George Smiley sequence (inaugurated with Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy). As the Cold War came to an end, le Carré seemed to be in need of a new focus for his literary universe, but this was soon to come as the author explored newer social threats, with The Constant Gardener utilising the power of the pharmaceutical companies as nemesis, and producing yet another critical and popular success.

Absolute Friends, even before publication, had some of the best word of mouth any le Carré novel had enjoyed, and every word of it was justified. As a penetrating character study, it's nonpareil, with the (very different) friends of the title brilliantly realised.

Ted Mundy is the son of a British Infantry officer who left India under a cloud after partition, while Sasha is the crippled son of a religious German family who became a star of Far Left politics in the 1960s, at which point he encounters the ungainly Ted, taught by his father--and a committed girlfriend--to loathe British imperialism and all its current offshoots. In the present, Ted finds himself acting as an eccentric tour guide at Ludwig's palaces in Bavaria. When the two men meet again, they once more become involved in clandestine activities--with lethal results. If the author's own anti-Blair/Bush feelings are sometimes foregrounded, this is still le Carré at his considerable best, and a reminder of what a great talent the UK has in this writer. --Barry Forshaw

Review:

Richly detailed, full of righteous fire . . . one of John le Carré's best books' (Sean O'Brien, 'The Times Literary Supplement)

'Thoroughly gripping' - Sunday Times

'Absolute Friends is vintage John le Carre: complex, often sardonically funny, always galvanically written. In fact, his best book in years.' - Daily Express

The book breathes life, anger and excitement (Nigel Williams, Observer)

'With ABSOLUTE FRIENDS Le Carre is back on form. It is his best book for years, probably since A PERFECT SPY. He has founda worthy enemy, a target for his moral indignation. Moreover he has hit a contemporary tune again. This is an anti-war novel and, very fiercely, an anti-American one. It's written with passion.' Allan Massie, Scotsman

This is le Carré with a twist, the Old Master developing new techniques for a new age (Raymond Seitz, The Times)

With ABSOLUTE FRIENDS Le Carre is back on form. It is his best book for years, probably since A PERFECT SPY. He has founda worthy enemy, a target for his moral indignation. Moreover he has hit a contemporary tune again. This is an anti-war novel and, very fiercely, an anti-American one. It's written with passion. (Allan Massie, Scotsman )

'This is ultimately a powerful, passionate and finely-crafted novel, rich in rage and indignation. At 72, the man affords himself the anger of youth at last. It is a timely and perhaps even prescient novel which reflects the concerns of a great many people who remain unconvinced about the war in Iraq' Herald

'Thoroughly gripping' (Sunday Times)

'Absolute Friends is more than just another consummate exercise from a literary master. As a comment on our brave new world, it is a mesmerising roar of outrage.' - Irish Times

About this edition

• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0340832878
• ISBN 13: 9780340832875
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 384