The Tourist

Steinhauer, Olen

ISBN 10: 1602854297 ISBN 13: 9781602854291

Publisher: Center Point Pub, 2009

Synopsis

Burnt-out CIA agent, Milo Weaver, is forced to head into the field one last time. Milo was once a "tourist" -- an undercover agent with no home, and no identity. He has since retired and is now a mid-level manager at the CIA's New York headquarters. He's acquired a wife, a daughter, and a brownstone in Brooklyn, and left his old life behind.

But when the arrest of a long-sought-after assassin sets off an investigation into one of Milo's oldest colleagues and exposes new layers of intrigue in his old cases, Milo goes back undercover to find out who's holding the strings once and for all.

About this title

Review:

"Remember John le Carre...when he wrote about beaten-down, morally directionless spies? In other words, when he was good? That's how Olen Steinhauer writes in this tale of a world-weary spook who can't escape the old game."--"Time"

"Smart... He excels when the focus is on Weaver an intriguing, damaged man yearning to break free of his dark profession."--"People"

""
"Olen Steinhauer evokes the work of spy novel greats like John le Carre with his new novel, "The Tourist."..As in the best of le Carre'swork, the clandestine world of "The Tourist" is as much about bureaucrats as it is about black bag ops. Steinhauer has a solid grasp of the espionage world (either that or a fertile imagination) that enlivens his enjoyable story."--"Chicago Sun-Times"

"
""Justifiably praised for his novels set in Cold War-era Eastern Europe."The Tourist" is contemporary but equally intelligent, evocative, and nuanced."--"Seattle Times"

"Elaborately engineered... He immerses his reader in the same kind of uncertainty that Milo faces at every turn... As for Mr. Steinhauer, the two-time Edgar Award nominee who can be legitimately mentioned alongside of Johnle Carre, he displays a high degree of what Mr. le Carre's characters like to call tradecraft. If he's as smart as "The Tourist "makes him sound, he'll bring back Milo Weaver for a curtain call."--Janet Maslin, "The New York Times "

Remember John le Carre when he wrote about beaten-down, morally directionless spies? In other words, when he was good? That's how Olen Steinhauer writes in this tale of a world-weary spook who can't escape the old game. "Time"

Smart He excels when the focus is on Weaver an intriguing, damaged man yearning to break free of his dark profession. "People"

Olen Steinhauer evokes the work of spy novel greats like John le Carre with his new novel, "The Tourist" As in the best of le Carre'swork, the clandestine world of "The Tourist" is as much about bureaucrats as it is about black bag ops. Steinhauer has a solid grasp of the espionage world (either that or a fertile imagination) that enlivens his enjoyable story. "Chicago Sun-Times"

Justifiably praised for his novels set in Cold War-era Eastern Europe."The Tourist" is contemporary but equally intelligent, evocative, and nuanced. "Seattle Times"

Elaborately engineered He immerses his reader in the same kind of uncertainty that Milo faces at every turn As for Mr. Steinhauer, the two-time Edgar Award nominee who can be legitimately mentioned alongside of Johnle Carre, he displays a high degree of what Mr. le Carre's characters like to call tradecraft. If he's as smart as "The Tourist "makes him sound, he'll bring back Milo Weaver for a curtain call. "Janet Maslin, The New York Times""

"Remember John le Carre...when he wrote about beaten-down, morally directionless spies? In other words, when he was good? That's how Olen Steinhauer writes in this tale of a world-weary spook who can't escape the old game." --Time

"Smart... He excels when the focus is on Weaver an intriguing, damaged man yearning to break free of his dark profession." --People

"Olen Steinhauer evokes the work of spy novel greats like John le Carre with his new novel, The Tourist...As in the best of le Carre'swork, the clandestine world of The Tourist is as much about bureaucrats as it is about black bag ops. Steinhauer has a solid grasp of the espionage world (either that or a fertile imagination) that enlivens his enjoyable story." --Chicago Sun-Times

"Justifiably praised for his novels set in Cold War-era Eastern Europe.The Tourist is contemporary but equally intelligent, evocative, and nuanced." --Seattle Times

"Elaborately engineered... He immerses his reader in the same kind of uncertainty that Milo faces at every turn... As for Mr. Steinhauer, the two-time Edgar Award nominee who can be legitimately mentioned alongside of Johnle Carre, he displays a high degree of what Mr. le Carre's characters like to call tradecraft. If he's as smart as The Tourist makes him sound, he'll bring back Milo Weaver for a curtain call." --Janet Maslin, The New York Times

From the Author:

What drew you to the spy thriller?
John le Carré. It wasn’t until I picked up The Spy Who Came In from the Cold that it became clear how much spy fiction can encompass all the social commentary, realism, philosophy and fine writing of literature, yet maintain the vigorous pacing that hooks an audience.

What's the biggest challenge for you in writing a spy thriller? Plausibility. There’s the plausibility of the story itself, which may contain terrorists or competing intelligence agencies pulling off hard-to-believe acts. The spy genre was so well-mined by the 1970s that it’s difficult to find an angle that hasn’t become cliché. You have to come up with something completely new or look at the old plots with a fresh, contemporary eye.

Paranoia and lies preoccupy Milo Weaver, the CIA agent in The Tourist.
My interest in paranoia and lies ties into a basic interest in how people relate to one another. Personal relationships involve a certain level of deception – one deceives a loved one to avoid hurt, or deceives oneself for similar reasons. As a novelist, I’m placing my characters in environments that externalise this internal deception. That way, the external and internal worlds of my characters can play off one another more easily and give a natural sense of unity to the story.

What do you see as the future for the spy thriller?
Genres never die – they just slumber until the reading public becomes hungry for them again. If the spy novel is to remain an important form – one that critiques in a significant way the relationship between ‘us’ and ‘them’ – then outsiders’ views of America must be thoroughly realistically explored.

What's Next?
The Tourist is the first of a trilogy, which will see Milo Weaver through another year or so, taking care of loose strands from the first book and leading him (at least according to my plans) to last year’s Beijing Olympics.

What's the status of the option George Clooney's production company has taken on The Tourist?
Hollywood stays very mum on such things, and I tend to hear about any developments when Variety tells me. But I do know it’s in the scriptwriting stage. Clooney is still set to play Milo, but for the moment I’m not going to bet on anything. That’s the only way to stay sane. -

Oline H. Cogdill, Reproduced with kind permission from Publishers Weekly

About this edition

• Publisher: Center Point Pub
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1602854297
• ISBN 13: 9781602854291
• Binding: Library Binding
• Number of pages: 576