Absolute Friends [Hardcover]

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

The end of the Cold War stalled the career of many espionage novelists, and although John le Carr seemed to lack direction for a time, it is he, more than any of his contemporaries, who has triumphantly found fertile new areas for his skills, and (once again) a new le Carr book is an event. Absolute Friends is a masterly novel spanning over 50 years, and is a fascinating chronicle of the modern era. The friends of the title are Ted Mundy, a British soldier's son born in a newly-independent Pakistan, and Sasha, refugee son of an East German pastor who has sought sanctuary in the West. The two men meet first as students in the riot-torn West Berlin of the late Sixties, again in the era of Cold War espionage and, finally, in today's world of terror and counter-terror; le Carr 's new novel delivers the kind of non-pareil writing that has been his trademark since the early books.

‘The book breathes life, anger and excitement'

‘This is le Carré with a twist, the Old Master developing new techniques for a new age'

‘This is le Carré with a twist, the Old Master developing new techniques for a new age' --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

‘The master has not lost his touch . . . one of his most enthralling creations.’ --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Ted Mundy, British soldier's son born 1947 in the new Republic of Pakistan and Sasha, son of an East German Lutheran pastor, first meet as students in West Berlin in the late 60s, then again in the grimy looking-glass of Cold War espionage and, most terribly, in the modern world of terror.

John le Carré was born in 1931. His recent novels include THE TAILOR OF PANAMA, SINGLE & SINGLE (for which he was described as ‘the essential voice of our time' by the Daily Telegraph)and THE CONSTANT GARDENER. ABSOLUTE FRIENDS is his nineteenth novel.