The Tailor of Panama (Paperback)

If you have not read Our Man in Havana, be aware that this book is not at all like any other Le Carre spy book you have read before. So if you are looking for another of his great reads in the genre of The Spy Who Came In from the Cold, The Looking Glass War, A Small Town in Germany, Tinker Tailor Solider Spy, The Honourable Schoolboy and Smiley's People, this is the wrong book for you.

On the other hand, if you are open-minded enough to wonder what Le Carre's idea of humor would like in making fun of spies, spying, and spy novels, then you have come to the right place. This is one of the two great satires of this sort. Our Man in Havana is the other. I recommend them both, when you are in the mood for that kind of a story.

As I read this book, I was constantly reminded of stories that often surface in the newspaper about spies who have been working both sides against the middle to improve their incomes. Eric Ambler was drawn to that theme, and Mr. Carre seems to share that fascination in this book.

In a broader sense, the satire here is really about the foibles we all have. If you have an easy time laughing at yourself, you may find moments when you see yourself in the mirror through Le Carre's fine novel.

"The Tailor of Panama" is purportedly a spy thriller, but the spy story is actually just the framework on which John le Carré weaves his amazing study of human nature. And the human characteristics which are dominant are not ones that the human race should be proud of. We are presented with large amounts of greed, dishonesty, jealousy, cruelty, selfish lust, corruption, apathy, frailty and stupidity. On top of that we are presented with some of the less attractive conditions for human existence: poverty, suffering, guilt and sickness.

But the amazing thing is that John le Carré writes about these human characteristics and conditions with a great deal of humor and understanding. And he does provide a few glimpses of love, altruism and generosity.

So even though the story ends tragically it is for the most part a funny and touching story, and this makes the book very readable.

Another strength of the book is John le Carré's masterful command of the English language. He writes beautiful descriptions, and has a surprising and inventive way with words. I often found myself delighted with one sentence after another, each one saying something in a way I hadn't realized was possible.

The way in which the plot is slowly but surely expanded is also very satisfying. We start out with the daily lives of a few seemingly ordinary people. But then the seemingly ordinary people are shown to be less and less ordinary, and at the same time more and more people are added to the story, and the scope of the story expands until high-level international politics of the worst sort get involved.

Yet another positive aspect of the book is the large amount of very interesting information about life in Panama and how Panama society works. In this respect the book can be considered to be an insider's tourist guide to Panama.

Highly recommended - and to be read slowly and savored.