John LeCarré can turn words as if by lathe to compel readers like no one since Kipling. And in Absolute Friends, he displays this exceptional talent more than occasionally. It is, therefore, infinitely disheartening to see the master, the Guru of the spy novel lose his footing so completely in dealing with the post-Cold War confrontation with global terrorism. The saddest part is he almost gets it right on links between anti-globalists, anarchists and their sources of funding - which are often linked to terrorist organizations. But unfortunately, or should I say, 'fortunately', almost right isn't going to fly with rational folk.
It's as if, like Kipling, he laments the fall of the British Empire without begrudging the 'Colonies' their freedom, but then sees it as "the last straw" when England supports -in his eyes as supplicants- the USA's global initiative against International Terror.
In the end, he shows his true hand and offers up a panoply of current 'Leftist' conspiracy theories, paranoia and most regrettably, plain old 'psyops' propaganda. Out of respect for LeCarré - The Old Master - I understate this, but will mention a few of the grosser examples : (1) He belittles the USA-Britain 'special relationship' as if it were a poison toad and says British agents are now only 'following orders' - as, perhaps, like so many Nazis: (2) He adopts the tritest examples of literary/ cinematic bogeys (bad guys) - in this case, the ever-evil CIA, and a person who represents the evils of "International Corporations" (big business equals evil business), and a mysterious post-Gorbachev Russian whose name we never quite find out. (3) He would also have us believe that the war in Iraq and the support the USA mustered for it was a massive conspiracy of a most illegal and immoral nature. Our much diminished LeCarré goes all out in his rantings - he even calls Fox News to task for being willing accomplices to this grand SuperCorporate - CIA conspiracy, only to turn around and spew forth as though it were already fact that the USA will be invading Iran next. All of the above being text-book Neo-Leftist spin-doctoring, right down the checklist - various copies available on multiple websites.....
LeCarré. in contrast, has, it seems, almost feebly chosen as his protagonists two highly intelligent, thoughtful, questioning, rebellious radicals who have the courage of their convictions and see nothing wrong with their own sociopathic behavior, and yet are somehow too naive to see any danger in marching in common cause and lock-step with those who intend to carry out the premeditated murder of innocents. Our two "Absolute Friends" are also somehow too dumb to even contemplate that they might possibly be being manipulated by the ever-evil CIA - which they detest.
I wish there were even one good reason for recommending this book - alas, there just isn't. Barring the possibility that LeCarré plans to come out of the "Global Governance" closet, this is most surely his last book - and although I once would have thought this regrettable, now, frankly, I don't give a damn.
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