?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' (Raymond Seitz, The Times )

'Thoroughly gripping' (Sunday Times )

'Absolute Friends is vintage John le Carré: complex, often sardonically funny, always galvanically written.' (Daily Express )

'[Le Carré] has found a 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 )

'Truly thrilling' (Financial Times )

?The master has not lost his touch . . . one of his most enthralling creations.?

(A.N. Wilson, Telegraph )

?A literary master for a generation?

(Observer )

'Absolute Friends is vintage John le Carré: complex, often sardonically funny, always galvanically written.'

?A literary master for a generation?

?The master has not lost his touch . . . one of his most enthralling creations.?

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.

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 Carre's new novel presents us with magical writing, characters to delight, and a spellbinding story that enchants even as it challenges.

John le Carré was born in 1931. He attended the universities of Bern and Oxford and later taught at Eton. He spent five years in the British Foreign Service.

2008-07-29 Struggles to gain momentum, and only does so within the last breath

Based on the reviews on the back cover of this book, I expected a fast paced and intelligently written spy novel.

The book definitely meets the intellectual expectation, but severely struggles to gain any sort of momentum. I would happily trade some of the in-depth narrative for some quicker plot development.

To paint a better picture - I am not expecting a plot development on every page, and I have to stress the point that it is incredibly slow to develop. Halfway through the book you are left wondering if there was much point to what's already been read, it's almost like reading treacle.

The book does not suit slow readers. In order to make the most of it you need to get through it in large sittings so as to keep the interest flowing. For this reason, and the fact that it does not meet my expectations, I am giving the book 2 out of 5.

I hope this rating will deter anyone who has similar interests to mine. However, I am sure that fans of the author will enjoy the book and might consider a higher rating of 3 or 4 out of 5, but I strongly advise anyone who wants a casual novel to look elsewhere.