The Russia House
£2.98
A first rate novelist and not just an author of spy stories - Although genre fiction - historical, romance, sci-fi, espionage, detective, mystery and horror - has to struggle to be taken seriously by literary critics there are a few authors in each category who command universal respect. John le Carré is among the best loved and most respected, and with good reason. After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War I wondered which direction his writing would take with the loss of its raison d être. However, since then he has continued to turn out high quality fiction. The Russia House takes place during one of the defining periods of modern history, the thaw between the USA and the USSR and the era of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (reconstruction) just before the collapse of the Communist giant. At a Moscow book fair Nick Landau is passed some documents by Russian vamp Katya imploring him to smuggle them to the UK to a publisher, Barley Blair. Once in England he takes them to the Intelligence Service which sees the enormous significance and value of the technical information contained within and seek to track down Blair in order to send him back to Russia to identify the author and substantiate his motivation and the authenticity of the documents. We are led into a murky, cold-hearted cloak and dagger operation of Byzantine complexity. Crisp, realistic dialogue, especially during the interrogation scenes, believable characters, mouth-drying tension and all-round entertainment, the Russia House is confirmation - if any was needed - that le Carré is a first rate novelist with a lot to say about human fears, needs and motivations, and not just an author of spy stories.
My favourite John Le Carre novel - The Russia House is a classic tale of love and angst that spans East and West during the height of the cold war.The book follows a British publisher who attends a trade fair in Moscow and ends up being caught up in an attempt to smuggle Soviet military secrets to the West. This is my favourite John Le Carre novel and I also enjoyed the big screen version featuring Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer.
From the cover....... - One of le Carré s most popular novels now reissued in hardback________________________It is the third summer of the Perestroika. Niki Landau, philanderer and travelling representative, attends the first Moscow audio fair and is asked by beautiful young Katya to take a parcel back to England. It s addressed to Barley Blair, jazz-player, drinker and derelict English publisher, and contains information held to be vital to the defence of the West. However, this surefire recipe for heroic action is no longer what it seems. Times and heroes are on the change, and Barley Blair is a man who makes his own rules of engagement. He is much married, yet the unused love in him is still hunting for a home, and the tattered idealism for a cause. In Katya he believes he has found both.___________________________TIME MAGAZINE: Afire and thought-provoking ... A treatise on our times.
A delicious read - I don t normally feel I have time to write reviews but for this I m making an exception. Once I got over the fact that this was not a Smiley novel (this took about a decade) I was able to accept it for what it is. Which is a beautifully crafted book about manners, like a modern Jane Austen, with a backdrop of cold war tension. Here is an author who seems to see more than most and is able to articulate it economically. Despite a slightly world-weary tone, or perhaps because of it, it is a ripping good read.
Even better than the movie! - John Le Carre s THE RUSSIA HOUSE is a far less Byzantine tale than his SMILEY S PEOPLE or even THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD, but it is an engaging tale of love preceding the collapse of the Soviet Union.Very simply, a beautiful Russian woman passes a book to an English publisher at a Moscow trade show and asks him to give it to Barley Blair. The publisher can t find Barley so he gives it to the government. The British Secret Service then recruit reluctant joe, Barley Blair to make contact with the author. Along the way he falls in love with the beautiful Katya and his allegiances are tested.This audio dramatization is a great way to experience the story if you don t have time to sit and read the book. It s even better for road trips or long walks. I first found it in a bookstore in Vienna (great city for walking) and listened to it several times before leaving.The acting is great. Tom Baker is wonderful as Barley Blair, expressing all the qualities of this multidimensional character clearly.The adaptation is deftly handled, keeping the story moving forward despite the lack of action. Le Carre tells personal, human stories. Stories that don t require loads of gunfire and military attacks. This story still speeds along well.Strangely, I even prefer the audio version to the movie. The movie had a great writer, director and two (actually several more) great actors- but I return to the audio version more often than not.