My first spy novel and what a way to start! John le Carré is a titan of the genre, and I chose this one based on a recommendation in Five Books from the writer Alex Preston on literary spy books. It is easy to see why it was listed there. This is a cerebral, slow-burning story, and you can tell from the prose alone that le Carré went to Oxford in the 1950s. It is beautiful and so very English - hard to find today.
It is not an action-packed James Bond novel with good and bad guys. It is a psychological - and I have since read partly autobiographical - thriller that builds to a spectacular and devastating ending.
Our narrator, the spy Magnus Pym, goes AWOL after his father's funeral and begins to write his story - often slipping into the third person, which, along with the dual timelines, can make things confusing for the reader! After a time you start to notice when he does this: times of personal pain or embarrassment. It becomes more important the further in you get.
We learn only slowly. First his childhood. Later his adolescence. But mostly his father, Rick, a notable conman - just like the author's. There are pivotal events, shady characters, and a green filing cabinet that contains answers tantalisingly kept at arm's length. Then his adult life, working for the Firm across Europe - again slowly, meandering backwards. Only later do the strands meet and the full picture reveal itself.
There are answers, enough to both satisfy and leave room for interpretation. I found myself thinking of Pym - a perfect spy but a deeply conflicted and pained character - for days afterwards. Probably not the ideal pick for a first spy novel, but clearly a literary masterwork of the genre.
A Perfect Spy – 4/5. Slow and occasionally confusing, but beautifully written, with a climactic ending that stays with you.