Agent Running in the Field

Is it his best? No. But he had nothing left to prove, and he uses his very sharp tools to show how angry he is at the fools in charge today. In many ways it's Le Carré distilled, with empathy for how complex and conflicted people become spies, or spymasters, and what does moral certainty even mean.

I enjoyed this novel but it is not in the same class as many of my favorites. I'm not sure exactly why. Perhaps I found Nat, the protagonist, a little smug compared to Smiley and some of his other spymasters. Perhaps also the novel touches only on the cynicism of the British versus Putin and the American Putin wannabe. Is it possible that he couldn't really find, or delve into, the complexities of the current political chaos in the US? Was he too close in time to the events? Or too disappointed? At any rate, it was easy to sympathize with the earnest and naive Ed, and the much more sophisticated and deeper Florence. It's unfortunate that he did not center the book more around Florence.
Someone earlier mentioned that this might be a good introduction to Le Carre's more intricate novels. Had I started with this one, I'm pretty sure I would not have continued: nothing special here, move on. If you have limited time and wish to choose, you could safely skip this one. I do very much wonder if he had been ten years younger, how he would have treated these same events/characters.

A British spy, Nat aka Nathaniel aka Anatoly, returns home to retire, only to find himself placed in charge of The Haven, a derelict sub-station managing a handful of Britain's double-agents and their handlers. Outside of work, he strikes up an unlikely acquaintance in the form and shape of a young, gangly Englishman, Ed Shannon, who challenges him to a game of badminton.
Over their post-game drinks, Ed - who believes Nat to be a harmless retired attache - lets loose with his verbal volleys against Brexit, Trump, and the British leaders who divorced the nation from Europe. It is the politics of post-Brexit Britain and pro-Russia Trump America that give rise to the events that unfold.
It is Nat who we follow for the entirety of the book. He's smart, polished, and over-confident, and makes for a compelling narrator. His family, wife Prue and daughter Steffi, also play a role, Prue playing a much larger role than the long-suffering spouses of spies in other novels. The only other female character of substance is Florence, Nat's young co-worker, also an idealist like Ed.
I had expected an intelligent but slow tale of espionage, but the events in this book develop with satisfying rapidity. They call into question to the meaning of loyalty, patriotism, and idealism. The different threads come neatly together and if there were parts that raised questions, it's to do with the narrator's inability to deal with emotional pain points as well as the hopeful, but abrupt, ending, which left me wanting for a couple more pages of narrative.
This was a solid read from beginning to end, allowing readers a glimpse into the world of modern espionage. Le Carre's genius in this book is the inter-weaving of big issues with individual actions, and the resultant - dangerous - dominos that fall.
Given the views espoused in this book and from what I have read of le Carre's own political views, I would imagine the author must have been relieved by the results of the recent US elections, even though the consequences of Brexit still remain for his country to sort out.

There are few authors who can capture the grey morality of espionage better than Le Carre. Agent Running in the Field brings his spy stories right into the era of Trump and Brexit, fully incorporating all the geopolitical challenges and difficulties that the modern times have.

The story is told by Nat, an older agent runner for MI6. He has done his job on various international assignments, but is past his peak and brought home to work on some lower priority internal agents.

In many ways this novel is a throw back to some of the cold war Le Carre novels. The big bad is again Russia, the inter-agency rivalries are at the forefront of the story again. When you come to consider the current political climate it does start to make sense. All the stories of Russian meddling in western elections and referendums, the cosying up to Putin that Trump has been doing and the geopolitical shock of Brexit are all changing the power dynamics within the world again.

This is a good Le Carre novel, the setting is of the time and the twists and turns are interesting and as morally grey as any good Le Carre is

I was really enjoying this book and then it ended before it resolved. What? A whole lot of loose threads at the end of this one that I wasn't prepared for because the book was overall so meticulous.