The twists in this story kept me going to the end. A man assigns an agent to a position in Berlin, and the agent disappears immediately. Smiley and co. investigate the disappearance. The story is from the point of view of Ned, the manager making the fatal assignment. He is new to the field and finds himself in the thick of it and under suspicion.
This is a short story taken from the collection The Secret Pilgrim. It is an audiobook read by John Le Carre.
T
he book develops well, the main character uncovers clues as to whats going on, jumps to reasonable, but invalid, conclusions, and the reader is drawn in. Everything seems reasonable and develops properly. … As events unfold, the tone becomes suspenseful and perhaps a bit of horror. The book plays with mans dominance over nature and some of the morals, Dr. Moreau was outcast for his work, and finds his own way to continue, with consequences.
This is an interesting story of one day in the life of a prisoner in a Soviet Gulag. It takes place in a cold January, the protagonist has to deal with the cold, guards, and fellow prisoners, he has a ten-year sentence for confessing to being a spy. He confessed to avoid being killed, his crime was being captured by the Nazis and then escaping. The prisoners are pit against each other for rewards of food, but have their own means of support. They have their own economy, and are able to bribe for favor. The life is hard, survival is uncertain, and the prisoner’s values are meager. The book shows Ivan Denisovich’es expectations within his world, the world is portrayed very well with lots of interesting details.
Disappointing, some of the conclusions seem jumped to. The information acquired isn’t well supported by events. The book isn’t one of his better works.
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