The Deadly Affair-John Le Carre

Novel

 

The Deadly Affair

John Le Carre

 

This was Le Carre’s first book, published in 1961 as Call for the Dead. It was later filmed as The Deadly Affair. In this book, Le Carre introduced George Smiley, his protagonist spy who later featured in his many popular books.

George Smiley has recently separated from his wife, Anne Sercomb. He is now middle-aged, has finished with field work in espionage, and is assigned office job in London by his Foreign Intelligence (MI) bosses.

Novel begins with a short history of Smiley and then rapidly plunges into the plot of the story. It is the post-second world war era of anti-communism paranoia of west, the peak of infamous cold-war years. Smiley interviews a high-ranking foreign-office bureaucrat for his alleged links with communists when the former was in college, decades back. Smiley has found nothing in the interview to substantiate the allegations, referred in an anonymous letter received at MI. Day after the interview, Fennan, the bureaucrat, is found dead in his house. Death seems like suicide and in suicide note Fennan has alleged harassment, mental agony and loss of reputation as reasons for ending his life. This does not gel with the impression of Fennan and circumstances, Smiley had formed during his interview. What follows is narration of an action packed, fast paced detective work, interspersed with Le Carre’s characteristic understated, pithy, stinging and thoughtful commentary on life, love and absurdity of espionage work. Plot takes the story back to past, i.e., war days when Smiley was actively involved in spying activities of MI in East Germany. The hallmark gloom of Le Carre work pervades the London atmosphere: the old run-down offices, the shabby middle-class houses in suburbs, the lonely post-retirement lives of police-officers, the sadly trudging, dark Thames and the incessantly falling, cold London rain. 

Book is a detective story, unlike Le Carre’s other books, which are spy tales. It is very short. Another odd-feature in his vast oeuvre. But it is more riveting, perhaps more accessible in its language too. I read an old Le Carre after long and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I must go back to other Smiley books I read decades back.