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John le Carré

A Delicate Truth Paperback – 25 June 2014

by John le Carre (Author)

1,995 ratings

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THE paperback of 2014 - outstanding reviews, huge coverage, le Carre's most compelling novel in years

A counter-terror operation, codenamed Wildlife, is being mounted in Britain's most precious colony, Gibraltar. Its purpose- to capture and abduct a high-value jihadist arms-buyer. Its authors- an ambitious Foreign Office Minister, and a private defence contractor who is also his close friend. So delicate is the operation that even the Minister's Private Secretary, Toby Bell, is not cleared for it.

Suspecting a disastrous conspiracy, Toby attempts to forestall it, but is promptly posted overseas. Three years on, summoned by Sir Christopher Probyn, retired British diplomat, to his decaying Cornish manor house, and closely watched by Probyn's daughter Emily, Toby must choose between his conscience and his duty to the Service.

If the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing, how can he keep silent?

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Publisher : Penguin (General UK); 1st edition (25 June 2014)
Language : English
Paperback : 352 pages
ISBN-10 : 0241965187
ISBN-13 : 978-0241965184
Dimensions : 12.9 x 2.5 x 19.8 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 22,901 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 324 in Ghost Thrillers
- 374 in Terrorism Thrillers (Books)
- 893 in Political Thrillers (Books)

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1,995 ratings

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Review

Perhaps the most significant novelist of the second half of the 20th century in Britain . . . He should have won the Booker Prize a long time ago. It's time he won it and it's time he accepted it. He's in the first rank. -- Ian McEwan ― Telegraph

No other writer has charted - pitilessly for politicians but thrillingly for readers - the public and secret histories of his times, from the Second World War to the "War on Terror" ― Guardian

One of those writers who will be read a century from now -- Robert Harris

With A Delicate Truth, le Carré has in a sense come home. And it's a splendid homecoming . . . Satisfying, subtle and compelling ― The Times

The perfectly paced, exquisitely cynical style that is le Carré's hallmark ― Sunday Times

The master of the modern spy novel returns . . . this is writing of such quality that - as Robert Harris put it - it will be read in one hundred years ― Daily Mail

A brilliant climax, with sinister deaths, casual torture, wrecked lives and shameful compromises ― Observer

A writer of towering gifts . . . le Carré is one of the great analysts of the contemporary scene, who has a talent to provoke as well as unsettle ― Independent

John le Carré takes us back to his favourite scenarios: Whitehall, the secret services, the gentleman's clubs, dodgy bankers, corrupt public schoolboys and gruesome American neo-cons . . . revelling once more in that imaginary world of secrets and lies that is le Carré's gift to us ― Evening Standard

Thrilling, suspenseful . . . Fans will not be disappointed ― Sunday Express

Book Description

THE paperback of 2014 - outstanding reviews, huge coverage, le Carre's most compelling novel in years

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5 star		51%
4 star		29%
3 star		11%
2 star		5%
1 star		4%

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Susan Armstrong

A delicate truth

Reviewed in Australia on 22 September 2019

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Not one of Le Carre's best books and believe me there has been many outstanding books from this author. The ending was very open leaving you to guess what might have happened later.

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Penelope Dennis

Le Carre's layering excels

Reviewed in Australia on 2 October 2020

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Every chapter adds a layer to this dark and twisted story of guilt, corruption and political manoeuvring. Le Carre combines the tension of the present tense with a unique stream-of-consciousness omniscient narration which challenges the reader but is so worthwhile.

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Linda Lee

More depth and less delicacy in building character and plot!

Reviewed in Australia on 27 September 2014

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It is certainly well written, but there is not the depth that you would find in the "Smiley" novels and like most of his recent novels the end does not really resolve all of the plot. You are left wondering what might/shoudl ahve come next.

One person found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Excellent phsychological profiles of individuals exposed to raw ambition and ...

Reviewed in Australia on 4 September 2014

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Excellent phsychological profiles of individuals exposed to raw ambition and contempt for moral and ethical standards and the dilemmas encountered when honesty conflicts with ambition. How perception is paramount above all else.

One person found this helpful

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wazbud

A great rollicking read

Reviewed in Australia on 17 February 2017

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Le Carre in fine form, a cast of finely drawn characters, act out a winding tale of derring-do that kept me enthralled. Highly recommended.

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diane

A typical LeCarre, plausible and intriguing to the end.

Reviewed in Australia on 16 April 2017

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Aside from being a good thriller that stays tight to the very end, this novel is a reflection of modern world and the corporatisation of war. At times too believable.

One person found this helpful

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Adam Potter

Rubbish

Reviewed in Australia on 6 October 2019

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Very disappointed. Confusing to read. Expected something much better from such an applauded writer.

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Professor Roger Collins

Classic Le Carre

Reviewed in Australia on 14 July 2014

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A great read ! Gripping plausible and enlightening. The author draws attention to the potentially devious behavior and morals of our bureaucracies that hopefully provoke us to think nod

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Liz L

the ulltimate unfinished story!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 December 2020

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Somehow I missed this one when it came out, so reading it very late and after the news of his death. If I had read it at the time I might have been angry with him for leaving us hanging--but reading now, I realise that there will never be "an end". In that he has perfectly captured what I assume was his point all along. We are under the control of those faceless empty people in the office with important names and... free will, and democracy, are am illusion.

Reading during Covid gives me a different perspective; and in the grim days of Bumble Johnson makes it more poignant. Looking at it as an avid reader, it's really very good.

4 people found this helpful

Jl Adcock

Taut, sinister and atmospheric

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 December 2020

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The power of the state and its invisible reach sits at the heart of this extremely well-written and atmospheric novel from John le Carre. When a covert intelligence mission in Gibraltar goes wrong, the ramifications are great on those who took part, those who knew about it and those who stumble across it. Pulling the different threads of the story together with an understated skill that makes for a surprisingly gripping read, le Carre revisits familiar themes of betrayal, identity and the role of the state. From the brooding quiet of Cornwall to the corridors of power in government and the old boy network of clubs and the private sector, this may not be particularly new ground for the spy novel, but the economy of style and the taut writing makes for a thrilling read. Such is the tightness of the plotting and the control in the writing that it could almost be staged as a play. Given the ponderous nature of much of le Carre's later writing, A Delicate Truth emerges as a thoughtful and scathing take on modern Britain. Impossible to read this one without thinking about dodgy dossiers and cover ups. All too real, and a sinister picture of the modern state emerges all too clearly.

3 people found this helpful

Mr. Steve M

Disappointed

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 March 2019

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I was looking forward to reading this novel but ended up wanting to finish it as soon as possible. Unfortunately the ending struck me as inconclusive, with too many loose ends. Neither was I impressed by the number of f-based expletives. You may argue that this reflects the way that some people speak, that it's natural and realistic. I would argue that bowel and bladder movements are also natural but there is no need to be explicit about them in a novel.

8 people found this helpful

Avid Reader

Brilliant!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 31 December 2020

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This is a delightful story, told in the sort of impeccable English that Mr. le Carre is famous for. Toby Bell, a rising young star in the firmament that is the foreign Office, is attached to the Minister of Defence in Whitehall. Said minister plays his cards close to his chest, so close that Toby is routinely out of the loop, with no idea what is going on. There is a reason for this which eventually becomes clear. It involves an undercover operation carried out overseas by British Special Forces, in collaboration with the Americans, very much under the official radar. Toby’s diligent investigations strip away the covers, only to find the revelations too hot to handle... I believe I have read, perhaps four or five of John le Carre’s novels and his autobiographical The Pigeon Tunnel. I must read more. We will miss him. He must be the best English writer of his generation.

2 people found this helpful

Sid Nuncius

Not one of le Carré's best

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 March 2019

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John le Carré doesn’t write bad books, but I don’t think this is one of his best.

A Delicate Truth is le Carré’s take on Extraordinary Rendition and the increasing involvement of private contractors in national security in the late days of the New Labour government in 2008. It deals with an operation in Gibraltar to exfiltrate a terror suspect which, it emerges later, has gone badly wrong. Much of the book is concerned with the activities and fate of two Foreign Office officials who try to act as whistle-blowers.

It’s a decent story and the last sections are quite tense and exciting, but as a book it’s not in the same league as the great Smiley novels, for example, or the recent, excellent A Legacy Of Spies. Part of the problem, I think, is that le Carré is plainly (and rightly) outraged by what he describes and his indignation affects his style. The calm, measured tone which gives the great novels such impact is replaced by a more frenetic feel, including the modern fad for a fractured timescale. Both these things diminished the book for me.

This is still well worth reading, but my recommendation does come with reservations.

4 people found this helpful

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