Category: Books

The spy who came in from the cold by John le Carré, published by Victor Gollancz, September 1963

Posted on By Margot

First Published July 2012

What do you think spies are: priests, saints and martyrs? They’re a squalid procession of vain fools, traitors too, yes; pansies, sadists and drunkards, people who play cowboys and Indians to brighten their rotten lives. Do you think they sit like monks in London, balancing the rights and wrongs? (Alec Leamas in The Spy who came in from the cold)

Spying is a nasty sordid business in a world where there are no good guys – only our side and the enemy. The rules are that the ends justify the means. The individual is expendable for the sake of what is perceived to be the greater good. If you think that spying is glamorous, exciting and even noble, then prepare to be disabused by this book. This is not a romantic fiction, but a grim reality check. When the liberal throws up his or her hands in horror when the news breaks that our Secret Services have been involved in interrogating witnesses under duress or involved in “extraordinary rendition” then this book says get real, the world and the relationships between states is not genteel and good-mannered. John le Carré tackles these issues in the closing chapter of the book. Up to this point the book has been a slow burning firework and now it explodes with raw emotion. This is the point, the climax to which the book has been building and now there can only be one ending as the firework burns itself out and crashes to the ground.

The mastery of this book is the quiet measured prose describing the interaction of the characters. They are all drawn with humanity and the evil of Mundt is thrown into sharp relief against the decency of Leamas, of the East German Fiedler, even George Smiley. But none can escape the strictures imposed by the world of espionage and the demands of the political masters. In many respects the old British state, unfettered by any ideology is more than a match for the enemies behind the iron curtain. Who are the good guys – there are none.

Links

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Spy_Who_Came_in_from_the_Cold

The spy who came in from the cold by John le Carré, published by Victor Gollancz, September 1963, Penguin Classics (2011) – Paperback – 272 pages – ISBN 0141194529

Also available in audio book format, ePub format and for Kindles

Jesus of Nazareth by Joseph Ratzinger

Posted on By Margot

At last I have been able to get a legitimate copy of this as an eBook – at one stage I thought I was going to have to resort to downloading a pirated copy.

There are some things that I disagree with, such as the absolutism of Ratzinger’s position on the role of women and the priesthood. But in general Ifound the book thought-provoking and definitely has deepened my understanding of my faith.

For some very obscure reason, I could buy this as an audio book, which is how I first came across the book, but not as an ePub book (or even a Kindle book) – it can be sold to residents in Germany, the Netherlands or USA but not in the UK.

Originally this was my Lenten task, to listen to Jesus of Nazareth as I drove to work. I was not expecting too much – after all, this was written by the man known as God’s Rottweiler. But gradually it blew my mind and I can see why he was elected Pope. Gradually Cardinal Ratzinger unfolded the mystery of Jesus, showing how the Crucifixion is the right at the heart of the salvation story. He shows how Jesus is the total fulfilment of all the prophets before.

Jesus is the Son of God. But sons of God were not unknown at that time – the claim to deity was taken up by the Roman emperors. As the centurion at the foot of the cross declares “Truly this man was the Son of God” we have a statement of faith so deep that it cuts through the political world. To declare Jesus as Son was to deny the deity of the Roman emperor.

Jesus is shepherd – so many kings were seen as shepherds of their people – but Jesus takes this one step further.

I think the next book I need is a study guide.