Do octogenarians write as well as they did in their pomp? On the evidence of this book they don’t they write differently. This novel is almost a satire. La Carre rails against western ‘values’, which he traduces as a mass delusion.

“Do you or do you not regard Trump, which I do, as a threat and incitement to the entire civilised world, plus he is presiding over the systematic no-holds-barred Nazification of the United States.” [my book was Kindle without page numbers: sorry]

Naturally he is strident against Brexit –

Brexit is self-immolation. The British public is being marched over a cliff by a bunch of rich elitist carpetbaggers posing as men of the people.

But it isn’t a polemic. It’s subtle and full of twists and turns. You’ll love it but it isn’t a traditional le Carre novel.

Chris