A Perfect Spy was (to me) the perfect book to read during our intense quarantine/lockdown. It is satisfyingly dense, requires just the right amount of concentration, and overall just perfect for a long, leisurely read where I didn’t have access to or temptation to switch off to another shorter, easier book.
About the Book
The book is about Magnus Pym – the perfect spy who has suddenly vanished.
Who is he? Who owns him? Secrets of state are at risk. Gradually, the truth about Pym emerges.
My Review
This book is told through a series of flashbacks. Magnus Pym – the perfect spy has done a bunk. He is now holed up in a small town in coastal England and penning his memoirs (in the form of a letter to his son Tom).
His handlers are hot on his trail. They suspect he’s run off to the Soviet side and is planning to give them all their state secrets.
John le Carré writes spy novels that are very different from the usual fare. They are slow, introspective, morally ambiguous, and character-driven.
In A Perfect Spy, we delve deep into Magnus Pym’s psyche. We learn what drives him, and even if we don’t like him (he’s pretty unlikeable), we understand him and sometimes see parts of ourselves in him.
John le Carré says this is his most closely autobiographical book. My copy had a brief introduction by the author, in which he talks about his father and his childhood. I could see a lot of it reflected in Magnus Pym.
Most of the book deals with Magnus’ troubled relationship with his father Rick Pym.
Rick is quite the scoundrel. Everybody who meets him comes under his spell. Magnus’ mother becomes a victim, as does a German girl who partly raises Magnus. Magnus is a victim, too, as he tries to please first his father and then all kinds of father figures.
Some parts of the book are difficult to read on an emotional level. It was hard to see young Pym struggling with his father’s love affairs and con jobs. Knowing that this book is part autobiographical makes it even harder.
Pym and Le Carré, however, maintain a sense of humor through all their troubles. A lot of this book is funny (not LOL funny, but there’s subtle self-mockery throughout). It has a very British, stiff upper lip style, which pretty much describes Le Carré’s general writing style, I guess.
Here’s a sentence that Pym pens describing his father’s way of life.
No income is so sacrosanct that expenditure cannot exceed it; no expenditure is so great that more loans cannot be raised to hold the dam from breaking altogether.
Overall, I liked this book very much, but not as much as The Spy Who Came in from the Cold or The Constant Gardener.
I also came away feeling rather sorry for the author. For all the fame and success, it seems like a pretty unhappy life (both for him and the people who love him).
