A Most Wanted Man, by John le Carré

About 18 months ago I read Our Kind of Traitor by le Carré and feel similarly about this novel. Certainly not one of his best even of his post – Cold War era books (echoing that former post). I am especially disappointed by the reviews that it got, or seemed to by the blurbs that decorate the book’s cover, back cover and inside pages. The New York Times Book Review, for example, writes, “This is le Carré’s strongest, most powerful novel…One of the best he’s ever written.” Really? Now, that is not the entire review and admittedly I have not read the review. Anything written by him prior to 1985 is superior. And that’s for starters. Another, even greater disappointment is the lack of character development. Weak when compared to his prior works. And the writing is bland and unexciting; felt like I was reading one of those pop thriller/espionage writers. OK. Enough – that is plenty of digital space spent on this novel.