John le Carré is alive and punching. Now that the Cold War is long gone and all but forgotten, Le Carré points his pen at modern day terrorism and the methods modern democracy uses to deal with it.  The book attacks  stereotyping, complicated relationships and the backbones of democracy in the sophisticated manner so atypical of the creator of Smiley. The hero is a little man who has inherited a Hamburg situated British private bank from his father. Tommy Brue is approaching the age of retirement. He has an estranged pregnant daughter in America, an ex-wife, a wife who is happy with his money but not his bedroom and an assistant who worked with his father. Enter Issa, a fugitive half Chechenian Muslim of problematic descent, and Annabel, the  young German Lawyer representing him, and Brue’s whole life takes on new meaning. Have the secret services have their eyes on Issa. Is he the master terrorist they portray him as, or is he really the victim? By the time you finish the book it will be up to the reader to cast final judgment. In the post September 11 world where do we put the line between safety and honesty? How far are we allowed to go in the crusade for world security and who must pay the price.
Like its title, A Most Wanted Man can be interpreted in many ways. As in other le Carre novels, loyalty and betrayal are major themes here and each character portrayed here, both major and minor, have to deal with these issues. Brue, without knowing it, is surrounded by spies of all shapes and colors. There seem so many of them around that it isn’t hard to acquaint them with the bugs they use to eavesdrop of seemingly innocent citizens all guilty until proved innocent in this new frightening world that Ben Laden has created for us. The Cold War may be gone but the new world may be even more scary. A Most Wanted Man is a novel that isn’t afraid to take on the new war in all its complexity and ugliness. Definately one of  le Carrés best novels. 

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