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Available
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Publication
pp. x. 306. Heinemann: London, 1968.
Description
The British Embassy in Bonn is up in arms. Her Majesty's financially troubled government is seeking admission to Europe's Common Market just as anti-British factions are rising to power in Germany. Rioters are demanding reunification, and the last thing the Crown can afford is a scandal. Then Leo Harting - an embassy nobody - goes missing with a case full of confidential files. London sends Alan Turner to control the damage, but he soon realises that neither side really wants Leo found - alive.
Media reviews
Lecturalia
Alan Turner, agente de los servicios secretos británicos, es encargado de buscar a Leo Harting, funcionario de la embajada británica en Bonn, quien se ha llevado consigo una serie de documentos comprometedores.
La personalidad de Harting se va recomponiendo paulatinamente a través de los
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recuerdos contradictorios de sus colegas de la embajada. Show Less
The final explanation is unexpected -- but, when it comes, is immediately convincing. "A Small Town in Germany" is an exciting, compulsively readable and brilliantly plotted novel. Le Carré has shown once more that he can write this kind of book better than anyone else around -- and he has done so
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without repeating himself. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member reading_fox
Slow. Even by Le Carre's standards. It's a standalone thriller disconnected from his Smiley series, revolving around the UK diplomatic community in Bonn at the time of the Brussels treaty and the foundation of the Common Market.
Leo Hartfield has gone missing from the Embassy in Bonn a 'temporary'
Very very slow dialog drivin plotting describes Turner's various meetings with the key characters in the embassy - all of whom dislike him on sight and are reluctant to share any infromation with him. In addition There is a political crisis going on as Germany may be pulling out of the Common Market and establishing a trade Axis with Russia instead.
The ending is extremely sudden. An average exploration of the political scene in 60s germany, it is not one of Le Carre's best works, though it all comes together quite nicely in the end.
Leo Hartfield has gone missing from the Embassy in Bonn a 'temporary'
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he had been there 20 years and appears to have had access to a lot of files in that time. The rough mannered yorkshireman John Turner is brought in from Intelligence to find out how, why, when and whether the Russians were involved. Oh and if he could recover a certain Green File without reading the contents - with or without Leo.Very very slow dialog drivin plotting describes Turner's various meetings with the key characters in the embassy - all of whom dislike him on sight and are reluctant to share any infromation with him. In addition There is a political crisis going on as Germany may be pulling out of the Common Market and establishing a trade Axis with Russia instead.
The ending is extremely sudden. An average exploration of the political scene in 60s germany, it is not one of Le Carre's best works, though it all comes together quite nicely in the end.
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LibraryThing member maneekuhi
A supposed "classic" written in '70, pre Tinker Tailor. Same old LeCarre bs: US is a Goliath, evil, stupid but massive. Brit embassy in capital city Bonn. Low level embassy guy disappears. Alan Turner comes from London to investigate. Interview, interview, interview.Intigue, duplicity, convoluted
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plots. Good thing I didn't read this before TTSS. Show Less
LibraryThing member Larou
I’m still making my way through John le Carré’s oeuvre in chronological order, and so far it has been a surprisingly interesting and enjoyable journey. My most recent stop, A Small Town in Germany, is no exception to this, and once again it is a much more complex affair than I would have
The novel's title refers to Bonn during the late sixties, and it works quite well on this realistic level. I've only been to Bonn a couple of times myself, and most of this visits took place after the German re-unification when it already had ceased to be the capital of the Federal Republic, but my impression is that le Carré catches the weird, slightly off-kilter atmosphere of that place quite well. It presents some kind of alternative history, however, in so far as instead of the left-wing APO protesting on the streets, le Carré's novel invents a populist movement that merges both left and right wing extremist ideas.
This movement, under its charismatic leader Karfeld, is a cause for worry at the British embassy in Bonn where A Small Town in Germany is for the most part set, as he thrives on stirring up anti-British sentiment. Again, le Carré is wonderful on catching the atmosphere of a community of people under siege as Karfeld's campaigns moves steadily closer towards Bonn during the course of the narrative until things come to a head during a public speech of his.
At first parallel to, and later on interwoven with this is a more traditional spy plot of an investigation into the disappearance of an embassy employee by the novel's thoroughly unlikeable protagonist Alan Turner. He pursues this investigation which nobody seems to care much about with a dogged determinationnot only to find his man but apparently also to be rude and offensive to everyone who he meets along the way. Turner is an outsider among the blasé and class-conscious members of the British Embassy just as much as Leo Hartwig, the man he tries to find, something that is emphasized by Hari Kunzru in his excellent introduction to the Penguin Modern Classics edition; it also does a very good job of placing the novel in a historical context where dissatisfaction at the current state of Western democracy was giving rise to terrorism.
What I personally found most striking about A Small Town in Germany is how pretty much everything in it plays out on at least two distinctive levels. While it is very compelling on a realistic level, depicting the atmosphere of the late sixties in Germany and, as in previous novels by le Carré, the inefficiency and stifling bureaucracy of the British Secret Service, there also is, if one looks just a bit more closely, also an allegorical dimension to it. It is probably most pronounced in the novel's setting, the "Small Town" of its title - ostensibly, the novel takes place in Bonn, but from the way that town is repeatedly described as an island, is always shrouded in fog as well as constantly drenched by rain, it would seem pretty clear that le Carré is also writing about Great Britain here, that Bonn - a place that is far too provincial for being an important seat of power and too small to govern over such an extended area - is not just a realistically described place but also works as an allegory for England. Viewed from this angle, much of the plot takes on a completely new significance, and superimposed on the realistic spy story, there is an allegoric tale about Britain, the way it copes (or doesn't cope) with its past, attempts to deal with the present and what its future might be. And to make things even more intricate, that subject also plays out in the margins of the novel's literal plot where the German and French attititudes towards Britain, and Britain's attempt to join the European Economic Union are a constant theme.
With A Small Town in Germany, le Carré once again managed to surprise me, and while it is not quite as brilliant (nor as bleak) as The Looking-Glass War, it is another excellent novel from an author that I obviously have been underrating for years, and I am glad that I have finally come to appreciate his work.
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expected – like previous works by le Carré, not so much in regard to the plot (which one would expect to be intricate in a spy novel) as to the quiet, perspicacious writing, whose very precision often makes it slide into lyrical territory, and to the finely spun web of imagery and theme that defines the novel much more than the intrigues that constitute its plot.The novel's title refers to Bonn during the late sixties, and it works quite well on this realistic level. I've only been to Bonn a couple of times myself, and most of this visits took place after the German re-unification when it already had ceased to be the capital of the Federal Republic, but my impression is that le Carré catches the weird, slightly off-kilter atmosphere of that place quite well. It presents some kind of alternative history, however, in so far as instead of the left-wing APO protesting on the streets, le Carré's novel invents a populist movement that merges both left and right wing extremist ideas.
This movement, under its charismatic leader Karfeld, is a cause for worry at the British embassy in Bonn where A Small Town in Germany is for the most part set, as he thrives on stirring up anti-British sentiment. Again, le Carré is wonderful on catching the atmosphere of a community of people under siege as Karfeld's campaigns moves steadily closer towards Bonn during the course of the narrative until things come to a head during a public speech of his.
At first parallel to, and later on interwoven with this is a more traditional spy plot of an investigation into the disappearance of an embassy employee by the novel's thoroughly unlikeable protagonist Alan Turner. He pursues this investigation which nobody seems to care much about with a dogged determinationnot only to find his man but apparently also to be rude and offensive to everyone who he meets along the way. Turner is an outsider among the blasé and class-conscious members of the British Embassy just as much as Leo Hartwig, the man he tries to find, something that is emphasized by Hari Kunzru in his excellent introduction to the Penguin Modern Classics edition; it also does a very good job of placing the novel in a historical context where dissatisfaction at the current state of Western democracy was giving rise to terrorism.
What I personally found most striking about A Small Town in Germany is how pretty much everything in it plays out on at least two distinctive levels. While it is very compelling on a realistic level, depicting the atmosphere of the late sixties in Germany and, as in previous novels by le Carré, the inefficiency and stifling bureaucracy of the British Secret Service, there also is, if one looks just a bit more closely, also an allegorical dimension to it. It is probably most pronounced in the novel's setting, the "Small Town" of its title - ostensibly, the novel takes place in Bonn, but from the way that town is repeatedly described as an island, is always shrouded in fog as well as constantly drenched by rain, it would seem pretty clear that le Carré is also writing about Great Britain here, that Bonn - a place that is far too provincial for being an important seat of power and too small to govern over such an extended area - is not just a realistically described place but also works as an allegory for England. Viewed from this angle, much of the plot takes on a completely new significance, and superimposed on the realistic spy story, there is an allegoric tale about Britain, the way it copes (or doesn't cope) with its past, attempts to deal with the present and what its future might be. And to make things even more intricate, that subject also plays out in the margins of the novel's literal plot where the German and French attititudes towards Britain, and Britain's attempt to join the European Economic Union are a constant theme.
With A Small Town in Germany, le Carré once again managed to surprise me, and while it is not quite as brilliant (nor as bleak) as The Looking-Glass War, it is another excellent novel from an author that I obviously have been underrating for years, and I am glad that I have finally come to appreciate his work.
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LibraryThing member gmmartz
Early Le Carre is still great Le Carre. As with most of his work, if you can make it through the long set-up and make sense of the British-ism embedded in the writing, you'll be rewarded with a fine novel.
The 'small town' referenced in the title is Bonn, (West) Germany in the late 60's during the
I read a lot in this genre, and one thing I was struck by while making my way through this book was how different the reaction would be in today's world. There wouldn't be one investigator sent, more likely a team with a bunch of computer and forensics experts. The disappeared person would have been tracked via cell phone, credit card use, surveillance cameras, etc. I'm not sure all the interviews of his bosses and co-workers would have taken place, and any that did probably wouldn't have been as genteelly done. Would've been a different book, but if Le Carre wrote it I'd still read it!
The 'small town' referenced in the title is Bonn, (West) Germany in the late 60's during the
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Cold War. It was a different world then, but maybe not so different since protests against an economic summit, issues related to NATO, and Russian spying are all in the story line. The plot is solid: a German national who's a long-time 'temporary' employee of the British embassy disappears with some important files (paper, of course). An investigator is sent in to determine if the man defected to the East. We're then treated to the characteristic Le Carre style..... lots of dialogue, many characters, interrogations. Not a lot of action per se, but enough to keep the story interesting and readers engaged. The writing is superb, the plot is solid, and when the investigator finally reaches a conclusion, it's likely not what you expected. I read a lot in this genre, and one thing I was struck by while making my way through this book was how different the reaction would be in today's world. There wouldn't be one investigator sent, more likely a team with a bunch of computer and forensics experts. The disappeared person would have been tracked via cell phone, credit card use, surveillance cameras, etc. I'm not sure all the interviews of his bosses and co-workers would have taken place, and any that did probably wouldn't have been as genteelly done. Would've been a different book, but if Le Carre wrote it I'd still read it!
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LibraryThing member SarathCP
The writing was too dense and abstract to my tastes. Maybe his writing style will take some time to get used to, since this is my first book by John Le Carre. I am used to the more to-the-point and very technical writing style of Fredrick Forsyth when it comes to political thrillers. This one has
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most of the characters speaking in lot of philosophy, which proved very distracting for me. That said, the plot although not very elaborate is an interesting one and gives some interesting insight into post-WW2 Germany. Show Less
LibraryThing member wordsampersand
Not one of le Carre's classics, really, but still fantastic. A Cold War ghost story, in a way, follows an incredibly unlikable protagonist as he searches for a diplomat who may have turned traitor. le Carre is, as always, a master when it comes to dialogue
LibraryThing member TheTwoDs
A low-level German-born staffer in the British embassy in 1960s Bonn disappears along with several dozen files which may prove crucial to the UK's gaining admittance to the European Common Market. Set during the student riots in West Germany, when politicians flirted with both East and West, there
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are elements in this novel which still ring true today. Inept diplomats and their even more stultifying staff each scramble to protect their own turf, damn the consequences for the country they are supposed to be serving, even including illicit affairs. The world weary players trudge through their monotonous lives with the sole hope of retiring comfortably on a government pension. Meanwhile, revolution is in the air, stirred up by a larger than life German who may not be all he seems. Did the staffer defect to Russia or East Germany? Did he take the files with him? What was in the files? Does it all matter or can it be swept under the rug? And, the issue most concerning the embassy, can we keep the Germans from finding out about the disappearance so they don't realize just how blazingly incompetent we are? Le Carre's unromantic cycnicsm, developed in his previous novels, is on full display here. Show Less
LibraryThing member Netherto
Interesting look inside the British diplomatic community in Germany in the post-British-Empire world. It's clear that le Carre really really hated it!
LibraryThing member br77rino
An odd spy tale in Bonn, Germany, that revolves around a character who is spoken of but never revealed.
Most of the action takes place in the British embassy in Bonn.
Most of the action takes place in the British embassy in Bonn.
LibraryThing member librisissimo
Substance: Suspense in post-WW2 Bonn, digging up old secrets, artful misdirection. Anything more would spoil things for the next reader.
Style: A bit terse for my taste.
Style: A bit terse for my taste.
LibraryThing member BooksForDinner
Well, I'm a big le Carre' fan, but this was a little much for me. Well written of course, but it was the never ending Q and A. I'm exhausted now, and I wasn't the one being interrogated.
LibraryThing member VersionPerson
This was okay. Quite a lot of characters to keep track of, and think it might benefit from a second reading.
LibraryThing member HenriMoreaux
I've read some le Carré in the past and they've been pretty decent, this is one of his earlier books and I have to say it's clear that it is, he hasn't quite polished his writing style yet and the plot is rather stiff and jerkily unfolded. Don't get me wrong, there is a good story within the
The story is set in West Germany within the backdrop of Britain attempting to join the European Economic Community (what will become the European Union) and a member of the United Kingdom's German embassy disappears with sensitive files causing concern that the membership process in Brussels will be derailed. Among this there is a rising pro-Russian politician who seems to hate the British and a spycatcher, Alan Turner is brought in from England to find the missing staff member.
It fills in time but it's pretty dry, if you have the choice between this and something else, I'd choose something else unless you're a die hard John le Carré fan and wish to see the evolution of his writing.
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pages, but the way he manages to convey the story is, well, rather dull. There's moments were it seems like things are about to get interesting but it just never quite gets there.The story is set in West Germany within the backdrop of Britain attempting to join the European Economic Community (what will become the European Union) and a member of the United Kingdom's German embassy disappears with sensitive files causing concern that the membership process in Brussels will be derailed. Among this there is a rising pro-Russian politician who seems to hate the British and a spycatcher, Alan Turner is brought in from England to find the missing staff member.
It fills in time but it's pretty dry, if you have the choice between this and something else, I'd choose something else unless you're a die hard John le Carré fan and wish to see the evolution of his writing.
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LibraryThing member MHStevens
Who (what?) is a spy, and who (what?) isn't?
That is the question delightfully answered by the late master of the genre. Or is it? That's the trick with this book, you never really know. That result will not be satisfying to some, and I must admit that it left me feeling vaguely unfulfilled. But Le
The only problem here is, what IS the truth? And that is never really clear.
Not a typical spy novel at all, A Small Town In Germany delves into the intrigue of the spycatcher rather than the spy. A minor functionary in Britain's embassy in Bonn has gone missing, as have several secret files, all at a time critical to Britain's desire to enter the European Common Market. The rise of a German political demagogue (who may or may not be a Soviet mole attempting to move West Germany toward the Soviet sphere) plays a key role in the MI5 spycatcher's efforts to ascertain whether, in fact, the missing man was indeed a spy, or just someone who has gone AWOL for personal reasons.
The intricacies of the operation of an embassy are bared for all to see, and it isn't pretty. Who is sleeping with whose wife? Who is gay, and a potential security risk? Have all the necessary security protocols been enacted, and have they been followed? This may sound boring, but to this son of a former British spy in Germany (long dead now, sadly) it is intrigue of the highest delight.
Le Carre was surely a master. His writing style is old-worldly, driven by description, and complex. But putting oneself in the mindset of late 60's Germany, with all of its political upheavals, drives you to read this right to the bitter end. In a way, Le Carre puts you into Smiley's shoes. I enjoyed it, even if the ending wasn't really an ending in the traditional sense. Try it and see for yourself.
That is the question delightfully answered by the late master of the genre. Or is it? That's the trick with this book, you never really know. That result will not be satisfying to some, and I must admit that it left me feeling vaguely unfulfilled. But Le
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Carre makes this little book just intriguing enough that you will want to finish it, to learn the truth.The only problem here is, what IS the truth? And that is never really clear.
Not a typical spy novel at all, A Small Town In Germany delves into the intrigue of the spycatcher rather than the spy. A minor functionary in Britain's embassy in Bonn has gone missing, as have several secret files, all at a time critical to Britain's desire to enter the European Common Market. The rise of a German political demagogue (who may or may not be a Soviet mole attempting to move West Germany toward the Soviet sphere) plays a key role in the MI5 spycatcher's efforts to ascertain whether, in fact, the missing man was indeed a spy, or just someone who has gone AWOL for personal reasons.
The intricacies of the operation of an embassy are bared for all to see, and it isn't pretty. Who is sleeping with whose wife? Who is gay, and a potential security risk? Have all the necessary security protocols been enacted, and have they been followed? This may sound boring, but to this son of a former British spy in Germany (long dead now, sadly) it is intrigue of the highest delight.
Le Carre was surely a master. His writing style is old-worldly, driven by description, and complex. But putting oneself in the mindset of late 60's Germany, with all of its political upheavals, drives you to read this right to the bitter end. In a way, Le Carre puts you into Smiley's shoes. I enjoyed it, even if the ending wasn't really an ending in the traditional sense. Try it and see for yourself.
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LibraryThing member ehines
Many, many Lecarre novels are a bit of a slog for me at the start, but if I persist, inevitably, it seems, I am rewarded. Here's another. He's better at genre writing than pretty much anyone.
LibraryThing member thisisstephenbetts
Going back and swooping up the le Carrés that I've chronologically missed. This one (with The Naïve And Sentimental Lover) falls between The Looking Glass War and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Set in the contrived, and now barely memorable, West German capital of Bonn, the plot explores the post
One of the UK's low-ranking diplomats in Bonn has gone missing, and a hard-bitten spy, Alan Turner, is sent from London to investigate. The permanent staff in Bonn seem to be more keen to avoid a scandal than discover what happened, infuriating Turner, and allowing le Carré to excavate some of the class divisions that run through so many of his books.
This feels to me something of a stepping stone toward Tinker Tailor - the plot - and its structure - is becoming more complicated than in the earlier books, and the characters more morally nuanced. Additionally there's a significant amount of internal monologue which I don't remember seeing in other le Carrés. For me, while not unsuccessful, it did detract a little from the cleanliness, the suave efficiency of le Carré's prose.
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World War II landscape of Western Europe. It barely touches on the USSR and its Eastern European allies, but is much more interested in what should be more friendly relations - both in allied countries, and also between departments of the same country. One of the UK's low-ranking diplomats in Bonn has gone missing, and a hard-bitten spy, Alan Turner, is sent from London to investigate. The permanent staff in Bonn seem to be more keen to avoid a scandal than discover what happened, infuriating Turner, and allowing le Carré to excavate some of the class divisions that run through so many of his books.
This feels to me something of a stepping stone toward Tinker Tailor - the plot - and its structure - is becoming more complicated than in the earlier books, and the characters more morally nuanced. Additionally there's a significant amount of internal monologue which I don't remember seeing in other le Carrés. For me, while not unsuccessful, it did detract a little from the cleanliness, the suave efficiency of le Carré's prose.
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Subjects
Original publication date
1968