Weekend Book of Ghosts and Horrors: No. 2

'Absolute friends is classic le Carre and that means fiction of a very high order.' Roy Hattersley, Independent on Sunday

The master has not lost his touch . . . one of his most enthralling creations. ( A.N. Wilson, Telegraph)

No reader, whatever his politics, could fail to be moved by the passion and intelligence of le Carre's latest. ( Publishers Weekly)

'The master has not lost his touch . . . one of his most enthralling creations' A.N. Wilson, Telegraph

'This is ultimately a powerful, passionate and finely-crafted novel, rich in rage and indignation. At 72, the man affords himself the anger of youth at last. It is a timely and perhaps even prescient novel which reflects the concerns of a great many people who remain unconvinced about the war in Iraq' Herald

Angry, pessimistic and deeply romantic ( Joan Smith, Independent)

'Le Carre's theatrical characters and dialogue make this a masterful novel, thematically serious but written with wit, control and breathless pace.' Waterstones Quarterly

Absolute Friends is classic le Carré and that means fiction of a very high order ( Roy Hattersley, Independent on Sunday)

'Truly thrilling' - Financial Times

We need only to read the first page of Absolute Friends to know that once again we are in the accomplished hands of a master storyteller ( P.D. James, Mail on Sunday)

Few could fail to be thrilled by the unbridled rage that fuels his storytelling. If he was seething when he wrote The Constant Gardener, he is now incandescent . . . le Carré brings the thriller face to face with contemporary politics and, in the process has once again demonstrated his mastery of his chosen genre ( Robert McCrum, Observer)

'Absolute Friends is vintage John le Carre: complex, often sardonically funny, always galvanically written. In fact, his best book in years.' - Daily Express

'Le Carre is one of those rare and frequently undervalued novelists who combine a major literary talent with the ability to provide a narrative of compelling power. We need only to read the first page of his new novel, ABSOLUTE FRIENDS, to know that once again we are in the accomplished hands of a master storyteller.' P D James, Mail on Sunday

A literary master for a generation ( Observer)

Thoroughly gripping ( Sunday Times)

'Le Carre's indignation not only gives ABSOLUTE FRIENDS a hard contemporary edge but it also seems to have reinvigorated him. At 72, he is writing with a passion and urgency that were missing from some of the books that followed the collapse of communism. Le Carre's writing is masterful. He has no peers when it comes to evoking the shadowy menace of power and his skill at driving the plot of a thriller forward by the development of character is matchless. But loud and clear through the elegantly savage writing, le Carre's voice is to be heard expressing his moral outrage at the world around him. ABSOLUTE FRIENDS is one of his very best books.' Andrew Vine, Yorkshire Post

'John le Carre has been redefining the conventions of the spy thriller, detective novel and adventure story for 50 years. His stature is now such that he is widely considered to be one of our greatest living novelists. His themes are big: loyalty, betrayal and the impossibility of fully knowing another human being. The fiction he crafts around these themes foregrounds character over plot without allowing the tension to slip.
Throughout his career Le Carre has sought to maintain a low profile: as a narrator, he is as self-effacing as his enigmatic protagonists. In Absolute Friends he comes in from the cold.' Financial Times

This is vintage John le Carre ( The Times)

'Thoroughly gripping' - Sunday Times

Le Carré poses deep spiritual questions about the damage [the human] race has done, and continues to do, both to the planet and to itself. He does so in a page-turner which reminds us that the master storyteller of the Smiley books has lost none of his cunning ( A.N. Wilson, Daily Mail, on THE CONSTANT GARDENER)

'With ABSOLUTE FRIENDS Le Carre is back on form. It is his best book for years, probably since A PERFECT SPY. He has founda worthy enemy, a target for his moral indignation. Moreover he has hit a contemporary tune again. This is an anti-war novel and, very fiercely, an anti-American one. It's written with passion.' Allan Massie, Scotsman

'Absolute Friends is more than just another consummate exercise from a literary master. As a comment on our brave new world, it is a mesmerising roar of outrage.' - Irish Times

'Le Carre is the Pringles of literature: once you've started one of his novels, you'll invariably chomp straight through. The comparison is monstrously unfair of course; le Carre's meticulousness, his mastery of character, his subtlety, his much-mentioned compassion - his trade-craft, you might call it - make him a much more nourishing snack.' Time Out