Barley Blair is not a Service man: he is a small-time publisher, a
self-destructive soul whose only loves are whisky and jazz. But it was Barley
who, one drunken night at a dacha in Peredelkino during the Moscow Book Fair,
was befriended by a high-ranking Soviet scientist who could be the greatest
asset to the West since perestroika began, and made a promise. Nearly a year
later, his drunken promise returns to haunt him. A reluctant Barley is quickly
trained by British Intelligence and sent to Moscow to liaise with a go-between,
the beautiful Katya. Both are lonely and disillusioned. Each is increasingly
certain that if the human race is to have any future, all must betray their
countries …In his first post-glasnost spy novel, le Carr� captures the effect
of a slow and uncertain thaw on ordinary people and on the shadowy
puppet-masters who command them.Contains a foreword and afterword by the author.
Scores on the doors:
Jane not read
Pauline C 7
Elaine E 6
Rebecca H not read
Janet J 6
Janine J not read
Sally M 7
Cai M 5
Christine P 8
Trude S. 7
June T 8
