I’m a spy novel buff. Silverview, an intricate spy novel told as only a former MI5 and MI6 agent like John le Carré could tell it, doesn’t disappoint. The reader must decipher myriad clues during parallel plots replete with spies and aliases. We meet innocent and somewhat gullible Julian Lawndsley, erstwhile London businessman turned owner of a small village bookstore. We also meet unassuming Polish émigré Edward Avon, AKA Florian, AKA Faustus, not so unassuming after all. And then there’s Stewart Proctor, protagonist of the parallel plot whom we eventually discover is investigating Edward for espionage. Deborah Avon, Edward’s wife, is MI6’s “Star Middle Eastern analyst” targeting Muslims from her secure, bomb-proof bedroom, off-limits to her husband. Edward Avon, formerly a Communist, is also a former MI6 agent called back to service briefly in Bosnia during the Yugoslav breakup.
Deborah becomes aware that her husband hacked her computer and informs Proctor of the leak. As Proctor pursues Edward, Edward’s daughter Lily inches into Julian’s life and eventually becomes his lover. After Deborah’s death from cancer, Edward escapes Proctor and certain arrest with help from Salma, widow of a family of Jordanians, whose husband and son had been killed by the Serb militia while Edward was in Bosnia. We learn that Salma has been his secret true love and clandestine correspondent since he rescued her from the Serbs. Following Edward’s escape from Proctor, Lily tells Julian, and presumably the reader, “[Proctor] won’t find him…He’s gone to find his Salma. And that’s the last secret I’ll keep from you.”
Sometimes abstruse, the novel might not be for those who want a quick read; however, those who like to dig deep and decipher random clues will find a close read or reread rewarding. As a spy novel author myself and the author of Bomb Cyclone, I can well appreciate the intricacies of le Carré’s works.