clock … watching time, the only true currency

Peter noted my introduction to John Le Carré last month, and Santa’s wheels turned. Thank you!

I now have a box of Le Carré awaiting time to turn the pages. One is already completed: The Spy Who Came In From The Cold. Cold indeed. The spy in question, Leamas, is a hard man, an operator. But it’s only as the story unfolds that you realize the truly callous ones are the ones pulling the strings, like Control, who does indeed control events. Where the old school tie and club exterior might lead you to dismiss the bureaucrats, their actions undercut any softness or uncertainty. Who’s the traitor? Who’s the bait?

After all the back and forth whipsaws you around, the conclusion made sense. Coming full circle, you recognize what’s coming a few pages from the end, at the approach to the Berlin Wall, from the East.

When we reach the place you must get out and run to the wall. The searchlight will be shining at the point where you must climb. Stand in the beam of the searchlight. When the beam moves away begin to climb. You will have 90 seconds to get over.

You have to believe that Leamas recognized the cold justice about to be delivered, too, but he had to try all the same.