I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed by Our Kind of Traitor. With my excitement over all things Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy at it's height, I will admit that it was my foolish assumption that all things John le Carre were gold. But whilst Tinker Tailor (the book) is one of the finest thrillers I've ever read, it seems obvious now that any other le Carre novel I'd try so soon after would be weak in comparison. So lets just get it out of the way: Tinker Tailor is excellent. Our Kind of Traitor isn't.That's not to do the novel an injustice. For all intents and purposes it's perfectly fine, with the same level of intrigue and meticulous plotting that le Carre is now famous for. The problem is, it's just not that interesting. Concerning a couple being roped into aiding a defector (a Russian banker to the worlds most prominent criminals), the set-up is terrific. As key plot points are told in flashback via interrogation of said couple, the pieces of the puzzle are drip-fed to the reader before revealing the devastating implications of the plot in full force. This interrogation takes up the first half of the book and for this long at least, I was enthralled.
However, once the mission is executed, the book loses its edge. Oddly, this seems to be le Carre's stumbling block, as even a book as great as Tinker Tailor faltered during it's climax (literally the only part of the book where there is anything that could be construed as action). The story just coasts and after a set up as great as this novel has, it comes as a crushing disappointment. I guess I just found the execution lacked that great intrigue and cleverness that Tinker Tailor boasted, where every action of espionage was calculated and methodical. Here it's more chaotic and when the chase climax arrives it becomes apparent that le Carre really is out of his comfort zone.
In the end it falls to both his strengths and his weaknesses. When it works, it's excellent. When it doesn't it falls deathly flat.
3/5
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