ABSOLUTE FRIENDS - Part 3

Both G and I found this a totally compelling read, although we're still arguing about the ending.  G thinks it works, I agree with The Guardian's reviewer, who says "The ending of the novel is problematic not because it is unlikely, but because it is both over-determined and gratuitous...There is nothing wrong with the event itself, but it takes place in an insufficiently prepared context."  I have no problem with the political viewpoint, which I think is best briefly stated in this quote: "that (in the world today) warfare is the extension of corporate power by other means," but I did feel entirely unprepared for the ending.  Finally, however, I'm entirely in agreement with Steven Alford in the Houston Chronicle when he says:  "the ultimate take in this novel is not the fate of the world but the fate of a friendship.  In le Carré's world, the worst that can happen is not death but betrayal...Absolute Friends is le Carré's best work in years and suggests that he's finally solved the puzzle of how to integrate the world he knew so well into one in which the enemy is not political ideology but economic globalization." 

Here, at the BookReporter, is the closest thing to an objective review I found, plus an excerpt from the book.  The selection is from the opening chapter and you may need to have quick access to your bookstore or library.  It will suck you right in and make you want more.