A Most Wanted Man - by John Le Carre (Paperback)

About the Book

Le Carre's fiercely compelling novel begins as a half-starved young Russian man is smuggled into Hamburg in the dead of night. Annabel, an idealistic German civil rights lawyer, determines to save him from deportation. Soon, her client's survival becomes more important than her own career--or safety.

Book Synopsis

Now a major film starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rachel McAdams, Willem Dafoe, and Robin Wright. From John le Carré, this New York Times bestselling spy thriller is his "strongest, most powerful novel" (The New York Times Book Review).A half-starved young Russian man in a long black overcoat is smuggled into Hamburg at dead of night. He has an improbable amount of cash secreted in a purse around his neck. He is a devout Muslim. Or is he? He says his name is Issa. Annabel, an idealistic young German civil rights lawyer, determines to save Issa from deportation. Soon her client's survival becomes more important to her than her own career--or safety. In pursuit of Issa's mysterious past, she confronts the incongruous Tommy Brue, the sixty-year-old scion of Brue Frères, a failing British bank based in Hamburg. Annabel, Issa, and Brue form an unlikely alliance--and a triangle of impossible loves is born. Meanwhile, sensing a sure kill in the War on Terror, the rival spies of Germany, England, and America converge upon the innocents. Thrilling, compassionate, with characters you'll never forget, A Most Wanted Man is a work of deep humanity and uncommon relevance to our times.

Review Quotes

"Le Carré's ... secret agents exist in a world of stalemate, moral compromise, ambiguity and betrayal... Like his books, le Carré is a mix of unblinking realism and hopeful humanism." -- Jill Lawless, Associated Press

About the Author

John le Carré was born in 1931. After attending the universities of Berne and Oxford, he spent five years in the British Foreign Service. The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, his third book, secured him a worldwide reputation. He is the author of twenty-one novels; including Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; A Perfect Spy, and The Constant Gardener. His books have been translated into thirty-six languages. He lives in England.