Berlin Game: Penguin Modern Classics

I don't always give five stars, but when I do, there are good reasons. The author plays us poor readers like a Stradivarius. And yet, at the end you will not only be satisfied, you know you knew but dare not believe it.Bernard Samson is a quintessentially British product; ambivalent about personal relationships, tight lipped, self-made, bad with money, sensitised to failure, etc. He's good at what he does - very good, in fact too good. Unfortunately he is used and abused by nearly everybody in the story and one way or another they all treat him rather badly. He does not fit in and in most social circles he is the fish out of water, constantly reminded by his colleagues that he never went to Oxbridge. Samson weathers it with a sense of humour and a kind of detachment and caution that keeps his mind on the job and the quest for the traitor in his ranks.This all plays on a different instrument to the likes of Le Carre. For a start it is written from the hero's point of view. apart from one book, and of course is therefore an intimate read. Among other things it is about the conflict of relationships - in this case the relationships with his friends and colleagues in the secret intelligence community. One of the things I enjoyed was the subtlety with which Bernard Samson discloses or does not disclose information to those around him. It gives the reader some reassurance that, whatever happens, he is mostly in command of more knowledge than anyone around him suspects.It is impossible to delve deeper or it would give the game away, but it is one of the most expertly crafted spy stories I have had the pleasure of reading in a long time.Edit.I have now read the whole nine books...twice!If you are coming to this fresh, you are in for a big treat. For me, the characters began talking to me, engaging with me and making me quite emotional - something that rarely happens for me. At the end of the books I wanted to tell Len Deighton what a swine he was. To ask him why he gets Bernard Samson gets a good kicking on a regular basis? Is it because because Len Deighton likes to do this? I also wanted to berate him for what he does to Fiona. It is unforgivable.The books almost qualify for the epithet bildungsroman, and ironically a lot of the narrative is set in Germany. Almost but not quite. The characters stay more or less the same but what is done to them lays who and what they are to the bone.In essence, if you are expecting a good spy story you will get a good spy story. But this set, taken as a whole, is a novel by any other name, with all the complexity that comes with literature. Nothing is what it seems. Don't trust Bernard Samson (he never knows the whole truth), don't trust Fiona or Brett or Silas and in particular don't trust that bloke Deighton who claims to have invented them.It's that good.

Leisure

Has this novel been translated? It seems to have quite a few americanisms: dinner suit for DJ, School vacation for holiday, resin on the billiard cues, not chalk. etc. It's a shame.

Read the series before in paperback, but not for a while so thought I would take advantage of the 99p offer. I don't think the Samson series is as good as the early novels (or indeed books like 'Bomber') but this was a great deal at 99p.I think the first three books in the series are the strongest, but some of the elements really grate. I always struggled with Deighton naming the much younger love interest of Samson 'Hilda'!

Having been an ardent fan of John Le Carre, Frederick Forsyth et al all my life I will never forget the moment that I finished this book and discovered that it was part of a series of 9 books following the same characters throughout the cold war. That moment meant that there were 8 more books to read, several holidays worth....Once you are off on book 1 you cannot stop until you have devoured all 9, which will keep you turning pages for some time. It is always great to discover a new author and hence a new back catalogue of books that you will probably like. With this one if you enjoy the first book (and most fans of the genre will) then you have hours more entertainment to enjoy all not just from the same author but the same plot and characters. The 9 books are divided into 3 trilogies: Game, Set & Match. Hook, Line & Sinker. Faith, Hope & Charity. Each is complete as an individual book and each trilogy is complete as a trilogy. It is worth mentioning that although I love this series of books I am not so much of a fan of Len Deighton's other work - so for example if Harry Palmer turns you off then this is still worth a try.The main character, Bernard, through who's eyes you see the plot unfold, has certain traits in common with Harry Palmer: he's not favoured by the establishment and is something of the underdog in the office, albeit the real hero underneath. I won't spoil the plot for you, but essentially the books rove between London & Berlin, and a few other places in between, with the basic theme being trying to work out who is 'true' and who is a mole (warning: look at the sleeve of any of books 2-9 and it will tell you the outcome of book 1).Enjoy...

Could Len Deighton have written this novel if Le Carré's George Smiley had never existed? Possibly not, but then this thriller is none the worse for mining both these great author's back catalogues. Bernard Samson, Deighton's hero has more in common with Le Carré's circus of spooks than Harry Palmer, but just like Palmer is sometimes his own worst enemy. The plot is suitably labyrinthine and enjoyable. There are two potential plot twists competing with each other and although both can be guessed at, you are left uncertain until the closing chapters which will prove to be the real thing.

5 stars for the book itself, but these re-issued editions look dreadful, so I’ll deduct a star for whoever in the Penguin marketing department put these new designs together.

Great book