The Russia House: A Novel by John
le Carre
One Of His Best Books
John le Carré has earned worldwide acclaim with extraordinary spy
novels, including The Russia House, an unequivocal classic. Navigating
readers through the shadow worlds of international espionage with critical
knowledge culled from his years in British Intelligence, le Carré tracks the
dark and devastating trail of a document that could profoundly alter the
course of world events. In Moscow, a sheaf of military secrets changes
hands. If it arrives at its destination, and if its import is understood, the
consequences could be cataclysmic. Along the way it has an explosive
impact on the lives of three people: a Soviet physicist burdened with
secrets; a beautiful young Russian woman to whom the papers are
entrusted; and Barley Blair, a bewildered English publisher pressed into
service by British Intelligence to ferret out the documents source. A
magnificent story of love, betrayal, and courage, The Russia House
catches history in the act. For as the Iron Curtain begins to rust and
crumble, Blair is left to sound a battle cry that may fall on deaf ears.
Personal Review: The Russia House: A Novel by John le Carre
The book is very Russian, the best book about Russia by a non-Russian I
have read. This is because it is concerned much with literature, publishing
books and ethical dilemmas so dear to the Russians.
I argue that *The Russia House* is neither the *spy thriller*, nor the *love
triangle* story. Yes, there are elements of both, but these are decoys,
literary devices the skilled literati John Le Carré uses to confuse us while
he is paying his tribute to the memory of the other literati - Boris Pasternak.

The hidden hero of the book is Boris Pasternak. The character Goethe in
the book is an embodiment of this remarkable Russian writer and poet.
The clues are everywhere - Barley Blair meets Goethe at the party in the
soviet writers' village (*Peredelkino*) where Pasternak used to live, they
have a conversation by the Pasternak's grave, which is now a place of
pilgrimage, etcetera.
The Goethe's rebellion is against the *System* (first against the Soviet
regime, but later against the western Capitalist order of things as well),
which is designed *to trample the artist in man*. Goethe refuses to be
bought up by *the West*, which is in a way similar to Pasternak's refusal to
accept the Nobel Prize for literature (for his novel *Doctor Zhivago*). But
like Pasternak, Goethe wanted his manuscript to be smuggled abroad and
published.
The curious fact is that the manuscript of *Doctor Zhivago* was smuggled
from Soviet Union by Pasternak's friend Isaiah Berlin. According to Steven
Dorril's *MI6*, Berlin used to be a British intelligence officer (probably
before becoming a prominent Oxford academic). I highly recommend this
excellent book.
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