Sensitive truth
Sensitive Truth (Original title: A Delicate Truth ) is a novel by John le Carré . It plays against the background of the war on terror and addresses the extensive spying by secret services as well as the involvement of private security companies in the fight against terrorism and the cover-up of " collateral damage ". The hero of the novel is a government employee who becomes a whistleblower for reasons of conscience .
The original edition was published on April 25, 2013, the German translation by Sabine Roth on November 18, 2013 by Ullsteinverlag in Berlin.
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A secret operation by British soldiers and mercenaries from the fictional private American security service "Ethical Outcome" takes place on Gibraltar . Target: "Punter", an arms dealer with ties to Islamist terrorism , is to be arrested and brought to the USA . The organizers of the operation are Jay Crispin, head of Ethical Outcome (a nod to the private security and military company Executive Outcomes ), and Fergus Quinn, the new British Foreign Office Secretary of State . Christopher Probyn, a veteran of the Foreign Office, is the contact person for the British Ministry.
Punter is believed to be in a building on the coast. Due to the unclear situation, Probyn and the British soldiers speak out against storming the building, but finally give in to pressure from Quinn and carry out the operation. The remaining Probyn is then informed that the operation was a success.
Second narrative thread, at the same time: Toby Bell, Quinn's personal advisor, learns of rumors of a hushed up scandal that allegedly happened years ago about Quinn, at that time still in the Ministry of Defense . However, in his attempts to find out more about it, Bell encounters a wall of silence. His friend and mentor, Giles Oakley, also strongly advises him not to look into the matter further.
Having become suspicious, Bell secretly records a meeting between Quinn and Probyn and Jeb, the head of the British mission to Gibraltar (which was still imminent at the time). However, due to the lack of further information, he cannot assign the operation discussed.
Years later: Probyn, now retired, meets Jeb by chance at a fair and learns the truth about the operation: Punter was not caught, instead a Moroccan illegal immigrant and her small child died. Since Jeb did not want to help cover up the case, he was dishonorably discharged from the army.
Deeply shaken, Probyn contacts Bell. You decide to bring the case to the public. However, Probyn is turned away in his attempt to get the authorities to investigate; he is threatened with taking him to court himself. Bell is ambushed and beaten up in his apartment to intimidate him and prevent him from further steps. Shortly afterwards, a package unexpectedly arrives at him. It contains additional information about the incident that his mentor Oakley, apparently troubled by remorse, compiled for Bell.
With the last of his strength, Bell, accompanied by his assistant Emily, drags himself to an internet café , from where he passes his and Oakley's information to the leading international and national media and the press office of the State Department. The book ends with sirens wailing from all directions.
Reviews
The book received mostly positive reviews.
The Süddeutsche Zeitung praises le Carrés "the art [...] of portraying the protagonists of his exciting stories as people with whom the reader is gradually being introduced."
For the Berliner Zeitung the novel is “a masterpiece”. Le Carré had "really hit the perfect time" with his work and left "all current attempts to win new, nostalgic sides from the old spy thriller far behind."
Individual evidence
- ^ Franziska Augstein : Idiot on duty on a delicate mission . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung of December 4, 2013.
- ^ Günther Grosser: As if he had known about Snowden . In: Berliner Zeitung of November 17, 2013