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Too Much Going On
Feb. 9th, 2026 07:11 pmBook Review: Exit Berlin, by Tim Sebastian
I think this was a present from me to Dad in the early 1990s. At the time, Tim Sebastian was a well-known BBC reporter, expelled from Moscow for "activities incompatible with his status" (denied).
This has some ideas recognisable from The Spy who came in from the Cold, but it's no Le Carré. A spy defects to East Germany as his personal life comes apart; but then, a few years later, there's a realisation that the game is up and the Berlin Wall comes down (not necessarily in that order). So James Martin flees back to the West, variously pursued and protected by those who believe he has interesting information to share.
I liked the askew perspective on this; it makes it a bit different from the standard espionage thriller. But overall, there's just too much going on, too quickly. East Berlin, West Berlin, London, Oxford, Lindisfarne, Washington DC - all without so much as a change of clothes. It's not just that Smiley is retired; Le Carré takes time to put things together, even in such an opaque way.
I think this was a present from me to Dad in the early 1990s. At the time, Tim Sebastian was a well-known BBC reporter, expelled from Moscow for "activities incompatible with his status" (denied).
This has some ideas recognisable from The Spy who came in from the Cold, but it's no Le Carré. A spy defects to East Germany as his personal life comes apart; but then, a few years later, there's a realisation that the game is up and the Berlin Wall comes down (not necessarily in that order). So James Martin flees back to the West, variously pursued and protected by those who believe he has interesting information to share.
I liked the askew perspective on this; it makes it a bit different from the standard espionage thriller. But overall, there's just too much going on, too quickly. East Berlin, West Berlin, London, Oxford, Lindisfarne, Washington DC - all without so much as a change of clothes. It's not just that Smiley is retired; Le Carré takes time to put things together, even in such an opaque way.