A DELICATE TRUTH

John le Carré has always been an author who provides a brilliant listening experience when he reads his own work. We hear him here at 81, subjecting himself to the rigors of an unabridged reading of his newest novel. He's very much up to the task, and delivers the many nuances of A DELICATE TRUTH, which explores the moral challenges and questionable compromises of "the global war on terror." Like all of le Carré's work—supposedly fictional—it reads with prickling reality. This "truth" takes on the international intelligence world of defense contractors, arms dealers, government cover-ups, and the treachery of espionage. Two time lines and a hefty weight of bread-crumb clues demand careful listening. Despite le Carré's aged voice, the subtlety of his accents and his signature attention to details through pacing make this excellent listening. The author's passion and anger about the subject are unleashed in the text, yet finely controlled in his performance. R.F.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2013]