Funeral in Berlin - 1964. In Berlin, where neither side of the wall is safe, Colonel Stok of Red Army Security is prepared to sell an important Russian scientist to the West – for a price. The Ipcress File (Special Edition) [Blu-ray], The Alex Kovacs Series: Books 1-3: The Alex Kovacs Box Set Book 1, Vienna at Nightfall (Alex Kovacs thriller series Book 1), Paris in Disguise (Alex Kovacs thriller series Book 5), The Spies of Zurich (Alex Kovacs thriller series Book 2), Stasi Vice: An East German crime novel (Reim Book 1), The Torch Betrayal: A Classic World War II Spy Thriller (A Conor Thorn Novel). In the movie the plot is based on smuggling a Russian officer to the west. Gritty and surprisingly realistic for a spy story. With 'Funeral in Berlin', Deighton achieves mastery of his art. ?, which hasn’t been their to such an extent in previous books. This book is a cool, classy spy thriller, which paints a vivid picture of early '60s Europe, in particular Berlin. Perhaps time has dulled some of the excitement associated when this book first appeared in 1962, but it still holds up reasonably well. Colonel Stok is a hoot. It is, in truth, pretty complex and only on the second or third reading - as with all of this series - does everything start to fit together. Some events strain credulity at times, but overall a fun read from someone who would later be known as one of the masters of his trade. Len Deighton’s third novel has become a classic, as compelling and suspenseful now as when it first exploded on to the bestseller lists. '"It's official then?" To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Funeral in Berlin is a spy novel set in the '60s. Please try again. Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2012. To put it bluntly, I found this novel ponderous, terribly paced and worst of all, without a fragment of insight into either, a) the "secret" world of espionage, and/or, human nature. As usual when I travel I read history and fiction about the places I'll be seeing. In the movie the plot is based on smuggling a Russian officer to the west. With 'Funeral in Berlin', Deighton achieves mastery of his art. “Here in Prague they say that although the traffic police are communists the drivers are fascists, which would be all right if it were not that the pedestrians are anarchists.”, “Communist," he repeated. retains the classic spy thriller sense of underlying distrust and betrayal. The basic premise is that the main character, Harry Salzman, a British operative, is in Berlin trying to arrange for the smuggling of a British scientist from the East through the Berlin wall back to the West. Well written, with rich and often amusing descriptions, great eye for detail.Cold War era spy classic which stands up well 50 years on. Jewish children on a death train. All the details of Post-war deprivation in Britain and the ponderous old boy network of the Civil services. Please try your request again later. The reader is forced in every chapter to ask: who is playing off who against whom? Thus it is no surprise to see so much of the plot take place in seedy run-down garages, hotels, rented rooms, and the like. I will now read the next in the series. There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Please try again. Particularly enjoyable is the relationship between the lead character (Harry Palmer in the movies) and the Soviet Army officer Colonel Stok. Bookmate does not permit copyright infringing activities and infringement of intellectual property rights on the service, and will immediately remove the content upon receipt of a compliant notification of claimed infringement. I tried to find information on why the movie plot was alter so much but came up empty. It is from these questions that a story, which could only be described as labyrinthine, develops and draws in the reader. Funeral in Berlin is the second in the "Harry Palmer" trilogy and is perhaps the best as it's more believable than The Ipcress File or Billion Dollar Brain. But a communist, no. American soldiers. After those titles, Deighton became something of a spy-story sausage machine. The writing is sharp and witty and Deighton's style is quite unique. There's a problem loading this menu right now. Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Fascinating writing, bringing back wonderful descriptions of Britain dragging itself from austerity into the Swinging Sixties, and Berlin in the depths of Cold War division, but I wonder how this book would translate to a younger reader? That is, the professional is the one who gives the impression that he is non-professional, even out of his league. As ever with Len Deighton, this rattles along at a good old pace, but rush it at your peril. This is brokered by Johnny Vulkan, a shady character who takes treats with all sides of Berlin’s intelligence community. © 1996-2020, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. I had seen the Harry Palmer movies starring Michael Caine (Funeral in Berlin and The Ipcress File) way back when and loved them. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 August 2020. To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number. And struggling to get their expense accounts approved by their bosses. The multiple narrative wasn’t as effective as the straight first person of TIF, and occasionally flat-out failed. Be uplifted. Deighton's book, well written as usual, takes place more in London than Berlin, with brief sections in the coast of Spain next to the French border, Bordeaux and Prague. I leave for Germany, including five nights in Berlin, day after tomorrow. British intelligence are willing to pay, providing their own top secret agent is in Berlin to act as go-between. Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a service we offer sellers that lets them store their products in Amazon's fulfillment centers, and we directly pack, ship, and provide customer service for these products. - but always enjoyable and not, thankfully, horribly confusing. I love it. This is a constant theme of Deighton's - the uncertainty of loyalty. Welcome back. Russian Colonel Stok seems anxious that the deal goes through and the plan is to use a mock funeral to cross the wall from East to West. In the book the plot is based on smuggling an East German scientist to the west. Why he deems it necessary to mention the model number of the Mercedes grated on my sensibilities - all in all hangs together and worth a rainy afternoon. This is a Cold War spy mystery, that meanders along to its ending but is so well-written, that it was a pleasure to read. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 16, 2017. Deighton is all about the dirty end of the stick - the field guys. Try again. And who will win the game? I quite enjoyed this Len Deighton novel. This is one of the classic Len Deighton stories, in the same league as The Ipcress File, Horse Under Water, Billion Dollar Brain, and An Expensive Place to Die. Born in London, Len Deighton served in the RAF before graduating from the Royal College of Art (which recently elected him a Senior Fellow). Full of twists and turns and double agents. Don't expect glamorous 'James Bond' type spy adventure here. My dad must have bought it way back in the mid sixties, enjoyed it, and now I'm reading it. It's more than a little fun to see how some of the characters in this book evolve into characters in his later masterpieces. Around a mock funeral, the spy main protagonist, his allies and antagonist duck and weave, as they seek to either support or prevent a defection from the Soviets. greatly enjoyed both the movie and book storylines, Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2017. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. Back. Just a heads up for those who intend to read the book based on seeing the movie of the same name: two of the high level plot premises are different.