I know you should never judge a book by the cover, but getting something that has "Now a major film starring Leonardo Di Caprio" on the front never strikes me as a good start. Especially after seeing the trailer and not being terribly impressed. Nevertheless, someone must have thought enough of the book to buy the film rights, so I suppose it can't be all bad.Terrorists are busily exploding bombs in major European cities. The CIA has an idea that the mastermind behind the terrorist cell doing this is a man called Suleiman, but they have no idea of how to reach him. The one man that Roger Ferris has managed to make contact with is swiftly killed and no longer of use. Hani Pasha of the Jordanian Secret Service seems to have better contacts and Ferris gets to see him take control of a terrorist by psychological means.No matter what they try, the bombings continue and they can't seem to get anywhere near this mysterious Suleiman. Then Ferris comes up with an idea to make Suleiman think they have penetrated his network, despite their lack of success in actually doing so. It's a brilliant plan if it works, but it's a high-risk strategy and one that could place many people in danger if it fails to work the way Ferris hopes.The story itself is an intricate one and it's easy to see how Hollywood would have their eye on it. The story delves into the world of CIA espionage and because it's based on something that has been in the news a lot in recent years, he makes things seem real. Whilst the events may be fictional, there is enough truth in the basic idea to make it seem very real. At the same time, very few of us will truly know what exactly is involved in covert operations overseas, so it is difficult to feel otherwise, as what truth there may be here will remain unknown to most of us.Ignatius mixes the intrigue with a little about Ferris' personal life, in order to flesh out his character and give him a more sympathetic air. Whilst many of the characters seem cold and calculating, Ferris is allowed to feel, which makes him a slightly more likable character. This also adds to the feeling of reality, as whilst I will never be a CIA agent, I could at least relate to some of the emotional and relationship issues that Ferris had to deal with. For some reason, though, he still seemed quite two dimensional to me and maybe it was because of all the characters, only Ferris had a life story and the others were bland in comparison, which may have prevented me from getting as fully involved with Ferris as I suspect Ignatius might have liked.Unfortunately, this very aspect of the story did give things a rather uneven pace. The plans Ferris were putting into place were quite complicated and devious, but the plan itself wasn't necessarily enough to fill an entire novel. The parts of the novel that fleshed out Ferris' personality were useful to ensure we knew who was the good guy here, but they seemed to slow things down and some parts, noticeably the sub-plot where Ferris' soon-to-be ex-wife was causing trouble, did seem a little like padding.By contrast, when things really started moving, especially when Ferris' plan was in the final stages of preparation and when it was put into place, this was a superb thriller novel. The basic idea behind the plot was very solid and the detail that went into the planning was incredible. Ignatius certainly has a great eye for detail and it would probably take a real CIA agent to spot anything he hadn't thought of and included. During these parts of the book, it was a great read, twisting and turning like a country road and keeping the reader as well as the characters off balance pretty much the whole time. Just when I thought I was getting a handle on what was going on at times, I turned a page to discover I was wrong and the story went off in an unexpected direction.Ultimately, this unevenness of pacing and focus left me feeling slightly dissatisfied. Whilst I greatly enjoyed the thriller nature of the book, the romantic sub plots seemed a little out of place and were less enjoyable. I accept that their inclusion adds to the realism of the novel, but they just seems a little dull and slow in comparison to the action and intrigue that was available elsewhere; often just a turn of a page away. This is an enjoyable enough way to while away a few hours, but it's not the kind of book that I can wholeheartedly recommend, as for all the plot twists, it doesn't really take us anywhere new and now I've read it once, there's nothing captivating enough here to make me want to do so again.This review may also appear, in whole or in part, under my name at any or all of www.ciao.co.uk, www.thebookbag.co.uk, www.goodreads.com, www.amazon.co.uk and www.dooyoo.co.uk
he other week, as I was flying home from Chicago, I needed somethingto read, so I bought a copy of "Body of Lies," which is apolitical/espionage thriller set mostly in Jordan, written by DavidIgnatius. He's one of the better Washington Post columnists, and nota bad novelist.I liked the book. David Ignatius has a good eye for character, and I think he captures something of the intelligence mindset. It has some cute ideas in it.One of the heroes of the novel is a senior Jordanian intelligence official, "Hani Salaam", who is working with the CIA to catch Suleiman, the shadowy terror leader. Ignatius makes him give the predictably politically correct monologue about how he doesn't usetorture, because it doesn't work. But then Ignatius does something interesting. He shows us an interrogation session conducted by this official. Hani brings in the suspect, shows him photos of his family and says "we know exactly who you are and where they live." And then they stuff the suspect in a dank cell, and play recordings of screams from the other cells. Oh, and they keep him up all night too.So Hani might not torture suspects, but he relies on their awareness that he easily could -- and that's only credible if it's sometimes carried out. I'm happy to stipulate that "torture doesn't work" -- but how well does interrogation work without the suspect believingthat there are really high penalties for non-cooperation? I know that in World War II, we would do things like say "cooperate, or we turn you over to the soviets" -- who reliably did awful things to their prisoners.
What do You think about Body Of Lies (2008)?
The movie was pretty good - one of the best spy films I've seen lately. The book was better in some ways and worse in others for me. Ignatius definitely knows his stuff, and you have no trouble visualizing the places he's talking about - he clearly knows them well. Likewise, he seems to have a decent hold on the modern business of espionag e. All that stuff is good, but the love story in the book is just not compelling for me - the girl, Alice, is a little too plainly allegorical for the "just-show-the-Arab-world-we-care-and-they-will-love-us-back" point of view, and so the whole story of their relationship and the dissolution of the main character's marriage to a "true believer in the War on Terror" becomes political commentary to beat the reader over the head with. The spy stuff is good, though.
—Dave
Though I picked this up because the movie was fascinating, I love the ending of the book much better, yet I can understand why Hollywood might have changed it to be less threatening to the larger viewing public. It's too bad, because, while the movie works, the book's conclusion fits so much better on many more levels. I loved how Roger Ferris was portrayed in the beginning of the film, looking and acting more Islamic than in the book, which ironically would've work far better in the latter. Although, I suppose that was the stretch the author was trying to convey. Additionally, I prefer the love interest more in the movie. However, in the book Alice sets up another perspective dispelling the "Ugly American" syndrome that is perhaps one of the themes of Ignatius's novel. Many images in the movie which were probably explained before they ended up on the "cutting room" floor, were made crystal in print. I prefer Ludlum and Clancey, though, Ignatius is on the right track with original intrigues. I do love the three sides of INTELLIGENCE that are portrayed in this novel, and may pick up another of his books before too long.
—Lanier
Well-paced, but as with almost all such stories, it suffers from being a bit juvenile in its characterizations (over-simplifying people and their motives) and a bit formulaic in its construction. However, based on the reporter's background, it is definitely well-researched and quite a plausible plot. The technical (writing and spycraft) aspects of the novel are its strongest cards, much like the better Tom Clancy books (pre-Op Center drivel). I had already seen the film before picking up the book, so I know how it goes (though the film version is not quite on the same level as Spy Game), it's obviously treading very similar territory with a not-too-dissimilar level of competency/agility in the story-telling. It's worth picking up - there are minor plot holes, as with all such fiction, but overall it's an intelligent portrayal. Reminds me quite a bit of "Spy Game", which I thought was the best-filmed spy tale I've seen. Very understated and, I believe, much closer to the true nature of the craft than many of the more action-oriented of the genre (film & lit).
—Steven
