We have learned in recent years to translate almost all of political life in terms of conspiracy. And the spy novel, as never before, really, has come into its own.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
The world has changed, the CIA is having to change, and again, the challenge for someone like me as a spy novelist is to write realistically about where they're actually going.
Most people like to read about intrigue and spies. I hope to provide a metaphor for the average reader's daily life. Most of us live in a slightly conspiratorial relationship with our employer and perhaps with our marriage.
It's a thrilling world, and people really like stories about secrets, which is the essence of a spy drama.
Once you've lived the inside-out world of espionage, you never shed it. It's a mentality, a double standard of existence.
I'm sort of fascinated by the whole espionage crime thing.
Of John Le Carre's books, I've only read 'The Spy Who Came In From The Cold,' and I haven't read anything by Graham Greene, but I've heard a great deal about how 'Your Republic Is Calling You' reminded English readers of those two writers. I don't really have any particular interest in Cold War spy novels.
I've known several spies who have wanted to become novelists. And novelists who became spies, of course.
I have no spy stories to tell, because I saw no spies. Nor did I understand, at that time, any opposition between American and Russian national interest.
Look realistically at espionage thrillers again. They're not only alive, readers are excited about them.
I think 'I Spy,' still when you look at it, speaks volumes in terms of propaganda for equality. It's just magnificent.