Absolute Friends by John le Carré

When the Cold War ended, it looked as though the spy novel might also be redundant, at least in its traditional East vs West form. Sure enough, there is a period of about 10 years in John le Carré's new book when the friends of the title - a former British spy and East German double agent - find themselves at a loose end. Ted Mundy, born in Pakistan and educated at an English public school, passes the time by setting up a language school in Heidelberg, which bumbles along until his partner runs off with the assets.

When the Cold War ended, it looked as though the spy novel might also be redundant, at least in its traditional East vs West form. Sure enough, there is a period of about 10 years in John le Carré's new book when the friends of the title - a former British spy and East German double agent - find themselves at a loose end. Ted Mundy, born in Pakistan and educated at an English public school, passes the time by setting up a language school in Heidelberg, which bumbles along until his partner runs off with the assets.

As the novel opens, Mundy is working as a tour guide in Bavaria, making up stories about Mad King Ludwig. Having presented his protagonist as a likeable buffoon, he confounds expectations by revealing that Mundy is passionately in love with a Turkish immigrant, whom he has rescued from prostitution, and has become a surrogate father to her son.

Le Carré also introduces Sasha, Mundy's closest friend and former partner in the spy trade, who offers Mundy work in the cause that has suddenly aroused his mild nature to passion: opposing the war in Iraq. From the first few pages, it is clear that Mundy stands for a kind of old-fashioned decency which connects with, but never fully shares, Sasha's ideological fire. They are both adrift in the new world created by the war against terror, and the novel is to some extent a reflection on what role there is for them - shadowy figures who "won" the Cold War - as states grapple with international terrorists.

That question is addressed in the second half of the book, after the two men's shared history, and postwar Germany's, has been set out at length. Interestingly, given le Carré's own obsessions, Mundy and Sasha have inadequate fathers: a disgraced army officer in Mundy's case, a Lutheran pastor who sought refuge in the West in Sasha's. They first meet at the height of the Cold War in Berlin, where Mundy saves Sasha's life and almost loses his own in a beating from the police, to find himself deported and recruited by British intelligence.

All this is told in a wry tone, as though le Carré is not certain whether to mock his characters' ideological posturing or admit to a nostalgic admiration. The political quarrels of the 1960s are brilliantly evoked even if the women are less convincing than the men. So is the Cold War atmosphere, as Sasha works for the Stasi while secretly passing information to Mundy.

There is a familiar prankish quality to the scenes of secret meetings and information drops, leaving the reader unprepared for the dramatic, violent events of the final chapters. Sasha offers Mundy a job, working for a mystery philanthropist who proposes to set up an alternative university where carefully-chosen academics will counter propaganda in favour of the war; unlike Sasha, Mundy smells a rat and uses his old tradecraft to make his own private investigation. What he uncovers is a gargantuan conspiracy in which arch-enemies turn out to be working hand-in-glove and his old contacts at the CIA have enthusiastically privatised themselves.

There is no attempt to disguise le Carré's contempt for the Bush administration, or his anxiety about the extent to which the US can empower itself only through identifying enemies. Whether the dénouement is convincing depends on taste, but what does emerge strongly is le Carré's belief in friendship. Loyalty between individuals is more enduring than ideology. This may say something about his own priorities, but it is also what makes Absolute Friends so angry, pessimistic and deeply romantic.

Joan Smith's 'Moralities' is published by Penguin