The Charm School Book

Ten reasons why this book is garbage :-

01. The entire unfortunate meeting between Greg and Dodson suspends belief. These two characters add nothing to the plot except contributing to its convolution.
02. We know why Sam is in love with the heroine but the reciprocation of that is not explained.
03. The reasons given for endangering Lisa in a spy mission is ludicrous, and may be the biggest gaffe of all.
04. Lisa's interest in the peasants of Yablonka is forced and nobody sane would buy it. It's just a reason for Sam and Lisa to have sex.
05. The author doesn't know when to stop writing, and he forgoes better occasions to stop and instead finishes lamely.
06. I'm still ruing not abandoning reading this garbage, and I'm aware I'm wasting more time on this book and this review.
07. This book displeases me so much that it has derailed my gusto for thrillers.
08. Seth's death was idiotic and it was unclear how he could have avoided 600 KGB guards.
09. The reasons given for the slight slap on the wrist for Lisa and Sam don't hold up. They should have been in the KGB not The Charm School. That's because they know the language.
10. The spies at the embassy, both Russian undercover and people like Seth take too many risks for no gain.
11. Sukirov's effect on Sam is not furthered. It's a loose end, and Sukirov's valuable info's provenance is not explained.
12. Sam experiences religious feelings in a disguised ceremony in Moscow. I don't buy that scene.
13. Lisa seems to be as atheistic as Sam. That does not compute.
14. The humor of Demille is in its infancy here. This book tries to be funny. And fails.
15. The laughable attempt at creating tension over fuel shortage still grates.

That's just off the top of my head. I will give Night Fall a try. If it's cut from the same cloth as This Book, then all the bets are off. For some reason I imagined Sean Astin in the role of Sam. He's about the right age and build. For Lisa I imagined a pretty ex colleague from work. In my mind they had great chemistry. I was putty in the hands of this book. And still it failed on so many fronts that I'm thinking about never again reading a Cold War thriller. How could John Le Carre earn his living baffles me.PT Barnum must be spinning in his grave. I must know when to quit. I lost against this book because I thought the last chapters would redeem the book. Dream on! There was no real twist in this story, there was no sacrifice, there was no revenge, there was no traitor. Allegorically let me say that this book missed the boat. You'll understand if you read The Charm School.