The Night Manager (S1E1-6, TV series; 2016)
Adapted from a novel by John le Carré
.jpeg)
The more we read history, the more we realise that things remain the same. If, during the era of imperialism, colonial powers took all it took to pin down their subjects into economic hopelessness and total dependence on their masters. Slowly the natives wised up and reclaimed the place in the sun. Just when they thought the world had turned into a level-playing field, the reality finally hit them right smack on their faces. The rapaciousness of the West to subjugate their former colonies continues.If during British Raj, the British used Indians as proxies to fight with each other. Unknowing to both of them, the skirmishes weakened both parties, making them vulnerable to foreign powers to exert their influence. These powers just walk in, shake their heads in the devastation and trap the savaged into various debt traps. The next step is to dictate terms of how to rule and handle the economy.
The Night Manager is an exciting miniseries with the good old story of espionage and international arms dealings. It tells about the corruption of officials at all levels who make deals like this possible. We only talk of third-world civil servants being inefficient and corrupt. The web of dishonesty goes all the way to the West, whose government has no qualms about letting it go unchecked. There is money to be made in chaos.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Interested in real raw intelligence or espionage, Churchill, Gordievsky, Monty, Ungentlemanly Warfare, John le Carré, the SAS and Philby's interest therein? Do read the epic fact based spy thriller, Bill Fairclough's Beyond Enkription, the first stand-alone novel of six in TheBurlingtonFiles series. He was one of Pemberton’s People in MI6.
ReplyDeleteBeyond Enkription is a fact based book which follows the real life of a real spy, Bill Fairclough (MI6 codename JJ) aka Edward Burlington who worked for British Intelligence, the CIA et al. It’s the stuff memorable spy films are made of, raw, realistic yet punchy, pacy and provocative; a super read as long as you don’t expect John le Carré’s delicate diction, sophisticated syntax and placid plots.
For the synopsis of Beyond Enkription see TheBurlingtonFiles website. This thriller is like nothing we have ever come across before. Indeed, we wonder what The Burlington Files would have been like if David Cornwell aka John le Carré had collaborated with Bill Fairclough. They did consider it and even though they didn’t collaborate, Beyond Enkription is still described as ”up there with My Silent War by Kim Philby and No Other Choice by George Blake”.
As for Bill Fairclough, he has even been described as a real life posh Harry Palmer; there are many intriguing bios of him on the web. As for Beyond Enkription, it’s a must read for espionage cognoscenti. To relish in this totally different non-fiction espionage thriller best do some research first. Try reading two brief news articles published on TheBurlingtonFiles website. One is about characters' identities (September 2021) and the other about Pemberton's People (October 2022). You’ll soon be immersed in a whole new world! As for TheBurlingtonFiles website, it is like a living espionage museum and as breathtaking as a compelling thriller in its own right.
It’s great to see Tom Hiddleston is to star in another season based on John le Carré’s Night Manager. It’s also back in fashion in India but the reviews for that are mixed but that is a tad like the maestro himself. John le Carré's novels are perfection yet in real life whilst David Cornwell was a great character and a brilliant writer, as a spy did he have more Achilles heels than toes? Did he really upset Field Marshall Montgomery’s cousin? Were Pemberton’s People in MI6 as depicted in The Burlington Files really friends or foes? Was he the perfect spy? What of his Dad’s links to the Krays? What were his links to Kim Philby? Did the SAS trust him? For more beguiling anecdotes best read a brief and intriguing News Article about Pemberton’s People in MI6 dated 31 October 2022 in TheBurlingtonFiles website and then read Beyond Enkription.
ReplyDeleteI was taken aback to see mixed review on this one.
DeleteMost of the reviews I have seen were justifiably four or five star (unlike the recent unrealistic and characterless Treason, Recruit, Citadel, Gray Man ...)
Delete