John Michell

The Far Grass John Michell

The Far Grass is less a traditional Cold War spy fiction novel than it is the life story of a British spy during the time of the Cold War, a taut psychological study of personality and motivation told in first person by the book's central character, Joe Lambert.

Lambert is an emotionally isolated man, an antihero unburdened by outrageous talents, on whom deep cynicism is visited. He progresses from his recruitment into Britain's Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) in an 1970s accident of UK political history through to his failures as a lover, resultant career zealotry and, after finding love only for it to be wrenched away, later transformation into an obsessed avenger. Along the way, Lambert locks in mortal conflict not only with the KGB but also with his own Service and hostile colleagues within, the CIA and ultimately himself.

Stealthily addictive; thoughtful; sometimes sad, sometimes funny, The Far Grass is a former diplomat's tale of spying intrigue, human imperfection and the cut and thrust of bureaucratic politics. It is a book that offers readers a new slant on the Cold War spy fiction genre through a story that reaches its surprise conclusion in 1990 as the Soviet Union prepares to implode and the end of the Cold War nears.