Customer Reviews

The Defection of A.J. Lewinter: A Novel of Duplicity (New Millennium Audio)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Having read and thoroughly enjoyed The Company; I decided to give this one a shot. Littell does not disappoint as he weaves layer upon layer of intrigue in this brief tale of espionage. The story involves the defection of a scientist and what we learn about him through the eyes of oppossing agencies. Yet through the deft touch of Littell we are never quite sure what to think of the man. Is he serving the interests of the United States, the Soviet Union, or himself? Are there any hints that let on? That is the charm of this novel. The tone of the novel fits right alongside that of The Company. Especially appreciated is the fact that Littell leaves the road open for the reader to navigate the end course. He doesn't spoon feed conclusions to his readers. You'll see what I mean when you read the fantastic ending.
The only problem? This was the only other book of his that I could find at my local store.
why not five stars? I wished that it was a longer read...

It's hard to believe that "The Defection of A.J. Lewinter" is a first novel. Sure, it's brief (barely 300 pages, using a large typeface), but it's so self-assured, so brilliant, so audacious, that it smacks of a later work written by a giant who's merely taking some time off from writing epics.

The title is seemingly dead-on. American scientist A.J. Lewinter defects to the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War. (While the time period is never specifically stated, it's definitely post-Kennedy and pre-Gorbachev.) The defection is surprisingly easy, and Lewinter has an easier time ditching his American security than he does convincing the Soviets to let him defect.

And that's the crux of Littell's lean novel of espionage and paranoia. The Americans are understandably paranoid -- they've got a defector, which is embarrassing enough, but this guy may know some military secrets of considerable value. But the Soviets are equally paranoid, if not more so. What if this Lewinter is a CIA plant, and this is a phony defection? If the Soviets misread Lewinter, it could mean a disastrous hit to the Soviet system of 5-year plans, not to mention a few bullets put into the backs of a few heads.

Littell keeps the pressure on, as the Americans and the Soviets plot and scheme to figure out just what the heck has happened by this defection as well as how to play it. For the Soviets, will the Americans use reverse-psychology and act like the defection is no big deal (thereby hopefully leading the Soviets to conclude that Lewinter is a fraud)? Or are the Americans playing reverse-reverse psychology, hoping that by doing nothing the Soviets will interpret this as the Americans trying to convince the Soviets that Lewinter is a fraud, when really Lewinter is the real thing? More layers than an onion are involved here, and Littell spices things up with dashes of humor interlaced into the web of deceit and danger.

I'm not sure where Littell gets all the insider information he has for his novels (I have already enjoyed "The Amateur" and adored both "The Sisters" and "The Company"), but he writes as if he knows this world of Cold War espionage like the back of his hand. While the lack of scope of this novel (arguably, a "mere" novella) prevents me from awarding it with a five-star rating like I gave his epic "The Company," that's a statement of the awe in which I hold the larger work. "The Defection of A.J. Lewinter" is a clever bit of work that never strains its convolutions or jumps the tracks.

A quick, thrilling read, "Defection" offers a delightful day-trip into the back rooms of the Cold War, and it's well-worth the trip. This is the perfect appetizer to choose before diving into Littell's longer, darker works.

I picked up Littell's first book after enjoying his opus, The Company and another short book, "The Debriefing". "The Defection of A.J. Lewinter" was another enjoyable story in the "who's fooling whom" tradition of defectors. Lewinter is an obscure American scientist who apparently defects with critical knowledge about ICBM's (intercontinental ballistic missiles). There are some excellent passages about how the CIA evaluates the sincerity of defectors, and the ending is in keeping with the theme of the book. My copy suffered from a repeated typographical error with a character name that was ultimately meaningless, but was confusing for awhile given how characters often change names in spy stories. Rather than a perfect distillation of Littell's work, "The Defection of A.J. Lewinter" seemed more like the first novel that it was, to be expanded and improved upon on the way to "The Company". Recommended to fans of Cold War stories, but I'd suggest that those with a wide range of reading interests proceed directly to "The Company", unless 300 pages fits their reading schedule better than 900 pages.

I had read Littell's "The Company" (epic CIA tome) and loved it, and also greatly enjoyed "AJ Lewinter"...different time duration, more intimate look at a few specific characters, but definitely worth the read! If you've enjoyed Littell's other books, this one does not disappoint!

A.J. Lewinter, a physicist specializing in ceramics who does military research on missile nosecones, defects to the Soviet Union (the novel was published in 1973, when the Soviet Union still existed). His knowledge of ceramics isn't likely to be helpful to the Russians, but Lewinter may have obtained accurate knowledge of missile trajectories--information that could enable the Soviet Union to develop an effective anti-missile defense. The American government isn't quite sure whether Lewinter was able to memorize the trajectory formulas during his brief time with them, while the Soviets aren't quite sure whether Lewinter is a genuine defector with useful information, a genuine defector who has been given false information to fool the Soviets, or an American agent.

Littell's novel takes a fun look at the games played by espionage services. The Americans want the Russians to believe Lewinter's information is useless. The Russians, in turn, need to figure out whether they're being played by the Americans. The novel takes us through the reasoning processes employed by both sides. The characters, on both the American and Russian side, are interesting albeit one-dimensional. This is more of a cerebral novel than an action-packed thriller, but the twists and turns taken by the Americans and Russians as each side tries to out-think and to out-deceive the other make the novel a gripping read.

A brillant farce on one level, a superb commentary on the ascent of absurdity in the intelligence community of the 1960s on another level, Littell's THE DEFECTION OF A.J. LEWINTER combines that rare package this side of Grahame Greene of being both fun to read and enlightening. A defector to the USSR, A.J. Lewinter may be a simpleton who may or may not have anything of value to share with the Russians. Is this the greatest defection the USA ever had? No one knows. But, careers are on the line (more so than the truth) and the working assumption is always to assume the worst. The plot revolves around who will win this mad battle where "sure indications" are typically the most unsure.

This book shows the depths of paranoia spies can become immersed in. A guy tries to defect to the Russians. Is he for real? The Russians don't know, the Americans don't know. Littell deftly describes how each side tries to nudge the other side into believing that Lewinter is or isn't a plant. It can get quite confusing as they play out their ping pong game of espionage. While the thesis of the book is original and interesting, the book itself is, in my mind, not very compelling. Littell's best work was "The Company". In my estimation, his other efforts fall well short of that masterpiece.