Walking Back the Cat [Hardcover]

Robert Littell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1999

An immensely riveting post-Cold War thriller by the "American le Carre" (New York Times). A Soviet-era KGB agent, living undercover in New Mexico, and a disillusioned Gulf War veteran cross paths in a dangerous, deadly game set within the confines of an Apache-run gambling casino.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The New York Times has called Robert Littell "the American Le Carre," and his terrific new thriller shows why. A KGB contract killer nicknamed Parsifal, living in New Mexico as a dealer in rare guns, is suddenly called back into action by his old controller and ordered to remove a Russian defector and several leaders of the Apache tribe who run a gambling casino. Parsifal links up with a burned-out Gulf War vet named Finn to find out why--after years of inactivity--the KGB has turned itself back into an oddly motivated killing machine. The results are well up to Littell's high standards of intelligence and excitement. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

In the delightful, surprising Cat, which is of a piece with Littell's other fine thrillers (e.g., The Defection of A.J. Lewinter), "Parsifal," a Soviet mole, discovers that he no longer carries out his "wet work" (contract killing) for the KGB but for an unknown party who is using a New Mexico casino run by "all that's left on earth of the Suma Apaches, the smallest Indian tribe in America, living on the smallest Indian reservation in America" to launder money. Parsifal joins forces with his final intended victim, a Gulf War dropout named Finn. Together they "walk back the cat," retracing the chain of command between Parsifal and the hidden executive who ordered Finn's execution. The wholly unexpected finale involves Parsifal and Finn, a bunch of rogue CIA agents, some very determined Apaches, and a hot-air balloon. Very funny and very good.?David Keymer, California State Univ., Stanislaus
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Random House Inc (T) (January 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679435670
• ISBN-13: 978-0679435679
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,972,875 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bestselling author Robert Littell has been ranked amongst John Le Carre and Graham Greene for his masterful spy fiction. A Newsweek journalist in a previous incarnation, Littell has been writing about the Soviet Union and Russians since his first novel, the espionage classic The Defection of A.J.Lewinter. Among his numerous critically acclaimed novels are The October Circle, Mother Russia, The Debriefing, The Sisters, The Revolutionist, The Once and Future Spy, An Agent in Place, The Visiting Professor, the New York Times bestselling The Company (adapted for a TNT mini-series), and Legends (winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Award for Best Thriller of 2005) and For the Future of Israel, a book of conversations with Shimon Peres. Littell is an American who makes his home in France.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good plus easy to read, June 7, 2000

By 

Joe G. Steinbrunner "joegstein" (Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Walking Back the Cat (Hardcover)

I enjoyed this book and found it very easy to read finishing it in one long day. I particularily liked the character development of the Soviet killer Parsifal and would have enjoyed a whole book or at least a few more chapters about him getting to be what he was. The Indian stories and their gambling was tied in and fit in the story well.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Robert Littell continues to produce great spy stories., January 11, 1998

By 

archer (Arlington, VA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Walking Back the Cat (Hardcover)

Robert Littell doesn't seem to get the recognition he deserves. Every time I read one of his novels I am pleasantly suprised. Walking Back the Cat is a great read, with great character development.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not his best..., December 3, 2007

By 

U2pop "u2pop" (Atlanta) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Walking Back the Cat (Hardcover)

Walking Back the Cat seeemd interesting at first, especially with the catchy spy-like codenames and something set in seemingly present-day America, but through it all it was desparately missing something. That something was the magic of spy novels, the twists and turns that leave you guessing and the surprises and calamity that make you laugh outloud. Whereas "The Company", "The Defection of A.J. Lewinter" or "The Debriefing" dealth with the gritty, crafty, and seemingly endless abyss of mystery of the bygone days of espionage, Walking Back the Cat just bored the heck out of me from one page to the next. It starts out like a spy novel with a myserious meeting in a public library, but then it goes off on a giant tagent througha an Indian reservation and doesn't come back to the actual spy part until 3/4 of the way through; easy to see why you could lose interest.