The Debriefing

This is a great little Spy vs. Spy caper with several quirky characters thrown in for some comic relief (often with a dark edge). American penetration-agent-in-waiting Stone is chosen to debrief Soviet courier Oleg Kulakov who has defected with a briefcase of diplomatic bag correspondence incl. military secrets and private inter-embassy mail. Kulakov's story is perfect. Perhaps too perfect? After losing almost all of his family to one circumstance or another Kulakov has defected when given the opportunity of a courier delivery to Cairo. Stone goes into Soviet Russia with deep cover to try and get to the source of all of Kulakov's misfortunes. He'll get there, but at what cost?
Colourful characters abound, such as Stone's girlfiriend Thro, who has a knack for predicting different ways the world will end, and Morning Stalin, an ex-Stalin impersonator, now retired, who was the dictator's morning replacement at social functions when the old tyrant himself couldn't be bothered to get up or make an appearance.
I'll confess that I missed out on Littell's books in the first go-around as I was too caught up with Le Carre & Deighton at the time. I 've discovered Littell late after reading his son's The Kindly Ones and then his own latest The Stalin Epigram (about the poet Mandelstam, who also makes a brief appearance in The Debriefing) and I'm having a lot of fun going back to find Littell Sr.'s earlier books. ( )

Is Kulakov genuine? Yes, but . . . excellent defector intrigue in the LeCarre mode, but American ( )