Deceit

A strong theme that emerges from “The Laughing Monsters” by Denis Johnson is one of deceit. The story takes place in the backdrop of the world of intelligence and espionage which by its nature is rife with deceit. At times in this story, it is difficult to determine what side the protagonist, Roland Nair, will eventually come down on. It appears especially difficult for him to make that decision.

As the story opens, Roland Nair, a former member of NATO’s NIIA – NATO Intelligence Interoperability Architecture division – is still involved with NATO although his exact capacity is not made clear. He has agreed to conduct a mission for NATO which places him in the middle of a spider’s web of deceit. His mission is to merely report on the activities of a former friend and colleague, Michael Adriko. Nair necessarily is deceitful in his dealings...