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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
adventurous
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I was unable to get on board with this version of Jerry Westerby, or the woman he "falls in love" with.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have been slowly reading all of Le Carré in chronological order. My impression is that the Karla trilogy is very highly regarded; yet I must confess that The Looking-Glass War has so far been the one that sticks with me the most. I find Le Carré's writing quite dry, not so much stylistically as emotionally; it gives me a feeling of vaguely critical detachment with occasional glimpses of affection that are soon enough occluded. I am enjoying reading these books, but I feel I may be looking for something in them that I may not ultimately find. Something like the sentimental purity or uncynical love that the main character in this book discovers that he craves but that Le Carré denies him . Certainly if you already like densely plotted spy novels where most of the action lies in subtle twists and turns of conversation between world-weary operatives in hotel bars and government offices, you will find exactly what you are looking for here!
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Writing more detailed and complicated than TTSS, and harder to follow the plot because of it. I like Le Carre's sharp sense of humour about mundane situations. I also thought the character of Westerby was well-developed and believable, particularly in his unravelling. The tense moments are very enjoyable!
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I love Le Carre and I love the Karla Trilogy and the Smiley books, but I just can’t handle to virulent racism in this book. I’d forgotten how bad it was, and even all of the Connie page time and Simon Vance as the audiobook narrator cannot save it this time.
I really struggled with this one. I started it when I was sick and listened to it at least three times with many naps. I love all the smiley stories but this one was definitely the most confusing. I'm not sure if it was because I don't know much about Southeast Asia or if it's because I was sick.
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
At first I hated it, then loved it, then by the time I was done I was somewhat disgusted with it again.
For starters, whereas Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy treats you like a grown-up, The Honourable Schoolboy (THS) starts off sounding very much like a Nancy Drew sequel -- patiently laying out plain explanations for every term of likeable Circus jargon (and making it seem rather flat and lifeless in the process), as well as offering facile re-introductions for all the characters.
Things really get underway in the middle, but the plot has a much lower "thread count" than does Tinker Tailor, and there really aren't many surprises in it. The narrative is good but whenever it gets close to Smiley and the Circus, it suddenly gets much more hurried and caricatured. I later read that Le Carre was afterwards in doubt about whether he should have included Smiley at all since he felt people were getting needlessly distracted from the "real story" around Jerry Westerby -- which explains his seeming impatience and lack of attention when writing those scenes.
The summary of this book would give you to understand that this is the book where Smiley "gets revenge" on Karla. This pretty much destroys the book's enjoyability for me; it ultimately doesn't develop the story or the characters of the previous book: it spins their wheels before leaving them in the ditch.
The scenes set in the Orient and in the warfare in Cambodia were interesting and vivid. I can bring myself to enjoy this book if I'm looking for a sequel to Joseph Conrad's dank and unquiet "Heart of Darkness", but not if I'm looking for more of what I loved in Tinker, Tailor.
For starters, whereas Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy treats you like a grown-up, The Honourable Schoolboy (THS) starts off sounding very much like a Nancy Drew sequel -- patiently laying out plain explanations for every term of likeable Circus jargon (and making it seem rather flat and lifeless in the process), as well as offering facile re-introductions for all the characters.
Things really get underway in the middle, but the plot has a much lower "thread count" than does Tinker Tailor, and there really aren't many surprises in it. The narrative is good but whenever it gets close to Smiley and the Circus, it suddenly gets much more hurried and caricatured. I later read that Le Carre was afterwards in doubt about whether he should have included Smiley at all since he felt people were getting needlessly distracted from the "real story" around Jerry Westerby -- which explains his seeming impatience and lack of attention when writing those scenes.
The summary of this book would give you to understand that this is the book where Smiley "gets revenge" on Karla.
Spoiler
In fact, Karla barely figures at all except as a name, and Smiley ends the book having achieved precisely nothing. After all is said and done, all the good people are out on their ear again and the world moves on indifferently. The people who "won" succeed by stealing successes worked for by others, and the only other lingering feeling about the success of the main operation was how tragic it truly was for its targets, and for the main character, Jerry.The scenes set in the Orient and in the warfare in Cambodia were interesting and vivid. I can bring myself to enjoy this book if I'm looking for a sequel to Joseph Conrad's dank and unquiet "Heart of Darkness", but not if I'm looking for more of what I loved in Tinker, Tailor.