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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Will there ever be one of these stories where both young people don't die?
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This story makes itself worthwhile through its compelling plotting, engaging espionage drama, and excellent evocation of its world, perfectly evoking the collapsing colonial empire of Britain and the weary men in suits who ran it. However, this is a byegone world in more ways than one, and I don't think authorial intent was to create such disengagement from the ostensible protagonist through constant casual racism - a feature that, while probably an accurate part of these characters in this setting, hurts the story in a modern reading. Having enjoyed his other works, this is a shame.
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is certainly a step down from Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, but also just a strong spy story. Reading this, I’m reminded that spy craft is actually probably quite dull day in and day out. Its a lot of paperwork, a lot of waiting, and bouts of very intense personal betrayals that a person must commit. So its no wonder our hero Jerry Westerby finds his mental state spiraling after having to leave his peaceful living and throw him self into Fall of Saigon/Cambodia Campaign. The shift from spy crafting and blackmailing people into giving up information to war reporting the conditions of the Asian peninsula, it makes sense you watch a man spiral and obsess over a single woman caught in a web of spy’s and criminals and thinking he can save her.
The book ends in heartbreaking fashion, and it questions if it was worth the sacrifice of a man and the resources for a minor win.
The book ends in heartbreaking fashion, and it questions if it was worth the sacrifice of a man and the resources for a minor win.
mysterious
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:
Yes
A gloomy and bleak novel. Le Carre's characters and settings demand attention more than the plot, which manages to be simultaneously convoluted and straightforward as the characters are only partially aware of much of the necessary information. Le Carre's writing style continues to be deeply enjoyable, lucid and humane and studded with brief flashes of beauty that stay with you.
Another pandemic re-read. Part two of the great Smiley "Karla" trilogy. Jerry Westerby is sent to Hong Kong to try to push the bad guys. Action ensues. The plot is interesting but the femme fatale is too standard and the smarmy, almost conversational narrative tone doesn't age well. Almost gave it two-stars.
With this book, LeCarre bring Smiley and the British spies he calls the Circus into the Vietnam era. So, what difference does a decade make? Mostly, I think, that Smiley is not the only one who's feeling anguished about the things they have to do for a cause that seems more and more sordid. It's a post-Watergate novel, and even though the Americans in the book are still mainly cowboys, the cynicism that Nixon's fall brought about in the U.S. has infected more and more of the Brits.
The plot is set almost entirely in Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong), and we get a lot of detail about local scenery and customs. Perhaps too much. The book could probably have been fifty pages shorter without losing anything significant. Jerry Westerby, the title character and the man in the field, is basically a spy who came in from the cold (only he's a journalist who does occasional work for the intelligence services, but that's a distinction without a difference). The book also contains lots of references to the Russian master-spy Karla, but he doesn't make an appearance. All in all, worth reading, but if you haven't read Tinker, Tailor, read that before picking up The Honourable Schoolboy.
The plot is set almost entirely in Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong), and we get a lot of detail about local scenery and customs. Perhaps too much. The book could probably have been fifty pages shorter without losing anything significant. Jerry Westerby, the title character and the man in the field, is basically a spy who came in from the cold (only he's a journalist who does occasional work for the intelligence services, but that's a distinction without a difference). The book also contains lots of references to the Russian master-spy Karla, but he doesn't make an appearance. All in all, worth reading, but if you haven't read Tinker, Tailor, read that before picking up The Honourable Schoolboy.